Heirloom Roses - A Class of Hybrid Musks ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Hybrid Musks are a unique class of roses developed by Reverend Joseph Pemberton of England in the early 1900s.   Old enough to fit into the category of old-fashioned or 'heirloom', Hybrid Musks repeat well with sweetly fragrant blooms from Spring through to Autumn.  

After his death, Pemberton’s assistant, Ann Bentall, along with her husband John, continued on the work of breeding Hybrid Musks.   How fortunate we are to enjoy the fruits of their labour, almost a century later.

We grow a number of the early Hybrid Musks developed by Pemberton and Bentall here AT MY ROSE GARDEN.  Here are a few favourites:

Autumn Delight, with semi-double blooms of pale yellow fading to white, has a soft musk-like perfume.   Autumn Delight was released in 1933 and bred by Ann Bentall.  We grow a group of these shrub roses as part of a larger Hybrid Musk hedge.  

Ballerina, another of the Hybrid Musks bred by Ann Bentall in 1937, was reputed to be a seedling found by her in her garden.  Exquisite clusters of single, pink blooms with a white centre are slightly fragrant and loved by bees.

Buff Beauty (accompanied by yellow buttons of the herb, Tansy) is a perennial favourite, with deliciously fragrant double blooms of soft apricot.  Bred and released by Bentall in 1939, it forms a substantial shrub that continuously blooms. 

Pax, one of the earliest Hybrid Musks bred by Pemberton in 1918, has lemon, double blooms fading to creamy white as well as a soft, musk-like fragrance.  We have included a group of these as part of the Hybrid Musk hedge. 

Nur Mahal, named by Pemberton (1923) for an Indian Empress reputed to have discovered attar of roses after observing an oil slick floating on the surface of water strewn with fragrant rose petals.   This is one of the more exotically beautiful early Hybrid Musks, with brilliantly crimson blooms and a spicy, musk perfume.  


The Hybrid Musks represent all that is delightful of Spring, their open blossoms sending honey and native bees into a frenzy ... so much so that we have to warn visitors to take care when sniffing the blossoms!

...     A class of roses worth collecting!