Sally Holmes Rose

Sally Holmes is a great country garden shrub rose - she's quite tall, very healthy, and has a beautiful assortment of open pale creamy flowers and tight pointy soft-apricot buds. There are nice tinges of blushing pink in her autumn colour.

I've seen the rose Sally Holmes grown up a pillar, and also pinned against a trellis (in the Mona Vale Rose Gardens). She is tall enough to definitely need support. Yet there are shrubs of this beautiful rose growing in the Christchurch Botanic Rose Gardens which are just above knee-high. Poor things - they must have a brutal pruning programme! My Sally Holmes roses are given the freedom to reach for the sky, and get only a light pruning each winter.

Shrub Support

I've got two Sally Holmes roses growing in the middle of the Island Bed, supported by a large Choisya Ternata (or Mexican Orange Blossom). The rose flower-heads tower above this shrub just as it stops flowering - perfect timing. I also have a row of five which I've planted on the sunny side of the garage - all recycled gifts from a gardening friend.

And who is Sally Holmes? My rose book mentions that the rose breeder is called Holmes - Sally certainly has a beautiful rose named after her!