Roses

Welcome to our Roses list. Our wide range includes climbers, ramblers, floribunda, hybrid tea, patio, shrub and standards and we have a particularly good selection of repeat-flowering scented shrub roses. 

Our stock includes a good selection of Bentley West and Paul Chessum.  Unfortunately,  David Austen has withdrawn all of their roses from general sale and are only propagating and distributing them themselves.  This means we shall be missing a few old stalwarts in the shrub section, but there are thousands of roses out there to choose from and we are working hard to make sure we have a good selection for you.

Click to skip to:

• Climbing and Rambling Roses
• Floribunda Roses
• Ground Cover Roses
• Hedging Roses
• Hybrid Tea Roses
• Shrub Roses
• Standard Roses
• Terrace, Patio and Miniature

We buy all our roses bare root in November and put them in large pots in our special rich compost mix so we know they will get off to a good start.  To see the list of roses that we have in stock at the beginning of the season, please see the list below; this does not, however, guarantee availability. If you are looking for something particular, do ask – we might be able to help. Call us on 01225 862 392 or email us.

Generally,  we keep in stock roses which make the perfect gift for silver, golden, ruby anniversary gifts or any special occasion. See our list here.
The guide to colours, size, scents etc is approximate.

Location: Our rose bushes may be found on the standing-out ground to your left as you approach the main glasshouse.

Downside Nurseries Rose List
Please remember that the list below, effective April 2022,but not all of these plants may be available on the day of your visit

If you’d like to download this page, please click here

Key to “Notes” Column

C Continuous	R repeat flowering
H Suitable for hedging	S summer flowering
NW grows on north wall	Sh tolerates shade
P tolerates poor soil	T suitable to grow into a tree
Those in the mauve font are ideal for occasions

Climbers And Ramblers

Climbing roses form a frame and you prune back to the frame each year;
Ramblers scramble over a fence or pergola and you prune by taking out whole old stems, leaving the new growth to take over.

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent	Notes
Albertine      Rambler	Pale pink	4.5m	Strong
Aloha	Red/peach/salmon	3.0m	Good	R
Barock	Orange/pink	3.0m	Spicy	R
Compassion	Pink shaded apricot	2.4m	Strong	R
Crimson Cascade	Dark velvet red	3.0m	Good	R
Danse du Feu	Red	3.7m	Light	R NW
Dizzy Heights	Glowing scarlet	3.0m	Good	R
Emily Grey      Rambler	Soft yellow	5.5m	Good	R
Excelsa           Rambler	Magenta	4.5m	Slight	R
Felicite et Perpetue Rambler	Creamy pink	6.0m	Delicate	NW P S T
Francoise Juranville Rambler	Coral pink	6.0m	Delicate	NW P R
Golden Showers	Yellow, relatively thornless	2.4m	Good	NW P R
Handel	Creamy white-edged crimson	3.0m	slighty	R
Iceberg	White, relatively thornless	3.0m	Slight	NW P R
Kathleen Harrop	Soft pink	2.5m	Strong	NW P R
Madame Alfred Carrière	White	6.0m	Good	R
Madame Gregoire Stachelin	Clear pink	6.0m	Medium	R
Maigold	Bronze yellow	3.6m	Good	R
Penny Lane	Champagne blush	4.0m	Good	R
Pink Perpetue	Rose pink	3.0m	Slight	R
Scent from Heaven  (Rose of the Year 2017)	Orange Salmon	3.0m	Fruity	R
Schoolgirl	Apricot/orange	3.0m	Good	R
Shot Silk	Cherry pink, gold centre	4.5m	Good	R
Starlight Symphony  (Rose of the Year 2019)	White	2.5m	Slight	R
The Princes Trust	Crimson	2.5m	Good	R
White Star	Paperwhite	2.1m	Good	R
Zeppherine Drouhin	Carmine pink, r. thornless	4.0m	Very	NW P R

Floribunda Roses Flower all Season

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent
Absolutely Fabulous	Butter yellow	75cm	Strong
Arthur Bell	Bright yellow	100cm.	strong
Belle du Jour  (Rose of the Year 2021)	Yellow/apricot	90cm	Strong
Burgandy Ice	Dark plum	90cm	Slight
Celebration Time	Dusky Red	75cm	Slight
Compassionate Friend	Satin Pink	60cm	Spicy
For Your Eyes Only (Rose of the Year 2015)	Apricot/pink/orange eye	80cm	Slight
Golden Wedding	Golden yellow	90cm	Good
Happy Anniversary	Deep pink	80cm	Good
Harry Edland	Lilac pink	90cm	Strong
Hot Chocolate	Velvet smokey brown	90cm	Good
Iceberg	White	90cm	Sweet
Irish Eyes	Orange/yellow	75cm	Medium
Jam and Jerusalem	Orange/yellow/pink	89cm	Light
Lady Marmalade ( Rose of the Year 2014)	Bright tangerine	90cm	Good
Lilac Wine	Pale lilac pink	100cm.	Good
Love Struck AGM (Rose of  theYear 2018)	Cherry red	95cm	Slight
Many Happy Returns	Pastel pink	75cm	Good
Margaret Merril	White	90cm	Good
Moment in Time (Rose of the Year 2012)	Ruby red	60cm	Strong
Perfect Pet	Apricot	80cm	Good
Pigalle	Red/orange/yellow	90cm	Slight
Rhapsody in Blue (Rose of the Year 2003)	Purple fading to blue	120cm	Strong
Scentimental	Cream striped red and pink	90cm	Strong
Super Trouper	Bright orange	90cm	Slight
Trumpeter AGM	Scarlet red	69cm	Slight
You’re Beautiful	Bright pink	85cm	Light

Ground Cover Roses Flower all Season

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent
Cambridgeshire	Cerise/pink/gold	75x159cm	Slight
Kent	Pure white	60x90cm	Slight
Oxfordshire	Soft pink	60x90cm	Slight

Hedging Roses

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent	Notes
Rosa rubiginosa ( R eglanteria)	Pink, decorative hips			H P R
Rosa rugosa Alba	White, decorative hips			H P R
Rosa spinoissima   (R pimpinellifolia)	White, decorative hips			H P R

Hybrid Tea Roses Flower all Season

Nostalgic Roses are continuous flowering roses. At 1m they are larger than most Hybrid Teas and could easily be classed as small shrub roses, but the breeder considers them Hybrid Teas. They are strongly scented. Only recently available, they are proving very popular.

