Holland Park is a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west London. It has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, partially due to the neighbourhood and partially due to a variety of landscape designs used within the park. The park is best known for Kyoto Garden and has 3 distinct parts: semi-wild woodland, garden areas, and the sports ground. But it’s true gemstone is its small rose garden.
Holland Park is about 22 hectares in area, where garden areas are covering relatively small part compared to the woodland bit. However, small does not mean neglectable as it adds so much to the park charm.
Garden areas consist of a giant garden chess set, two Japanese gardens – the Kyoto Garden (1991) and Fukushima Memorial Garden (2012), a fountain area, an old formal garden with various plants, and a rose garden.
The rose garden can be found next to the Orangery. You can get to it by walking past the children’s playground by the café and the Belvedere restaurant.
The Rose Garden’s 2010 renovation included a rose replanting that transformed this garden into the perfect place for weddings, meetings, or other private parties. With the Orangery becoming an ideal wedding venue with its elegant statues and large windows bringing roses in.
List of Holland park roses
The rose garden does not have any labels attached to the roses, which can be disappointing if you found a perfect rose for your garden. But don’t worry, park gardeners produced a poster with all rose marked correctly.
Now that we know names and locations of each rose, let’s have a closer look at Holland park roses.
Rose garden has 9 flower beads each featuring 2 rose varieties. With central bed being an exception that has 3 varieties of Floribunda Rosa Korresia all yellow just different sizes. Which was bred by Reimer Kordes in Germany, 1973 and has a spicy fragrance.
Rosa Korresia
Other names: Friesia, Sunsprite, KORresia
Shape: High-centered
Type: Floribunda
Colour: Glowing yellow
Petal Count: 25 – 30 petals
Fragrance: Spicy fragrance
Breeder: Reimer Kordes
Year: 1973
The central flower bed is surrounded by four slightly larger beds each starring Red Rose Remembrance combined with Pink Rose Warm Wishes or Orangy-Red Rosa Doris.
Rose Remembrance
Other names: HARxampton
Shape: Cupped
Type: Floribunda rose
Colour: Bright scarlet
Petal Count: 25 – 30 petals
Fragrance: Slightly Fragrant
Breeder: Harkness
Year: 1992
Rose Warm Wishes
Other names: Chantoli, Exotic, FRYxotic, Jolie Môme, Sunset Celebration ™
Shape: High-centered to cupped bloom form
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: Coral, peach shading
Petal Count: 35 to 40 petals
Fragrance: Strong, fruity
Breeder: Gareth Fryer
Year: 1993
Rose Remember Me
Other names: COCdestin
Shape: Pointed & ovoid
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: Deep copper blended with yellow
Petal Count: 30-35 petals
Fragrance: Light fraigrance
Breeder: Cocker
Year: 1984
Rosa Doris
Other names: Doris Tysterman
Shape: Double bloom
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: Bright tangerine orange
Petal Count: 17-25 petals
Fragrance: Mild fragrance
Breeder: William E. (“Bill”) Tysterman
Year: 1975
Large bed right next to Orangery had the most magnificent pink rose bushes, that have countless small roses that looked like stars. That looked especially gorgeous against Red Rosa Ingrid Bergman.
Rosa The Fairy (Pink)
Other names: Fairy Rose, Perle Rose
Shape: Double
Type: Polyantha
Colour: light pink, petals can fade under the sun
Petal Count: 25 petals
Fragrance: None
Breeder: Bentall
Year: 1932
Rosa Ingrid Bergman
Other names: POUlman
Colour: Dark red
Type: Hybrid Tea
Petal Count: 26 – 40 petals
Fragrance: –
Breeder: Poulsen
Year: 1984
The garden also showcases White Rose Silver Anniversary.
Rose Silver Anniversary
Other names: –
Shape: Double
Type: Hybrid tea
Colour: Creamy white
Petal Count: 26 – 40 petals
Fragrance: Medium Fragrance
Breeder: Poulari
Year: 1899
Another Rose stunner in the garden is Silver Jubilee with its perfect flowers of pink, shaded with apricot, peach and cream.
Rose Silver Jubilee
Other names: –
Shape: Double
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: Pink apricot
Petal Count: 17-25 petals
Fragrance: Medium
Breeder: Cocker
Year: 1978
Rose Just Joey
Elegant buds of coppery-orange veined with red. The opening petals are attractively waved. Free and continuous flowering. Open growth habit. Fragrant.
Other names: –
Shape: Shapely
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: Coppery-orange
Petal Count: 25-30 petals
Fragrance: Strong fruity
Breeder: Cant
Year: 1973
Rose Troika
Medium-sized blooms of coppery orange. A robust and healthy rose with glossy green foliage. Light, sweet fragrance.
Other names: POUmidor, Royal Dane
Shape: High-centered bloom form
Type: Hybrid Tea
Colour: deep coppery orange
Petal Count: 26-40 petals
Fragrance:
Breeder: Poulsen
Year: 1972
This rose garden may be small, but it is so charming that you would not mind. You should definitely visit if you are near by as this garden is a true breath of fresh air in the busy city.
