At present, there are so many places to enjoy roses, at home or out and about. Modern roses, such as Hybrid Teas, David Austins, Floribundas, or Ground Cover roses, are in local parks, gardens and streetscapes. Old Garden roses, also known as Heritage or Heirloom roses, are well worth finding, often in Botanic gardens and gardens at stately homesteads, or even in cemeteries, where, despite decades of neglect, vintage roses still thrive. It is the perfect time of year to view these charming Heirloom old garden roses in a massed display.
Old Garden Roses are defined as any rose that existed before 1867. It was on this date that the first modern rose, La France, was introduced as the first Hybrid Tea rose. Today, about 80% of all roses grown are modern roses. There are three groups of roses: Wild, Modern, and Old Garden (Heritage, Heirloom or Vintage).
Because Old Garden Roses usually only flower once per season, unlike Modern roses that repeat bloom, it can be tricky to catch them at just the right time to experience their full display. Some varieties bloom at the very first hint of Spring, like the Banksia and Crepuscule roses, whilst others are later, such as Buff Beauty.
Our local Botanic Gardens has a gorgeous display of Old Garden roses, set against the backdrop of bushland and a small weatherboard church. Last week I managed to be there right on cue for the seasonal display.
“Come out here where the roses have opened. Let soul and world meet.”
Rumi
Old Garden Roses have had a resurgence of popularity in recent years due to their nostalgic and romantic charm, something we look towards in our fast-paced, modern world. Heritage roses have an appeal that depicts a time of voluminous traditional gardens with massed displays of roses with exquisite perfume and unusual shaped blooms.
Fortunately, there are a few Heritage roses that will repeat bloom during the season, like Monsieur Tillier, Mme Isaac Pereire, Gruss an Aachen, Ballerina, Cecile Brunner, Mme Alfred Carriere, and Souvenir de la Malmaison roses.
Heritage roses grow large in an informal, tall, graceful habit with intricate, many-petaled blooms or, at times, flat, open, singular blooms. Heritage roses are more resistant to pests and diseases. The only drawback to these beauties is that they do not have the range of subtle colours of modern roses and require space. Although the display is only once a year, they bloom prolifically for several weeks.
Heritage roses create a living link to the past. Their timeless beauty connecting us to an era of charm and elegance. It is this historical aspect of the Old Garden roses that I love –
“The right rose in the right garden can make your heart sing.”
Colourful displays of Modern roses are plentiful in our local town gardens as well. There is a flurry of activity as summer approaches, with growth and floral beauty everywhere. The weather finally feels like full Spring and at times summer.
A garden is a microcosm of the outside world. Gardeners are acutely aware of the rhythms and cycles of nature: which flowers are in their prime, when to plant out the seedlings, when and how and how much it last rained. Just as music is time made audible, so the garden is “time made visible”
Clive James
On a visit to our local park, I came across this delicate rose called Pristine. I have never seen any Pristine roses before and found a mass display in the sunken rose garden at Cook Park. Rosa Pristine is a Hybrid Tea with registration name JACpico. Rosa Pristine was bred by William A. Warriner in the USA in -1975. A delicate, perfectly shaped rose that looks like porcelain. Pristine rose has minimal scent, but the large, full, high-centred and reflexed blooms in white, with slight touches of pink and pink edges, are gorgeous.
This season in the home garden, the size of the rose blooms is not only surprising as they are massive, but also pleasing. It shows that the roses are healthy and thriving, and that the soil has improved in this second year. The standouts from last year continue to flourish: Soul Sister, Princess Charlene de Monaco, Peace and Just Joey. These roses never disappoint and bloom continuously in a spectacular fashion.
I find modern garden roses can be every bit as transportive, whimsical, and nostalgic as their antique sisters.
A new rose this year in our cool-climate garden that has started so well is Rosa Love Song, registration name WEKstameda. Love Song is a Floribunda rose bred by Tom Carruth in the USA in 2009 and features soft lavender colouring, a citrus scent, and very full, high-centred blooms in clusters. Love song grows upright into a rounded shrub, 60-90cm tall and will repeat-flower all season.
“If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.”
Therese of Lisieux
Modern roses and heritage roses both have a place in today’s gardens. My own garden has a few Heritage roses, enough to appreciate their billowy, sprawling manner and their unusual flower shape and scent.
Heritage roses have a unique personality and appeal, but require space as they ramble and spread. The colours are limited, being mostly traditional pinks, whites, yellows, or crimson. They are hardy and disease-resistant, with a strong perfume, but have a short vase life and usually bloom only once a year.
- Buff Beauty a Hybrid Musk – Ann Bentall, UK, 1939
- Crepuscule a Tea Noisette climber – Francis Dubreuil, France,1904
- Monsieur Tillier a Tea Rose – Pierre Bernaix , France, 1891
- Souvenir de la Malmaison a Bourbon rose-Jean Beluze, France, 1843
- Ballerina rose a Hybrid musk rose – Ann and John Bentall, UK,1937
- Anna Oliver a Tea rose – Claude Ducher, France, 1872
- Penelope a Hybrid Musk Shrub – Rev Pemberton, UK, 1924
- Ellen Willmott an old fashioned Hybrid Tea- William Archer & daughter, UK, 1936
Modern roses, on the other hand, are bred for more perfectionist blooms that repeat all season in a vast range and subtlety of colouring, including multicoloured and striped roses. The shrubs are also often compact, rounded, and more formal, making them suitable for smaller spaces, with long vase life and long stems for cutting. Not all modern roses have fragrance, and many suffer from blackspot.
It has taken me some time, through trial and error, to work out which roses are most suitable for the drier Australian climate. I now know which ones are the most disease-resistant, and I’m careful when selecting any new roses, preferring roses with perfume and an upright growth habit.
Although my garden has mainly modern roses, my choices still lean towards the more romantic, whimsical, old-world, or antique style. I love the large, blowsy blooms with gorgeous perfume, like the Princess Charlene de Monaco, Soul Sister, and Mother’s Love roses. Besides the beauty of their blooms, these roses do not stop flowering all season, a major benefit of Modern rose breeding.
Content and images Di Baker November 2025
Title quote by John O’Donohue
“Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett
