But....Tom Carruth has worked miracles in rejuvenating the plants that are there. Especially the old rose and teas section was moribund when he took over, and what he has accomplished (and in a short time) is amazing. The Shakespeare garden has more of the 'roses with companion plantings' look, and it's lovely.

P.S. Stephanie, that wisteria is so magnificent

OOOOH, that color on Francis Dubreuil!

These additional photos are lovely, Stephanie. I'm wondering whether this wisteria is the same one that I saw some decades ago. I believe wisteria plants can get quite old and it just might be. Lindee is an adorable little rose and Young Lycidas has splendid flowers, but even this well-maintained rose shows some of the wayward character of the bush. My Gruss an Aachen is a week or two behind the one there, but of course the climate there is milder. Their Pink Gruss an Aachen is really lovely.

I love the Huntington Gardens, glorious flowers and roses. I have sentimental ties to Huntington, I always enjoy strolling throughout the gardens. They have so many beautiful roses, old and modern, it's a treat to spend time there.

Those modern rose beds at the Huntington have ALWAYS been rows of roses. That's the garden design that exists. It's what has always been there. I doubt even Tom could change that.

The "old rose" beds are more the sort of thing you're looking for -- informal, and with Companion plants -- and, yeah, that's the style of thing I prefer myself.

And of course, y'all know that "Francis Dubreuil" is actually 'Barcelona' (HT, Kordes, 1932).

Yes. They have one labelled as Barcelona, and one labelled as Francis Dubreuil.

They have been pruned differently, which gives the plants a bit of a different character, but they're the same.

Peter Beales -- bless his charming heart (and he WAS a lovely man) was the person who made the error to begin with.

Stephanie, thank you for all these additional pictures. Monsieur Tillier and Mrs. Dudley Cross look fantastic. My Mme. Antoine Mari has much fuller flowers, but it could have been that these are older blooms. Pink Gruss an Aachen is my favorite. I imagine the abundant rainfall helped these roses to look their best.

I went to Huntington yesterday and was wowed by the two climbers, Perfumed Breeze with a wonderful wafting fragrance and Lavender Lassie.

Lavender Lassie

Perfumed Breeze is gorgeous, a rose I'd never heard of. Since it's Italian it may be more popular in Europe, but I think it deserves to be more widely known here, especially of its perfume lives up to its name..

Beautiful! Thank you, Stephanie. It's wonderful to see so many Chinas and other roses that I love but don't grow. The Huntington is looking fantastic this year! I adore Tom Carruth (from afar). I'm a groupie and thinking of starting a fan club. Heh, heh! :-) Carol

Wow ... so beautiful!!! Does anyone know where I can find old garden roses to see in gardens out this way ? I am in the Temecula area now . Honestly I have been so traumatized by the traffic in San Diego coming home that I would prefer to stay out this way ..but maybe I’ll take a chance . Maybe . :)

Lily, I know the traffic can be bad! I plan the timing of my optional activities around it, as do most people here. And driving on weekends after a week of commuting is often something people really avoid. That being said, with no traffic, Huntington is just a little more than an hour away from you so doable. But of course with traffic it could be 2 hours. The first Spring flush of the old garden roses is over now, but it sure was spectacular this year! I will be watching them closely to see when the next flush happens and post pictures. I suspect it won’t be all of them at once as it was in April though.

Lilyfinch, check out Quail Haven Farms which is near Vista. It's primarily a wedding venue, I believe, but apparently has beautiful gardens with many roses, including old ones.

Went to Huntington today to see what Antique Roses were blooming. Well there were some lovelies. Champney’s Pink Cluster Noisette. Reve d’Or is having another flush and wishing I could get close to a bloom; they are all so far away! Puerto Rico Tea is looking fabulous in full bloom and around 7 feet tall. Etoile de Lyon was so lovely today, two bushes shown.

Mme Joseph Schwartz Tea and Georgetown Noisette

Some fall blooms at Huntington last week. Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux with strong black pepper and oolong tea fragrance that day.

Bassoues Tea, Gilbert Nabonnand and Madame Berkeley.

Étoile de Lyon bloom. Also a picture of how quickly Mel’s Heritage is growing. It was a baby this Spring and now is up an across overhead wires. The concrete post furthest to the right sculpted into a tree trunk has MH at base and the two wires closest to viewer have MH growing all the way across!

The roses at The Huntington are magnificent, I love visiting there.

Climbing Lady Hillingdon. So orange today! A bee nestled in one bloom.

Stephanie, i truly enjoy your trips and taking pictures. Thank you for doing that. You are such a sweetheart to show a full shot of many roses that gives a whole pic of how the rose looks like. Thank You !!

Your 3rd pic counting upwards, i noticed rose trees btw the climbers . I wonder which roses Huntington picks. ? Which do you like ? I would like to get a few trees but i have no clue of which ones. Maybe, next spring you can show tree roses that would be amazing :)

Thanks again !!

Plumeria, those two tree roses are Huntington’s 100th (aka. Life of the Party). I was standing there today marveling at how much Mel’s Heritage grew in just 3 weeks! Then I noticed the 2 beautiful tree roses, in full bloom now, but I didn’t take pictures. They didn’t give Mel’s Heritage nearly enough room. The canes that go across the top are now going down the other side and will soon be touching the ground. I will definitely start a 2020 Huntington thread next January for the spring bloom season.

Beautiful photos. Huntington's 100th sounds like a wonderful rose from what I've read. I look forward to your 2020 posts on the Huntington Gardens.

A few final beauties to close out 2019 taken a few days ago.
White Koster polyantha and Pink Koster in background of bush shot. plus a single bloom of La Reine that is just starting to fade.

Jean d’Arc and Reve d’Or Noisettes. Plus Berries and Cream hanging gracefully nearby.

A beautiful poinsettia is festive this time of year and looking out over the lawn.

Old Blush

Pink Gruss en Achen and Monsieur Tillier with large 3.5” blooms and a fabulous fragrance! During the heat of summer my baby MT had 1.5” blooms so it was nice to see such large ones. The fragrance is always lovely on MT no matter what.

Well that’s it for 2019 blooms from the Antique Rose garden at Huntington. I will start a new post next year. Happy New Year everyone!