A summer of roses

Thousands of National Garden Scheme gardens have roses at the heart of their planting. But what we consider to be quintessentially British is actually an ancient flower which, according to fossil evidence, is 35 million years old and was probably first cultivated by the Chinese 5,000 years ago.

In the language of flowers, roses symbolize love but in pre-Victorian times you were more likely to find them on your dinner plate than in a vase. Traditionally grown for their nutritional and medicinal value, apple-scented rose leaves were once brewed as tea, rose petals coloured salads and rosehips were cooked into sweet syrups packed with vitamin C, ascorbic acid and iron. For people battling anaemia, rose hips contain the perfect balance of nutrients. Aromatherapists and perfumers prize the heady scent of roses too; rose is soothing to the nervous system and, according to folklore an ‘expert mender of the cracks in broken spirits’.

Today, the bloom, colour and perfume of roses remain a firm favourite with gardeners and are the summer heart of National Garden Scheme gardens large and small.

A few fragrant favourites to explore include:

: Turvey Village Gardens, Bedfordshire and The Old Rectory, Lower Basildon, Berkshire

Turvey Village gardens, Bedfordshire – a gorgeous, rose filled group of gardens that open on Sunday 14 June.
Rooksnest, Berkshire, designed by Arabella Lennox-Boyd, opens on Wednesday 24 June and by arrangement.
Bledlow Manor, Bucks, 12 acres of gorgeous planting opens on Sunday 19 July and by arrangement.

: Sussex show stoppers: Hoopers Farm, East Sussex and 7 Nightingale Close, West Sussex

7 Nightingale Close, West Sussex opens as part of the East Grinstead Gardens group on Sunday 21 June where roses abound in this lovely selection of town gardens.

: Aberclwyd Manor and Gwaenynog, two lovely Denbighshire gardens

Aberclwyd Manor in Denbighshire is four acres full of fabulous flora, opens on the following Wednesdays: 10 and 24 June, 8 and 22 July, 5 and 19 August and 2 and 16 September and by arrangement.

Gwaenynog in Denbighshire is a lovely two acres which includes the restored walled garden where Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated the Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Opens on Sunday 21 June.

Yorke House & White Rose Cottage in North Yorkshire, an award-winning English country garden in the heart of Nidderdale with wonderful roses and shrubs. Opens as part of Shiptonthorpe Gardens Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.

Click here to explore the rose gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme this summer

For more roses watch our virtual garden visits

Cadenham Manor, open on Thursday 5 June and by arrangement for groups of 15 to 40 people, until October. Home to over 70 varieties of old roses in this virtual garden visit, garden owner Victoria Nye introduces you to some favourites.

Sambrook Manor, opens on Sunday 29 June and by arrangement for groups of 10+ the owners shared this lovely film during lockdown.

As its romantic name suggest, Rosearie-de-la-Nymph – open on Sunday 22 and Sunday 29 June – is all about roses and it is a wonderful surprise to discover such a rich kaleidoscope deep in the Northamptonshire countryside.