Rosa Kew Gardens (Ausfence)
Kew Gardens is unlike most roses in the catalogue. It produces masses of small, single flowers (just 4–8 petals each) held in large, domed clusters that are a bit reminiscent of a hydrangea. Soft apricot buds open to pure white with a hint of lemon behind the golden stamens, and the blooms appear almost continuously from early summer right through autumn.
The bush is upright and bushy, reaching about 1.5 m tall and wide, with very few thorns and healthy, mid-green foliage. It's extremely robust and rarely bothered by disease. The open-centred flowers are excellent for bees, butterflies and hoverflies, making this one of the best roses for a pollinator-friendly garden. Small red hips follow the flowers if you leave them, though removing spent heads will encourage more blooms.
Named in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Kew Gardens works well in a mixed border, as an informal hedge, in wilder garden areas, or wherever you want a naturalistic, airy rose that flowers for months with very little fuss. Winner of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
- Height: 1.25–1.75 m
- Width: 1.25–1.75 m
- Type: English Shrub Rose
- Colour: White (from apricot buds) with golden stamens
- Fragrance: Light
- Position: Full sun to part shade
- Flowering: Near-continuous, early summer to autumn
- Nearly thornless
- Attracts bees and pollinators
- Suitable for hedging
- Breeder: David Austin (UK), introduced 2009
- Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit
