I grow Darlow's Engima and love it. It seems it's almost always in bloom once it starts for the season, and everyone comments on the lovely "clove" scent. It's very densely foliated, which is another plus as far as I'm concerned; no "nekkid legs." It grows pretty fast and is easy to propagate if you want more. I hope this helps. :-)

My Darlow's died. Check out all the Albas and Rugosas. All are very fragrant. The rugosas will spread. I have Therese Bugnet out front of the shrub border.

My Darlows Enigma is five years old and is currently an arching shrub around ten feet high and around seven feet wide and growing. I am not that great at picking up the scent of roses but I can sure smell this one. The bees love it (almost act as if they are drunk while on it) and the birds eat the small hips in the winter time and love to hide in it in the summer time. It has had no disease problems for me (no mildew or rust...I don't generally have a problem with blackspot in my area). Love it!
~Melissa Mercer

My Darlows Enigma 2009
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I grow both! Darlow's has just fully leafed out. It's always my latest leafer, latest bloomer but the only one that blooms consistantly all summer. I love it for the tiny little roses and mine has a BIG rose scent.
Veilchenblau grows by the driveway and I"ve been pruning it torturously back every year the the fence. It's not large at all and trying to sucker because I cut it back so much. It is GORGEOUS in bloom and never has a single foliage issue all summer, except that it doesn't bloom again.
Like the others, my Darlow is very disease resistant but it is the only rose to get powdery mildew if we had a lot of moisture in summer, and that is the only time it gets any spray (of powdered milk and water). I think there's a photo of that and the Mozart rose on the driveway arch somewhere on this forum!

timetogrowthegarden,

That is just beautiful!

lavenderlass, I am glad you posted this topic. I planted Darlow's Enigma last year and everyone has mentioned things I didn't know about it - wonderful things. It is growing like crazy all of sudden, and looking at that photo above, I think it was the perfect choice to plant it where I did. It would easily cover my patio pergola...that I am still waiting to be finished (four years now?). If Enigma blooms all summer and smells like cloves, that would be a fantastic rose to grow up on the pergola. I love the tiny, delicate leaves.

Good to know that it propagates well, too. I will be doing just that!

Thanks everyone.
~Annie

timetogrowthegarden,

That is just beautiful!

lavenderlass, I am glad you posted this topic. I planted Darlow's Enigma last year and everyone has mentioned things I didn't know about it - wonderful things. It is growing like crazy all of sudden, and looking at that photo above, I think it was the perfect choice to plant it where I did. It would easily cover my patio pergola...that I am still waiting to be finished (four years now?). If Enigma blooms all summer and smells like cloves, that would be a fantastic rose to grow up on the pergola. I love the tiny, delicate leaves.

Good to know that it propagates well, too. I will be doing just that!

Thanks everyone.
~Annie

Well, blast this thing! It said "message rejected", so I tried it again...and now there are two!
Grrrr.

Annie- It's done that to me too! LOL

Thank you everyone for the great pictures and info on both of these roses. I ordered both and also got a few other roses. I had planned to use these two together, but when I was looking at Rogue Valley roses I found a picture of Veilchenblau with what looks like Darlow's Enigma growing with it. Just beautiful together! I think they're perfect for the area in front of the lilac hedge :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Veilchenblau with Darlow's Enigma

I grow Veilchenblau, and as it is in the "wild" part of my yard, doesn't get the care it deserves. Never fed, watered or pruned. I grow up an old pine tree, and it always puts out these arms of bloom, I can only imagine how would respond if I showed a little love once in a while. It has been described as the bluest rose ever. Of course, it is not blue, but a nice shade of purple. Since it is a once bloomer, I always forget about it until is shows up early summer.

I think I will take some cuttings in the next week or so...

Good to see this thread again! I ended up planting the Darlow's Enigma between two Italian plum trees. I put a Veilchenblau on either side of Darlow, so they could grow into the plum trees. Behind them are butterfly bushes and salvias, with peonies and coneflowers in front...and then I threw in some marigolds, cosmos, zinnias and alyssum.

It's a cute little oval bed and really looks nice by the fairy garden. I think the nieces believe the fairies actually live in the "tree" garden and come visit the fairy garden during the day :)

I'm still waiting for the guy to come give me an appraisal on building my pergola over the patio. (toe tapping impatiently...thump, thump, thump)

My Enigma is growing like crazy. I hope it doesn't get too big before the pergola gets built or gets trampled under foot while it is being built.

You may recall that I have Rosa, Veilchenblau on my wish list. When everyone was posting about theirs blooming last year I got hooked on obtaining one for my garden. I have three other spring-blooming-only roses and they are always worth the long wait each year to see them in bloom and smell their deliciousness. And they root from cuttings so easily.

Your "tree garden" sounds lovely. Please be sure to take photos and show us how they are doing. Can't wait to see them in bloom next year.

~Annie

I grow Veilchenblau and love it. Carefree, growing on a fence that separates our plot from the field next to it. This year it decided it wanted to grow onto an olive tree on the said field, so it just grew a branch there, LOL. Looked funny to see an olive tree with the rose peeking out. It's a once bloomer, as noted before, and the loveliest purplish tinge when in bloom.

I second the advice of albas and I would add gallicas. Queen of Denmark (alba) and Rosa Mundi (gallica) would look lovely in front of your lilac hedge. The gallicas sucker like crazy, at least in my climate, which can be a good thing.

Eduarda

I'm so glad this post came up again! I just made a post in the antique rose forums asking for a climbing/rambling rose that will get a good 15' or so tall and be tolerant of shady conditions and one of the suggestions was the Veil and I just loved it! I might order it. Are you guys finding that it grows nice and all, and that the canes are somewhat flexible?

:). Maybe this is a sign that I should get it now!