You know, of course, how difficult it is to just pick three! So, three of my most beautiful roses are:

Summer Fashion
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Marilyn Monroe
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Jean Giono
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Kathy

I agree with Double Delight, plus Elina, and a modern shrub called Braveheart. Braveheart has the most rich red blooms that stay red and full--I stare at it a lot, and the creamywhite/light yellow blend of Elina is wonderful in the hot sun.

Elina

Braveheart

But Eden is gorgeous also!

Kate

My prejudice is showing. The first 3 roses that I thought of were Chyrsler Imperial, Rouge Royale and Veteran's Honor. I think I have a thing for red.

Wow - I thought I could do this but apparently I am way too easy to please. There really aren't too many roses I don't like; I'm fond of pretty much all classes and all colors. Some more than others, of course. For instance, I also have a thing for lavender or mauve colored roses. And unusual colored ones, such as Distant Drums, Distant Thunder or Lavender Pinocchio.

In thinking over all my roses - and strictly about the blooms and not the plant itself - I think pretty much all my roses are beautiful when they are blooming. Even the ones with the scraggly growth habit, such as Blue Skies.

However, I suppose there are a few that I am especially attracted to....

MAGENTA
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HEAVEN ON EARTH
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HONEY PERFUME
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This was hard and if you ask tomorrow I may have different answers! BTW - I thought all the ones everyone mentioned above were beautiful too!

Lynn

So many beautiful roses! Sorry I don't have pictures, but my favorites are the ones I buy every year, even when they don't make it through the winter...Oklahoma, Sweet Surrender and DA Tamora :)

There is no way that I could limit my top picks to a mere 3 and eliminating the Austins from that list
means a few roses move up in status. I grow roses in every color but I am obviously partial to pinks because
my top favs are pinks or pink-blends. (I also wanted to mention Frederic Mistral, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Tiffany and L'Aimant as being gorgeous pinks). I narrowed it
down after much thought and angst to my 3 most beautiful,
with 2 honorable mentions. (As I said, there is NO way I
could limit it to a mere 3!)

Lest my other roses be offended, they are ALL beautiful in my eyes. (Now I feel better).

Celeste

AMAZING GRACE....(This beauty from Scotland has IMMENSE, highly-scented and very full blooms. Just like my daughter, Grace...its amazing alright.)
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SWEET VIVIEN...
(She's just so demure, frilly and appealing that even though she doesn't like my cold climate she is a favorite
of mine. I love her pink-edged blooms and her wide-eyed
stamens.)
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QUIETNESS....
(She's palest pink and gorgeous...but better yet, she's cold-hardy, free-blooming and vigorous. A rose that is even more beautiful to me because of this.)
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Honorable Mention......PERCEPTION
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Honorable Mention....THE FAUN
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Dear le_jardin_of_roses, I absolutely adore your pictures of 'Florence Delattre'! Could you please tell me more about this rose. How large does it grow for you? I also have 'Florence Delattre', planted it last summer and it gave me 5' long canes.
How do you train yours? Do you peg it or prune it hard, or train it in some fashion?
Thank you. Lana

Magenta is truly a beautiful rose plus a magnificent color and strong fragrance.

okay, here goes only three:

Honor (this one is a must for hot weather)
White Eden
First Prize

Honorable Mentions: French Lace, Angel Face

my favorite picture ever, First Prize

oops!

Molineux, Do you now grow, or have you in the past grown, those three roses that you've designated as the most beautiful of all modern roses? Are you asking us to judge on the basis of consistently beautiful blooms, or on the basis of the occasional perfect bloom? Some of us think, for instance, that there's hardly anything quite so garish, day in and day out during the season, as 'Double Delight'. And on a typical day in midsummer 'Paradise' usually verges on the ghastly. Are you asking us to base our judgement on the 3 most beautiful varieties of modern roses, or on fine photography of exceptional single blooms?

Ya know, it's just too hard to pick three. Like others have said, I might change my mind from one day to the next. But, I would say at this moment, my favoite, most beautiful ones would be: RED INTUITION, VENDEE IMPERIALE and MICHELANGELO (the striped McGredy one, not the yellow Meilland one).

@ Jaxondel 'Are you asking us to base our judgement on the 3 most beautiful varieties of modern roses, or on fine photography of exceptional single blooms?'

I based my choices on beauty of a perfect bloom. If I took into account heat tolerance, overall bush shape, floriferousness, or any other use or attribute, my choices would change each time.
I will try one last time to upload my pics of First Prize.
The first is my favorite bloom. The second is a picture of the bush looking a little beat up, either because I didn't deadhead or because it was just too hot, I can't remember which.

I think the naming the three most beautiful modern roses really needs to be amended to "name the three most beautiful roses IN YOUR OPINION". (And I also limited it to my garden only). That's how I read it and responded because there is no way that there is a most beautiful rose (or list of roses) out there. It's subjective and everyone has preferences as to color and form.

Lynn

In the middle of the winter it means to review the pictures and pick the three best. I agree, that on any given day, any rose in my garden can be almost perfect. When that very first bloom opens on my rugosa, its perfect in every way.

But, I think we need to factor in endearing and consistent beauty in order to identify the most beautiful modern. In my bed:

Tiffany is vigorous and fast to repeat providing a perfect blend of subtle shades of pink and yellow.

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Sweet Surrender was part of my first rose purchase and pumps out unusual, large blooms from June to November.

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Peace has slowly established itself and produces giant showstopper blooms all summer.

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Jaxondel,

I actually have grown all three of the roses I mentioned. TIFFANY and DOUBLE DELIGHT and USDA ZONE 7b. PARADISE in zone 6b. Of the three TIFFANY is definitely the easiest to grow. She does well on her own roots, the growth habit is bushier than the typical Hybrid Tea, foliage is more resistant to disease, and as you can see the flowers are drop dead gorgeous. Lets talk about the flowers, they are huge! A fully opened Tiffany blossom will easily span the size of a man's outstretched hand. The fragrance is POWERFUL and defines (at least in my mind) what a rose should smell like. The high centered flower form in bud is breathtaking, but alas does spiral open into a relatively formless flower. She is still beautiful but may disappoint those who insist on perfect spiral form from start to finish. Vase life is long and so are the straight, strong stems. Color is a pure glowing pink brushed pale yellow at the base of the petals. Speaking of the petals, they are translucent yet never does the bloom fail to open. All in all this rose epitomizes elegance and everything that hyridizers are trying to achieve in the Hybrid Tea class.

DOUBLE DELIGHT was a mixed experience. At first he was dreadful because I kept getting virused plants. I eventually found what I believed was a clean plant and then he was fantastic. This rose is all about the flowers. INTENSE pepper, spice and rose fragrance. Lovely high centered flowers (well most of the time except during those instances when the center split) and the C-0-L-O-R! DOUBLE DELIGHT has probably been photographed more times than any other Hybrid Tea and for good reason. Each and every bloom is a different combination of swirling pale yellow (similar to French vanilla ice cream) and bright strawberry red. The bush ... well it took work no doubt about it. Double Delight is not one of those roses you can neglect and still expect him to look good. He needs a lot of water, balanced fertilizing (too much I've found causes those spit centers, but too little and you get small flowers and a whimpy bush) and careful spraying to control blackspot (DO NOT use anything containing DACONIL! It will burn the foliage). Make him happy and the result is a medium to tall, upright bush that is a model for the Hybrid Tea class. BTW, I haven't had much success with him in zone 6b, but the own root plant is still new and I've been lazy.

PARADISE ... sigh ... I killed it. Planted the poor thing in shade. She gave me a few perfect, strongly fragrant flowers then froze to death in her pot the first winter. But I remember those flowers. The form was unbelievable and color combination of silvery lavender flushed crimson red was very striking. I want her again but not until I can find a sunny, protected spot in my yard.

Best wishes,

Patrick

Shape of bush and disease resistance are mportant to me, in addition to beauty of flower.

My three top choices are Polka, Pink Meidilland, and Topaz Jewel.

Honorable mention, Cl. America ( IMHO absolutely the best of the mid-century brilliantly colored roses, and perfect form), Cl. Sunflare, Alba Meidilland, White Meidilland.

1)Bloomfield Abundance
2)Halloween rose
3)Crimson Cascade

My three top picks :)

Fragrant Hour, Vienna Charm, and a tie between Silver Lining and Vino Delicado.

Love these 3 for fragrance & petals and I love many more.

Memorial Day
Secret
Just Joey

Honorable mention
Mon Cheri & Angel Face & Sharifa Asma

I just want to say that all the roses in all of the pictures are so beautiful. Harry I love that picture of Tiffany and Peace....really stunning roses!

My 3 most beautiful roses of all times would have to be
Brigadoon
Neptune
and Double Delight

although I really like Marilyn Monroe......and Pope John Paul and......Osiana.....oh its so hard to choose just 3!

I've been avoiding clicking on this thread...now I see some gorgeous roses that I am just going to have to add...thanks ALOT, Patrick...

Here's my list:
CAMILLE PISARRO
SOUTH AFRICA
SPEELWERK

Whew; this was really hard to limit my picks to just 3!

To me Roses are beautiful in every form, shape and color. I really can't make a choice!

