If you could plant only one bush by your bench I highly recommend Evelyn, a David Austin rose. If you need more bushes, plant several Evelyn's. Just type in the word Evelyn in a rose search in this forum and you will learn just about all there is to know about this exquisite, remarkable rose!

I wouldn't ditch 'Felicia', but it would go well with 'MIP'... I don't see the colours as clashing, although this one takes a few years to get into repeating mode, so I believe..

Lots of others to choose from, more modern and old, maybe peruse the David Austin rose list and see what you fancy from that...? although you won't find 'Evelyn' on it..

I grow 'Felicia' with 'Reine des Violettes'... along with masses of other things... happy choosing..

Hi Bryoni. If you want one that is a similar pink to Felicia and very fragrant, what about Nahema instead of MIP?

I actually like light pinks and dark together though, so if you really want MIP and Felicia... go for it! Please post a pic when you're done. I bet it will be gorgeous. :-)

I love both MIP and Felicia. But for your purpose I think Felicia is the better rose. It is less thorny and smells great even in the evening. The flowers also arch down and if trained well will be at nose level. I also agree Evelyn is a wonderfully smelling rose but again I think Felicia will still be my choice given your situation. The bush shape of Evelyn is less graceful than Felicia. Evelyn makes a wonderful long lasting cut flower. Both smell best when left on the bush, unlike some HTs that smell best as cut flowers.

I agree Felicia is wonderful!

Thanks everyone! I had a look at the space again yesterday and it is larger than I thought, so I think I will go for a Rose de Rescht' to one side of the bench, MIP behind and Felicia on the other side. I will think about Nahema as an alternative to MIP as well.

Part of me wondered whether I ought to go for more
diease-resistant roses like Austins but I like older roses, I hope I
won't regret this!

All this sounds very fancy but the wall and surrounding area are a mess so it won't look that special!

Evelyn looks very pretty, it seems to be unavailable in the UK, though.

I think DA may have discontinued Evelyn here (I'm in the uk too) but you can get it from various other suppliers quite easily, as DA here is constrained by fair trading laws from the more restrictive selling practices they use in the USA.

Felicia is a great rose, took mine a few years to take off, but it's really hitting its stride this spring. MIP has been a dog for me - it rusts, mildews and spots, both cercospora and blackspot. However, it can be spectacular in gardens that it likes. Mine just isn't one of them!

I have to ask, are you planning to spray fungicide? That changes what advice I'd give.

Regarding disease resistance, despite their PR, DA was quite late to the trend of including no spray health as a significant aim of breeding (unlike Kordes as an example) so actually quite a lot of Austins, particularly the older ones, can be extremely susceptible to disease without a regular spray program.

Some of the antiques can beat any modern rose for health and rebloom, and some can't - and all of them will perfom in some gardens and not in others. I have actually turfed out a lot of my DA's as experience has shown despite being in the UK, other classes of roses do better for me.

What about Reve d'Or? https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5197&tab=1

I would caution you on Rose de Rescht. While it is a beautiful bloom and wonderful fragrance it is terribly susceptible to diseases and once it blooms in the spring the plant looks AWFUL the rest of the year. It's called Damask Crud and Rose de Rescht is the poster girl for it!

My Rose de Recht here is healthy and always looks good. Every rose is different in every climate/yard. It seems almost impossible to know until you try three plants. I really appreciate the honest reports, like yours Seil, for your yard so we can see some patterns. On the other hand, with the weather variations from year to year, I probably won't be able to figure out my own yard. I think we are a month behind last year and have cold and rain continuing.

I really like the look of 'Marie Pavie', thank you, and I think it could fit in well with MIP and Rose de Rescht. It seems to have a nice, romantic look which would work well with the crumbling stone wall. The ideas for other fragrances are really interesting, too.

It looks like the jury is out on Rose de Rescht, though :) Does anyone care to cast the deciding ballot as ideally I would have to order it tomorrow?

'Reve d'Or' also looks very beautiful. I think I could find a spot for it somewhere.

Regarding spraying, I tend not to use anything except diluted washing up liquid. There is a kind of small bird that likes to sit on the stems of my roses (I don't know the breed) and I wouldn't want to harm them. They like to eat the insects from the roses, or I am guessing that is what they are doing! I know that sometimes it's necessary to save a plant etc. or in certain situations. Perhaps this is why my roses don't look so great :-)

One thing to keep in mind when searching for highly-scented roses is that they are frequently judged as such based on smelling a bloom up-close. I'd inagine that for your purpose, a fragrance which gently wafts around the sitting area would be more of what you're after --and that's why I mentioned 'Marie Pavie', because while the scent isn't strong up-close, sitting next to it while in bloom will allow you to smell it all around you. It will likely have more flushes of bloom than 'Mme Isaac Pereire' and 'Rose de Rescht'.