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent	Notes
A Whiter Shade of Pale	Very pale pink	90cm	Strong
Chicago Peace	Yellow flamed apricot/pink	70cm	Slight
Global Beauty	Yellow	100cm	Strong	Nostalgic
Kings Ransom	Rich yellow	90cm	Good
Lovely Lady	Rose pink	60cm.	Good
Loving Memory	Velvet red	80cm	Delicate
Moody Blue	Mauve blue	100cm	Strong
Nostalgia	White/cherry red	100cm	Good	Nostalgic
Peace	Yellow flushed pink	100cm	Slight
Pink Martini	Medium pink	100cm	Strong	Nostalgic
Rachel	Soft apricot	100cm	Good	Nostalgic
Scentimental	Cream/red stripes	75cm	Strong
Silver Anniversary	Pure white	90cm	Good
Simply the Best	White	75cm	Good
Soeur Emanuelle	Pink	90cm	Strong
Special Anniversary	Magenta pink	90cm	Strong
Thinking of You	Crimson	90cm	Good
Twice in a Blue Moon	Silvery lilac	90cm	Good
Warm Wishes	Peachy coral	90cm	Good
Whisky Mac	Bronze/orange	75cm	Good
Wildberry	Berry with a pink centre	90cm	Good

Shrub Roses

The term shrub rose covers quite a wide variety of types. Some of the heritage varieties flower only once in the summer but are still worth growing for their beauty and fragrance.

Modern shrub roses are modern hybrids that repeat flower Moss roses have mossy growth on their stems and calyces and double or semi-double flowers in clusters. Portland compact  are repeat-flowering  roses with double or semi-double flowers Rosa mundi syn Rosa gallicia Versicolour with crimson-striped white flowers Rosa rubrifolia syn Rosa glauca -Grey foliage red hips  and Rosa Rugosa are sturdy roses that flower repeatedly and are suitable for hedging. They have large ornamental hips.

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent	Notes
Comte de Chambord	Warm pink	1.2×1.0m	Good
Felicia	Silvery pink	1.5 x 1.5m	Strong
Jacqueline du Pre  (Modern shrub)	Blush white	1.3×1.0m	Musk	H P R
Jacques Cartier AGM  (Portland)	Pink	1.2x 0.9m	Strong	R
Madame Hardy AGM	White	1.5×1.2m	Strong	NW
Moonlight	Creamy white clusters	1.5 x 1.5m	Strong	R
Patricia Kent	Creamy yellow	1.3 x 0.9m	Strong	R
Pretty Jessica	Warm pink	0.9 x 0.6m	Strong	R
Rosa Mundi  (Rosa Gallica Versicolor)	Crimson striped white	1.2×1.0m	Medium	Sh P
Roseraie de l’Hay	Crimson purple	2.1 x 2.1	Strong	R
Rosa rugosa	Brught pink	1.2 x 1.2m	Good	H P R
Rosa rugosa Alba	White	1.2 x 1.2m	Good	H P R
Rose de Rescht	Fuchsia red/purple	1.0x 0.6m	Strong
Souvenir du Dr Jamin	Plum red	1.5×1.2m	Rich	Sh P R
The Fairy	Clusters of double pink flowers	.0.8x 0.9m	Apple	R
Westerland (Modern shrub)	Apricot blend	1.8×1.2m	Strong	R
Westerland	Apricot Orange	1.2×0.9m	Strong	P Sh

Standard Roses Flower all Season

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent
Many Happy Returns	Blush pink	75cm	Slight
Margaret Merril	Pure white	75cm	Strong
Pretty Polly	Bright pink	50cm	Slight
Remembrance	Scarlet	75cm	Spicy
Special Friend	Light pink	50cm	Good
Top Marks	Vibrant vermillion	50cm	Slight
Yellow Patio	Clear yellow	50cm	slight

Terrace, Patio and Miniature Roses Flower all Season

Variety Name	Colour	Height	Scent	Notes
Festival	Scarlet-Silver reverse	55cm	Slight
Flower Power	Peach-salmon	45cm	Spicy
Gentle Touch	Pale pink	40cm	Slight
Gloriana	Mauve pink	200cm	Light	Climber
Good as Gold	Golden yellow	160cm	Good	Climber
Greenall’s Glory	Silver-white/pale pink	45cm	Good
Laura Ford	Yellow flushed pink	210cm	Medium	Climber
Love Knot	Deep red	200cm	Slight	Climber
Nice Day	Salmon pink	210cm	Medium	Climber
Orange Sunblaze	Orange-red	45cm	Slight
Pearl Anniversary	Pearl pink	40cm	Slight
Red Rascal	Blood red	45cm	Slight
Ruby Anniversary	Bright red	55cm	Delicate
Sunhit	Deep yellow	60cm	Slight
Sunseeker	Scarlet, yellow centre	55cm	Slight
Sweet Dream	Peach/apricot	45cm	Good
Sweet Magic	Orange and gold	45cm	Good
Wildfire	Flame orange	50cm	Good