It seems that everybody likes to smell roses. At our garden, most visitors spend very little time looking at the roses before they can be seen "sniffing" the blooms. They want every rose to smell good. While many roses don't smell as strong as Mister Lincoln or Double Delight, nearly all exude some fragrance. After nine years of studying fragrance and sniffing countless roses, it is our belief that an individual's sense of smell can be educated and cultivated into greater appreciation of fragrance in the garden. We hope this article will open the door for you. The more you smell a lot of different roses the more you come to realize the great variation in rose fragrance. Science laboratories can accurately identify specific fragrance "notes" (ingredients), but how well can our noses do it? It is fun to try, and the more you practice the better you get at distinguishing the ma¬jor fragrance "notes" and remembering them the next time around. Here are two tips on smelling roses that might help you get the most intense and complete scent possible. First, place your nose deep into the flower and inhale deeply two or three times in a row. This will ensure that all of the scent notes get to the back of your nasal cavity where it is most sensitive. Second, smell half-open blooms late in the morning after the air has warmed up. Research has shown that for most roses, the scent is most intense at the half -open stage when the flower is being warmed.

Mr Lincoln

After nine years of "sniffing" and studying, here are six different fragrant classes that are consistently distinguishable to us:

1. DAMASK - Often referred to in writings as "the classic old garden rose fragrance". Most of the old garden roses of Europe and the Middle East, especially the Damask roses, carry this scent to one degree or another. In the opinion of some, it is the classic floral scent, strong and heady. Many old varieties of Damask roses are still grown today and some are available in world com¬merce. Their characteristic fragrance has been passed on to many modern roses through rose breeding. Four well-known modern rose varieties that clearly display this classic scent are Mister Lincoln, Chrysler Imperial, Gertrude Jekyll, and The Mc Cartney Rose.

The Mc Cartney Rose

2. MYRRH — A sharp, distinctive scent similar to Biblical myrrh, a resinous substance from the bark of trees grown on the southern part of the Arabian peninsula. Until recently, this rare scent in roses existed mainly in the old Ayrshire rambling roses of Great Britain. It has been passed on to modern English roses via Belle Isis, an Ayrshire - related (Gallica hybrid) rose used by David Austin in his early rose breeding efforts. Austin's first release, Constance Spry (1961) had Belle Isis as the pollen parent and displays a very strong scent of myrrh. Subsequent hybridizing by Austin has led to the release of many more varieties in which the scent of myrrh dominates or is very significant. Four popular ones are Ambridge Rose, Tamora, Fair Bianca, and Belle Story.

Ambridge Rose

3. MUSK — One of the most subtle, yet distinctive scents in roses. It has been described as light and a bit peppery or spicy at first, followed by a sweet or spicy end note. The "sweet" might be like honey; the "spicy" like clove. To some it is a bit irritating. To others it is sensual. And many believe it carries farther in the rose garden than any other scent. It appears to have been handed down primarily from the species rose, R. moschata (sometimes called the "musk" rose), and to a much lesser extent from the old Gallica rose, Officinalis, This scent is unusual in that it borne in the stamens, not the petals. Thus it tends to be dominant on certain roses with relatively few petals. It is especially evident in roses of the Hybrid Musk class and the Noisette class, R. moschata being influential in the establishment of both. Some varieties where the musk scent is detectible or clearly dominant are Prosperity, Darlow's Enigma, Champney's Pink Cluster, Nastarana, and a wonderful new shrub rose, Lyda Rose.

Lyda Rose

4. TEA — Another subtle but distinctive scent in roses. This scent lacks a strong end note like musk. In¬stead the scent is even throughout the smell period, and for some it takes a lot of practice to get the scent fixed in memory. Once it be- comes fixed, however, it is easy to recall. One way to expedite the learning process is to alternately smell a weak smelling tea rose and a strong smelling tea rose, back and forth, several times in a row. Two of the weaker smelling teas are Marie van Houtte and Duchesse de Brabant (above). Three of the stronger ones are Marechal Niel, Gold Medal, (left) and Pat Austin (right). The name “tea” seems to have originated in connection with roses during the eighteenth century when certain repeat-blooming roses were shipped from China on boats laden with tea leaves bound for Europe. These roses when crossed with European roses eventually led to a whole class of roses called tea roses. Some writers have claimed that these roses exude a scent similar to fresh, crushed tea leaves.

Pat Austin

5. CHINA — Another distinctive scent derived from roses of Chinese origin, but different from the "tea" roses. To us, this scent can be much stronger than "tea" and is reminis¬cent of citrus and pepper, often with floral or other fruity overtones. Good examples of this scent are from Louis Philippe (above), Cramoisi Superieur, Archduke Charles, and Maggie (Eugene E. Marlitt), a BOURBON. Maggie has notes of both "China" and "Damask", making it a very appealing rose to many. Handling of China roses for just a few minutes, such as with pruning, leaves the strong scent of black pep¬per on the hands. Because of the fruity overtones, some might be inclined to put these roses in with the next group.

Maggie

6. FRUIT &/or SPICE — Certain fruit and spice notes are very common in roses. Sometimes they dominate to the extent that they help create a fragrance significantly different from the first four classes described above. Among the fruits, apple, peach, raspberry, cherry, and all types of citrus notes are fre¬quently cited. Among the spices, clove is clearly the most common, with cinnamon and mace occasionally cited. Some well-known rose varieties to experiment with are Fragrant Cloud, Abraham Darby, Angel Face, Blush Noisette, Dainty Bess, Souv. De St. Anne’s and Double Delight.

Double Delight

FINAL NOTE: Many floral notes besides "rose" express themselves in certain rose varieties, i.e., violet, sweet pea, geranium, nasturtium, carnation, clover, lilac, and lily-of-the valley. Notes of certain foliage (anise, parsley, fern and pine) or even seeds or roots (coriander and orris) also show up in certain roses. The mix seems end¬less, which may be part of the reason why the scent of roses is so fascinating. We hope this information will help to generate a greater interest for everyone.