Here is a link that might be useful: Saesha Flowers

Nice post Patrick. The photos are lovely.
Le jardin of roses, I wish my Florence de Lattre were as dark as your photo. Pretty pictures. The person that gave me my Fdl described it's look as wet toilet tissue.
Patrick, Once at Ann's house someone had brought a flower of Magenta and it smelled incredible. I actually ordered Sweet Surrender last year. Can't give any opinions yet.
Sure is nice to see rose porn again.

Carla

My three favorite of the HT or Floribunda type are:

Pristine (I've planted it in all the homes I've owned)
Chicago Peace for it's tremendous mix of colors without being brash
Black Magic for it's incredible color and it's name. I saw this rose in bloom all the way across a nursery and ran right over to it. Once I saw it's name, it went right on my cart. Although I'm sure it isn't the reason for the name, Black Magic was the name of the New Zealand boat that won the America's Cup. I don't know who bred the rose but if it was a Kiwi, then I guess it could be named for the yacht.

Debbie

Hi Patrick, long time no see!

Of my three top favorites, Patrick has named two. Double Delight is my favorite rose. It blooms for me non-stop and just gets better and better every year. I do have to spray it, but it rewards the effort. And what a scent!

Tiffany is the perfect color of pink and the blooms are huge. Also a wonderful smell. My plants of Tiffany and DD are 7 years old and grafted on Dr. H.

My last choice is difficult. But I am going to choose Veteran's Honor. The huge red blooms have wonderful substance and I love the cherry koolaid scent. It grows like a weed and never gets disease.

There you have it from Oregon.
Kathy

Gosh Patrick, this is difficult for me. I'm not going to include the Austins though they are modern. Just Joey comes to mind. I really love "Zalud House Shingled Rasberry" I'll add Grace Darling, but the list could change tomorrow.

As much as I personally adore it (& I DO!!) I do not include Fragrant Cloud on my list of three (although it would be on my list of five).

I start with New Dawn. I find the color of the flower simply amazing! Who knew that a rose could resemble mother of pearl? On top of that the leaves are a healthy, shiny dark green, which perfectly sets off the flowers! Yes, its thorns are quite nasty (although there are worse), and it's more than a little vigorous, but even so I forgive that because the flowers are so amazing!!!

My second is Molineux's first - Double Delight. A joy to behold, smell, cut for inside, and grow! Its flower has always reminded me of a strawberry (or cherry) sundae made with French Vanilla ice cream!

:)

My third favorite is a rose that I know has a bad reputation for being disease-prone and now is difficult to find. I very much regret that because when I grew Whisky Mac back in the 1980's I sprayed the few roses I grew and never had a disease problem with it.

What wonderful flowers! WHAT A COOL, FASCINATING BLEND OF COLORS! Was it yellow? Peach? Apricot? Pink? Brown?

It was all of those, at varying times of year! I ADORED Whisky Mac!

As much as I personally adore it (& I DO!!) I do not include Fragrant Cloud on my list of three (although it would be on my list of five).

I start with New Dawn. I find the color of the flower simply amazing! Who knew that a rose could resemble mother of pearl? On top of that the leaves are a healthy, shiny dark green, which perfectly sets off the flowers! Yes, its thorns are quite nasty (although there are worse), and it's more than a little vigorous, but even so I forgive that because the flowers are so amazing!!!

My second is Molineux's first - Double Delight. A joy to behold, smell, cut for inside, and grow! Its flower has always reminded me of a strawberry (or cherry) sundae made with French Vanilla ice cream!

:)

My third favorite is a rose that I know has a bad reputation for being disease-prone and now is difficult to find. I very much regret that because when I grew Whisky Mac back in the 1980's I sprayed the few roses I grew and never had a disease problem with it.

What wonderful flowers! WHAT A COOL, FASCINATING BLEND OF COLORS! Was it yellow? Peach? Apricot? Pink? Brown?

It was all of those, at varying times of year! I ADORED Whisky Mac!

Sterling Silver.

Yes, I know about how difficult the bush is to grow and how horribly stingy it can be with its flowers. Even still, I'm intrigued and always have been!

I'm likewise intrigued by Dainty Bess, which I've never grown or even seen except in a 1950's book on growing roses that I have. I find it alluring!

Of course this list can change any time as there are so many gorgeous modern roses out there, but if I have to name my three most beautiful modern roses today they would be:

1. Eden. I chose this rose for the incredible beautifully colored blooms that come in a lovely, romantic, old-fashioned form. The spring flush of this rose is just taking my breath away.

