As the wellbeing market continues to boom, with scented candles and diffusers, aromatherapy oils and natural skincare in great demand, the importance of scent to our mood has become greatly appreciated. The olfactory sense is strongly connected with emotional response and certain scents can stimulate great emotion, even physical attraction.
The bounties of nature – the scents as well as the beauty and the sounds – are intrinsically connected with our physical, mental and emotional health. Our sense of smell is particularly important for the recall of memories, with certain wonderful fragrances – or unpleasant odours! – holding greater evocative power than others.
Evoking Memories
Ian Limmer, head of the nursery and plant breeding programme at Peter Beales Roses, said: “Most of us have experienced the sensation of being transported back to a memorable occasion or certain strong feeling when triggered by a particular scent, such as the perfume of a loved one or the freshness of spring in the air. As one of the most distinctive scents of all, the fragrance or ‘attar’ of roses has great evocative power, which is why it valued so highly as a perfume.
“The heady fragrance of roses can bring even more joy to the great outdoors – or at least an uplift in mood – not to mention the sheer visual delight which contributes to an overall sense of gorgeousness in a blooming garden. Happiness is so strongly associated with the idea of wellness that it’s difficult to separate the two.
“In terms of overall aesthetics, roses are one of the most definitive elements in the quintessential English country garden, whether they’re delicately climbing up walls, vigorously rambling over fences, standing pretty in containers, dividing spaces with style or filling out ornamental flower beds. The colour and variety is a matter of taste and how best to achieve the desired look, but to get the full benefit of the fragrance you should bring them forward into areas where you’ll be sitting or regularly walking past.
“Depending on the type of rose, there is variation in the fragrance, which can have undertones of musk, myrrh, fruit, spice or tea, with some offering much more powerful scents than others. In general, the most fragrant roses are old-fashioned and historic roses, which you can plant along pathways to help trigger the senses as you walk through a garden, trained across pergolas or around sheltered seating for a beautiful, seated bower.”
Peter Beales Fragranced Roses
Peter Beales has an extensive range of strongly fragranced roses in a range of shapes, sizes and colours, many of which they have developed themselves. These range from ‘Clarence House’ and ‘Poetical Liz’ to the ‘Grosvenor House’ shrub rose bred at their nursery.
‘Clarence House’ is a modern climber which produces creamy white flowers throughout the summer, with petals massed in the old fashioned style with a strong fragrance reminiscent of citrus.
Another of Peter Beales’ perfumed Floribundas, which is unique to the brand, is the wonderful Norwich Castle, a rich copper-orange bush rose that delivers a fine scent for six months of the year from June.
Also available is a gorgeous dark pink Floribunda ‘As Good as it Gets’, along with the aptly named ‘Lovely Parfuma’ and ‘Royal Parfuma’, both of which are highly scented and would be ideally placed close to the front door or bench so gardeners can get the full benefit of that fragrance over the summer.
Another abundantly perfumed Hybrid Tea bush rose is ‘Claude Monet’ with its swirling colours of white, red & yellow. This rose is tolerant of poor soil and looks fabulous planted in a pot. Claude Monet will give a spectacular impression for months on end, starting in June and lasting right through to November.
Unique to Peter Beales, ‘Poetical Liz’ is a modern climber with beautiful deep yellow buds, opening to semi-double lemon blooms, that pale with age, with rich golden anthers. Healthy mid green foliage. Ideal for growing on walls, obelisks and arches. Suitable to be grown in a container and used for cut flowers. Tolerant of poor soils, shade and is hardy. Named for the talented Liz Robinson.
‘Timeless Pink’ is one of the most robust and healthiest of hybrid tea roses with a superb rich fragrance. With its mid pink double flowers that bloom all summer long, this makes a good cutting rose and is perfect for a pot. Hardy and tolerant of poorer soils.
Created to honour the famous J.W. Marriott hotel on Park Lane, ‘Grosvenor House’ is a heavily perfumed modern shrub with classic hybrid tea style flowers, produced continuously throughout the summer. The blooms are rich golden honey in the centre, paling to creamy-yellow at the edges of the petals, Foliage is healthy, mid green and in abundance.