Generally, if you want that "wafting perfume effect", you'll get more of it from fragrant Hybrid Musks like 'Felicia' than from Bourbons, which tend to keep their fragrances up-close.

:-)

~Christopher

I just planted Monsieur Paul Lédé today for the fragrance, you might like it too.

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.4682.2

......and Papi Delbard, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Cl. Blossomtime, Sombreuil........Gardenia, Star of Repubic.

I'm in London (Kew) and while I don't grow it myself, the Rose de Rescht plants in Kew Gardens look nice and healthy all summer long (or at least did last summer). It's on my list of roses I'd plant if I ever moved somewhere with more space.
I think there's a good chance that it would do well for you if it's healthy here but rose health can be a little unpredictable.

Another option would be to just plant more of Felicia. It's an excellent rose and you already know how it'll perform and there's no risk of colours clashing.

Lucky you! It sounds like a wonderful setting. I know absolutely nothing about the roses that will thrive in your location but I do have a suggestion or two. First, how close to the bench will these roses grow? Is the bench purely decorative or will it be used as a spot to relax and enjoy your garden? If the roses will be very close to someone sitting on the bench, consider how user friendly they'll be to your bench sitters. Most roses have thorns but some are especially thorny and vicious. Rose de Rescht is one of these, I'm afraid. I own this one and am about to do battle with it yet again as I have to move it.

I believe that Felicia and Marie Pavie are near perfect choices if they will grow for you. They should combine well with wildflowers, perennials and herbs to make a wonderful little oasis. Why not consider another Pemberton hybrid musk? If one worked well, it's likely that another will, too, and their colors blend well. Or what about a tea noisette like Madame Berard? This is one that Marlorena recommended but I have no idea how it would grow in your location. The color is a changeable pastel that blends well with many roses and it is very fragrant, although the scent may not waft like a hybrid musk. I love tea noisettes and if you can grow this one, I'm envious. Whatever you decide, I hope you'll post pictures when it's complete.

You can grow a rambler with a large flowered climber, double delight can give you tons of blooms , and stronger fragrance .......hope no one would pass out with the strong fragrance.......:-)

Thanks again, everyone. I have been really exceptionally busy and didn't have time to write a reply but I had the information so I could choose which roses to buy. It's been a bit of a rush to find suppliers and so on.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get hold of Marie Pavie this season, but I am thinking of pre-ordering the bare root so I don't forget.

I had no idea about the different effects of fragrance that carries on the air, either, so thank you.

Paul Lédé is lovely and might suit another spot, but I am not sure if the colours would fit in with my border plan, although I think it's hard to tell from a photo. I will work with what I have now bought this season and look at how some of these suggestions might fit in later.

The roses don't have to be very close to the bench so the thorn aspect seems OK. I have Rose de Rescht now, partly because a very local nursery to me had a nice one for sale last week, so I went for it.

The roses I have are potted and I have been told to grow them on for a few weeks, which gives me more time to prepare the ground and clear weeds etc. Once again, I must emphasize that the state of the area is terrible right now, very weedy and messy. As proper gardeners you would probably be horrified! So it's not all as fancy as it sounds :)

The Antique Rose Emporium and High Country Roses both have Marie Pavie in stock. I just received two more Marie Pavie from ARE and they are bigger than the two year old plants I grew from cuttings (I wanted enough plants to surround my outdoor dining area, but made that decision after I had given away all my "extra" plants and now I'm too impatient). BTW you may want to see other threads in GardenWeb on Marie Pavie, which mention that there are different clones out there. The one I have is from Roses Unlimited, which some have said is the fuller version, but I haven't personally had others to compare until now. As you can see, I love Marie Pavie. I planted one cutting by the entrance path at my mother's house in California, and it wafts down the entrance walkway continuously throughout the spring, summer, fall and even into their mild winter. If you've never smelled it before, I suggest that you sniff before you buy to make sure it is what you want. The fragrance is not sweet, but musky.

Thanks, I am in the UK so I don't think I can order from there. It's not available in the UK, I could possibly order from France or Germany, though.

Update: I have now sourced a 'Marie Pavie' from a local nursery. Does anyone know which out of Marie Pavie and Felicia is the more fragrant? It will influence where I plant them. Thanks.

I would consider Felicia to be the more fragrant of the two but different people perceive fragrance differently so it might not be the same for you.