Rosa spinosissima hybrid 'Stanwell Perpetual', York Road front garden

Image: © Robin Stott Taken: 13 Aug 2013

It was like meeting an old friend: the many-petalled, sweetly scented, soft pink muddle-centred flowers, late summer blooms, prickly shoots, the greyish-green leaves mostly of seven leaflets in the front garden of a Victorian house. Everything suggested a Scotch Rose, a Rosa spinosissima hybrid. A dip into Jack Harkness’s ‘Roses’ brought the memories back, confirming that this is almost certainly the variety ‘Stanwell Perpetual’. Unlike its spring-flowering cousins, something in its genes makes it flower intermittently from spring to autumn. Originally known in England as the Pimpernel or Burnet Rose, Rosa spinosissima and its hybrids have been known as Scotch Roses since before 1800. Although white- and single-flowered in the wild, many colour variations have been observed, as has the ability to produce more than five petals. Breeding by Robert Brown, a Perth nurseryman, from 1793 produced eight varieties in a range of colours: white, yellow, pink, reds, marbled and bicoloured. This began “a hectic skate to popularity”. By the early nineteenth century there were hundreds; French and Dutch nurseries also bred many forms. A fascinating variety was introduced in 1838 under the name ‘Stanwell Perpetual’, “one of the prettiest and sweetest of autumnal roses”, generally accepted to be a cross between R. damascena semperflorens and R. spinosissima. By the mid-century gardeners were favouring the longer flowering periods of the introduced China roses. The briefly spring-flowering Scotch roses, “the hundreds of little Scotch jewels” disappeared from the catalogues. The endearing qualities of ‘Stanwell Perpetual’ have ensured its survival. For close-ups, see Image and Image Jack Harkness. Roses. London: J M Dent, 1978, ISBN 0-460-04328-5

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0