2. Frederic Mistral. I just love the elegant, large, full, pale, pink flowers that this rose is producing. They are very fragrant and last a decent time in a vase. I think another plus is that this rose makes an acceptable bush for a Hybrid Tea rose and is very vigorous here in SoCa.

3. Mr. Lincoln. I know many people complain about this rose, but in Southern California this rose can be outstanding, producing large, very fragrant blooms in an incredible blue-red color that I prefer any day over the more warm red rose colors. It has a very good flower form, too, and makes a good cut flower.

Thanks to everyone, who made the effort to post pictures. I really enjoyed looking at them!

Christina

A new favorite, Laguna:
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Of course, we all know this is an impossible question. So subjective. I'll change my mind frequently on this. I think some of the roses that are most attention-grabbing due to size or intensity of color are not necessarily the most beautiful. Beauty can require some study time to fully appreciate it.
I'm going to rule out any completely solid color roses. The dramatically contrasting roses like Double Delight are tempting and, yes, beautiful, but maybe more attention-grabbing than utterly beautiful.
Some very good points were made above about the different ways we might judge beauty. I'm going to consider it to be the individual blooms that one can cut that are representative of the typical bloom of a variety; NOT the exceptionally "perfect" specimen.

Brigadoon: LOVE LOVE LOVE the everchanging blend of coral, pink and cream.

Red Intuition: red on red striping that some might think gimicky, but the patterns to me are endlessly intriguing, the bloom form consistently excellent, and just darned pretty!

Chicago Peace: everything that the legendary Peace represents except more intense, more pink and gold. I can't believe I've gone a decade without this one since I moved and left it behind. Just acquired another last month!

Of course, I'm going to change my mind tomorrow...or in the next five minutes. : ) WAIT! I just did. Can I add Jardins de Bagatelle to the list? Darn! that's 4.

Mike

Any changes now that there's been 10 years of new introductions? :)

I think Augusta Luise, Jude the Obscure, and Evelyn are up there, as well as Twilight Zone and Munstead Wood. Diane

So pretty! I've been struggling to find Evelyn but hoping it shows up someplace. Yours always looks stunning, Diane!

Spirit of Freedom

Evelyn

Augusta Louise

Quicksilver

Eden

Peach Swirl

..and who can pick just 3?

Oops, I forgot about Bathsheba, Yes! Bathsheba for sure!!

Picking 3 is darn near impossible. Anyway, here are 3 that come to mind instantly.

Lady of the Dawn

I've been growing this beautiful Floribunda since 1989. Big bush, beautiful blooms. BOOM! I'm hooked.

Louise Estes

I started growing this beautiful HT since the late 1990's. For me this HT has it all. Vigorous growth, great foliage, great cutting stems, beautiful blooms with a nice clean scent.

Ring of Fire

This beautiful HT is a fairly new entry into the rose world. Just like Louise Estes, it has the whole package. Bush, foliage, stems, blooms and scent.

I loved reading this old thread. I was gone from rose forums for >10 years until I retired in August. It was a hoot to see the old names of folks from when I was a regular on GW back in the day, so thanks Aaron for reviving this thread! Sorry, I can't pick three at the moment... way too many faves :-D

I have to go with the very first answer given Double Delight. This is my first time in my 70 years to grow her and she makes me smile everytime I see her.

Celestial night is new but I am so far really impressed.

And Marc chigall is another new favorite.

High praise to Munstead and Olivia

We better do this each year to see how our favorites change as new roses arrive and develop

That new favorite could be just one order away.

Peach Swirl

Celestial night

Marc chigall

I LOVE Mitsouko

And of course...Augusta Louise

I adore your Mitsuko

Oh, my goodness!!!!

Diane - I agree with your choice of Augusta Luise!! Mine doesn't look as wonderful as yours though. :) :) That picture is da bomb!!! :) :)

Sheila - GASP and SWOON over your ALM pictures (especially the 2nd one)!!!

Kristine - Love your DD!!! An oldie rose, but yours looks fabulous!!

Tammy - oooo!!!! Your Mitsouko is divine inspiration!!!

Of the ones I currently grow:

Chandos Beauty

Chartreuse de Parme

Stainless Steel

Thanks, Carol, and I would pick your luscious Chandos Beauty for most beautiful of your roses. That's a lovely photo.

Thank you, Aaron. And I hope you find your Evelyn, and she's a good one.

Sheila, Annie Laurie is just beautiful. You've captured that well in your photos.

Tammy, Mitsouko is so gorgeous and unusual (love the subtle coloring), especially shown in the second photo. Of course, we agree on AL.

Kristine, I love them all, but especially the yummy Peach Swirl. Diane

Thanks, Diane!! That rose means a lot to me! I almost lost it over the GGDO. It struggled back to health thank goodness!!!