The morning light filters through ancient brick walls, casting long shadows across the formal beds of Hampton Court Palace Rose Garden. Standing here for the tenth time in as many years, I find myself drawn not just to the blooms themselves, but to the quiet evolution of this remarkable space - how it has grown, changed, and deepened with each season.
This garden defies easy categorisation. Tucked within walls that once sheltered William III's vegetables, it has become something altogether more profound: a living anthology of rose breeding, where centuries of horticultural ambition unfold across fourteen carefully orchestrated beds.
The Architecture of Romance
The formal grid layout speaks to its utilitarian past. These are not the sweeping curves of a landscape garden, but the practical geometry of productivity repurposed for beauty. Grass paths wind between raised beds, bringing visitors close enough to catch the subtleties - the way 'Lady of Shalott' shifts from salmon to copper in afternoon light, or how 'Gertrude Jekyll' releases its old rose fragrance in waves.
Three stone figures punctuate the space: Spring (Adonis) and Summer (Flora) from 1869, joined by Francis Derwent Wood's 1906 statue of Abundance. Exiled from the Privy Garden in 1993, they have found their true home here, presiding over this celebration of seasonal renewal with appropriate dignity.
The David Austin Legacy
The garden's heart belongs to English roses - David Austin's brilliant synthesis of old garden rose charm with modern repeat flowering. Walking these paths over the years, I have watched 'Crown Princess Margareta' establish itself as a reliable performer, its tangerine blooms catching every morning's first light. 'Golden Celebration' lives up to its name, producing blooms so generously proportioned they seem almost architectural.
But it is the subtler varieties that reward patient observation. 'Tranquillity' offers exactly what its name suggests a quiet presence in soft white that never demands attention yet always deserves it. 'Queen of Sweden' provides delicate pink cups that age gracefully, never looking tired even in the heat of July.
The Historic Collection
The garden's most significant transformation came in 2016, when the Historic Roses Group donated twenty five old varieties to be planted along the south-facing wall. This addition transformed what was already impressive into something approaching comprehensive - a survey of rose breeding that spans centuries.
Here, 'Fantin-Latour' demonstrates why centifolia roses earned the name 'hundred-petaled' - its blooms so densely packed with petals they seem to challenge the structural limits of the flower form. 'Blanche Double de Coubert', a rugosa hybrid from 1892, proves that white roses need not be precious, producing papery blooms with the substance of silk and a fragrance that carries across the garden.
Unexpected Discoveries
Some of the garden's most compelling residents resist easy categorisation. The Persian rose 'Eye of the Tiger' stands as a testament to rose species' global reach - its simple flowers and distinctive foliage offering a counterpoint to the heavily bred garden varieties surrounding it. Similarly, finding traces of what appears to be Clivei Rose serves as a reminder that gardens are archaeological sites, where previous plantings sometimes resurface unexpectedly.
Seasonal Orchestration
The garden's designers understood that roses alone, however magnificent, cannot carry a space through twelve months. Late-flowering hydrangeas 'Limelight' and 'Incrediball' provide structure as rose blooms fade, their papery heads extending interest well into autumn. Box hedging edges some beds, offering the kind of evergreen backbone that prevents winter bleakness.
This complementary planting never competes with the roses but rather provides a stage for their performance. Annuals and perennials fill seasonal gaps, ensuring the garden never looks empty or waiting.
The Evolution Continues
Over ten years of visits, I have witnessed constant refinement. Varieties that struggled have been replaced; successful combinations have been extended. The garden managers understand that a rose garden is never finished it is always becoming.
'Peace', that most famous of hybrid teas, holds its place among newer introductions, a reminder that excellence transcends fashion. Meanwhile, newer Austin varieties like 'Olivia Rose Austin' prove that breeding continues to yield treasures worthy of this historic setting.
The Heat Trap
The south-facing wall creates a microclimate that shapes everything planted here. By midsummer, this becomes one of London's hottest garden spaces - a heat trap that might defeat lesser plants but seems to concentrate the essence of roses. Fragrance intensifies in the warmth; colors deepen rather than fade.
This intensity is part of the garden's character. It is not a space for cool contemplation but for sensory immersion - the kind of experience that lodges in memory and draws visitors back, season after season.
A Living Library
After a decade of observation, I have come to see Hampton Court's Rose Garden not merely as decoration but as education. Each bed tells part of rose breeding's story, from the ancient gallicas to Austin's modern innovations. The garden succeeds not through novelty but through careful curation - the kind of thoughtful plant selection that reveals new layers with each visit.
Standing here on a July morning, surrounded by the accumulated fragrance of centuries of breeding, I understand why roses have maintained their hold on human imagination. In this walled garden, where kitchen vegetables once grew to feed a palace, beauty now nourishes something deeper - our connection to the seasons, to history, and to the patient work of those who understand that the finest gardens, like the finest roses, improve with age.
