Iford Manor was the venue for the launch of Rose of the Year 2023 and what a perfect setting it was. Relaxed and romantic, it seemed just the place that the new rose would be at home.
It’s the second year that the Rose of the Year has been unveiled at a garden rather than at RHS Hampton’s Rose Festival. A change originally brought about because of the pandemic, last year’s debut of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at Stockton Bury (you can read about it here) proved so successful, it was decided to continue.
It’s a long process choosing which rose will take the top slot and the 2023 star was decided upon back in 2019. Marilyn Stevens, from Roses UK, which supports rose breeders, explained that varieties are trialled for two years and judged on health, vigour, flower fragrance, and ease of care. Once the decision is named, plant material is made available to commercial growers so stocks can be built up ahead of the launch.
Surprisingly, there’s no check against what’s gone before with the result that the 2023 choice is similar in colour to the current Rose of the Year. Both have soft apricot-peach flowers although the shape and type are different.
The choice for 2023, ‘Peach Melba’, bred by Kordes Rosen, has cup-shaped flowers and is classed as a short climber – it will reach around 2m in height and 80cm in width, making it ideal for small gardens.
“It would even do well in a very large container,” said Marilyn.
The Garden at Iford Manor
After the launch, the small party of invited guests was free to wander around Iford Manor, a Grade 1 listed garden that is the former home of the Edwardian architect Harold Peto.
It had been many years since my last visit to this garden near Bradford on Avon, the outer reaches of the Cotswolds, and I interested to see how it had changed with first Troy Scott Smith as head gardener and now Steve Lannin, someone I first met when he was head gardener at Sudeley Castle.
Fittingly, given that it was created by an architect, it’s the structure of the garden that makes the biggest impression. Statues, benches and other pieces of ancient stonework, bought by Peto when they were not in fashion, form the framework upon which the planting hangs.
There’s a deliberately informal air to the garden, as Steve explained: “I don’t want it to be too smart.
“I want it to feel as though an old boy comes in with a mower once a week, puts in some nice stripes, pulls out the odd weed and the rest is just effortless.”
The roses are mainly climbers with old varieties favoured and many trained up stone columns to produce vertical bursts of colour.
Indeed, the combination of old stone and plants gives the impression of a garden where nature is slowly reclaiming the space, albeit in a beautiful way.
There is formality with clipped hedges and topiary but these just serve to emphasise the soft romance of the rest of the garden.
Its hillside setting means lots of steps, terraced levels and lovely views out over the Wiltshire countryside.
There’s a sense of Nature being held just at bay with plants softening the hard landscaping and glimpses of more natural areas just outside the confines of the garden proper.
Iford Manor is gently evolving, a project that owners William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett, whose family have owned Iford for more than 50 years, began with Troy and are continuing with Steven. They are planning to expand the garden, while the planting is being revamped. It will be interesting to watch the journey.
There is more information about Iford Manor on the website.
Enjoyed this? You can read about more of my garden visits here.
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This looks like a garden I would enjoy. Peach Melba seems to be a rather lovely rose and if I was more into rose growing (Cornwall is not kind to roses) and had more room, I would quite like it as long as it has a fragrance!
It has a really lovely scent and is suitable for a large container so maybe you could squeeze one in.