Our favorite Parisian florist in Saint-Germain-des-Prés is Odorantes, where flowers are arranged by scent. Where better to turn for a list of the 10 most fragrant roses to grow this year?
Many of Odorantes' favorites are old roses—thorny shrubs and stubborn climbers with blowsy blooms that look best when they're past their prime and ready to drop their petals. Their histories can be traced across centuries, when their ancestors came from China and Persia.
With spring a few weeks away, it's time to place orders for roses for this year's garden (many sellers start shipping in March). We've rounded up sources to buy Odorantes' favorites—plus a few of our own—to come up with a list of 10 fragrant garden roses:
Photography via Odorantes except where noted.
Above: The five-petaled dog rose, or Rosa canina, is a shrubby wild rose that grows in hedgerows. There are nearly two dozens species. Eglanteria 'Sweet Briar Rose' has leaves that smell like apples; the scent was familiar to Shakespeare; $19.95 apiece from The Antique Rose Emporium.
Above: If you are looking for the exuberant ruffly rose called Cuisse de Nymphe Emue (which translates to "Thigh of the Passionate Nymph"), it is often called Great Maiden's Blush in English.
A disease-free 8-foot climbing rose whose history can be traced back at least to 1400, it belongs to the Alba family. "The Albas, as a group, have the most refined perfumes of just about any of the European antiques and Great Maiden's may just have the most refined fragrance of the class," says Rogue Valley Roses, which offers Great Maiden's Blush for $19.95 apiece.
Above: An apricot rose with a strong fragrance is The Lady Gardener ($29.95), a very hardy medium shrub From David Austin's English rose collection which will flower repeatedly during the course of a season.
Above: Photograph via Rozarium.
'Louise Odier' is a Bourbon bush rose with 4-inch blooms that are "blessed with exquisitely rich perfume." It's $26 from Heirloom Roses; order now to ship in March.
Above: Jacques Cartier is a hardy Portland shrub rose bred in 1868 that will grow to a diameter of 4 by 3 feet. It's available from David Austin Roses that has a "very strong, rich fragrance" and is $20.95 apiece.
Above: Photograph via Robin McKinley.
A shrub rose that blooms repeatedly, Old Blush Rose has a sweet, fresh fragrance. A bare-root Old Blush Rose is $19.95 from Roses of Yesterday, which notes: "Many people believe it to be the rose Thomas Moore wrote of in his song, 'The Last Rose of Summer'."
Above: 'Madame Pierre Ogier' is a strongly fragrant, medium size Bourbon shrub rose with silvery pink blooms; £14.50 from David Austin UK.
Above: Introduced in 1877, Madame Gabrielle Luizet may be grown either as a shrub or a short climber (and will reach a height of up to 8 feet). It is $17.95 from Rogue Valley Roses.
Above: Photograph via Alex Waterhouse Hayward.
'Madame Isaac Pereire' is a shrub rose bred by Garcon in 1881 and named after the wife of a Parisian banker; $19.95 from The Antique Rose Emporium.
Above: With a bloom color that can fluctuate from deep crimson to purple depending on growing conditions and light scent, 'Charles de Mills' is a Gallica shrub rose introduced in the late 18th century; £14.50 from David Austin UK.
Old roses are often used in potpourri and for culinary purposes. Their petals make delicious teas, syrups, and cakes. For some of our favorite recipes and DIY ideas, see:
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