The morning light shifts, and 'Jude the Obscure' catches fire in its corner bed. Another day begins in this most English of gardens, where every bloom carries forward the work of countless hands, and every season adds another layer to an already rich story.
A Gardener's Inventory
For those who share this passion for roses and wish to seek out particular varieties during their own pilgrimage to Hampton Court, I offer this detailed inventory - the fruit of a decade's careful observation and note-taking. Gardens evolve, varieties come and go, but this record captures the collection as I have found it across multiple seasons.
David Austin's English Roses
The backbone of the garden remains Austin's remarkable breeding achievement. These varieties have proven themselves reliable performers in this demanding microclimate:
- Rosa “Lady of Shallot” - (Ausnyson)
- Rosa “Geoff Hamilton” - (Ausham)
- Rosa “Tranquillity” - (Ausnoble)
- Rosa “Jude the Obscure” - (Ausjo)
- Rosa “Nye Bevan”- (Auspital)
- Rosa “Desdemona” - (Auskindling)
- Rosa “Princess Anne” - (AUSkitchen)
- Rosa “Gabriel Oak” - (Auscrowd)
- Rosa “Molineux” - (Ausmol)
- Rosa “Crown Princess Margareta” - (Auswinter)
- Rosa “Queen of Sweden” - (Austiger)
- Rosa “Strawberry Hill” - (Ausrimin)
- Rosa “Hyde Hall” - (Ausbasky)
- Rosa “Olivia Rose Austin” (Ausmixture)
- Rosa “James L. Austin” - (Auspike)
- Rosa “The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild” - (Austijus)
- Rosa “Golden Celebration” - (Ausgold)
- Rosa “Eustacia Vye” - (Ausegdon)
- Rosa “Darcey Bussell” - (Ausdecorum)
- Rosa “Harrow Carr” (Aushouse)
- Rosa “Mayflower” - (Austilly)
- Rosa “Sweet Juliet” - (Ausleap)
Beyond Austin: A Broader Canvas
The garden's diversity extends well beyond English roses, encompassing hybrid teas, floribundas, and species that add different textures and forms:
24.) Rosa “Rosemore”
25.) Rosa “La Villa Cotta”
26.) Rosa “Koresia”
27.) Rosa “Peace” also known as “Mme A Meilland”
28.) Rosa “Rosy Cushion” (Interall)
29.) Rosa “Blanche Double de Coubert”
30.) Rosa “Fentin-Latour”
31.) Rosa “Cornelia”
32.) Rosa “Rosaraie de L’Hay”
33.) Rosa “Gertrude Jekyll”
34.) Rosa “Liverpool Hope”
35.) Rosa “Nathalie Nypels”
36.) Rosa “Eye of the Tiger” - Persica Rose
37.) Clivei Rose - Faint sign
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The Historic Roses Group Legacy
In 2016, twenty-five varieties of old garden roses were gifted by the Historic Roses Group - a generous donation that transformed the garden's historical narrative. While garden evolution means not all may remain exactly as planted, this collection represented a significant commitment to preserving rose heritage:
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Climbing varieties on obelisks:
1. ’Phyllis Bide',
2. ’Blush Noisette',
3. ’Ghislaine de Féligonde'
Shrubs:
4. 'Alba Semi-plena'
5. 'Prosperity'
6. 'Buff Beauty'
7. 'Madame Isaac Pereire'
8. 'Vanity'
9. 'Felicia'
10. 'Penelope'
11. 'Celsiana'
12. 'Rosa Mundi'
13. 'Old Blush'
14. 'Baronne Prévost'
15. Capitaine John Ingram'
16. 'Tuscany Superb'
17. Rosax odorata 'Bengal Crimson'
18. 'Rose de Rescht'
19. 'Comte de Chambord'
20. 'Mutabilis'
21. 'Céline Forestier'
Wall Trained:
22. ’Mrs Herbert Stevens'
23. 'Mermaid'
24. 'Adelaide d'Orleans'
25. 'Felicité et Perpétue'
By 2025, this section had undergone its own evolution. The rose obelisks have given way to new arrangements, and Tessa Hayward's bark sculpture of a gardener now stands sentinel among the blooms - a fitting tribute to the countless hands that have shaped this space.
Gardens, like the roses they contain, are never truly finished. They grow, adapt, and surprise even their most devoted observers. This inventory captures one moment in Hampton Court's continuing story - a snapshot of abundance that will itself become history as the garden writes its next chapter.
Want to know more about the Hampton Court Palace Rose Garden and see a map? Check out my earlier post about this wonderful rose garden.
