Our Favourite Hybrid Musks series - Buff Beauty

In the first in our series on the Hybrid Musks that we grow in our warm climate garden, here is Buff Beauty.

Bred by Pemberton, in the UK and introduced in 1939, Peter Beales (Classic Roses) suggests that it may have been introduced 20 years earlier, pre-dating WW11.

Our original plant came with us from Sydney and was purchased from the Rumseys in Dural. The Rumseys were instrumental in re-introducing some of the lost old roses into Australia. Little did I know back then what a treasure trove we had nearby. By the time I came to their nursery, they were both very elderly, although still extremely knowledgeable and so helpful to a novice rose grower.

In our warm climate with cool winters, the face of Buff Beauty can change. In hot weather the blooms are much paler and look almost single. When the weather cools blooms still appear, and they are a full frill of lovely golden apricot petals. Certainly, my favourite face of Buff Beauty.

Like most of the Hybrid Musks, Buff Beauty has a lovely fragrance which according to Robert Calkin of David Austin Roses, smells of "musk, old rose, tea and violets."

And did you know that the musk fragrance in many of the Hybrid Musks, including Buff Beauty, comes not from the petals, but from the stamens? This mixes with the old rose fragrance of the petals to give a rich complex scent (Gardens Illustrated 2018, Issue 268).

Importantly for us, most of the Hybrid Musks grow well in our hinterland garden. They cope with the heat and long periods of no rain. And even though we have heavy, clay soils, they also cope with periods of heavy rain.

We now have a few plants of Buff Beauty in the gardens, as amongst its many virtues, it is also an easy rose to propagate from cuttings and grows well on its own roots.

So along with its ease of growing, lovely soft hued blooms and rich fragrance, the Buff Beauty roses in the gardens are a wonderful reminder of the dedication of rosarians and breeders from past generations who have contributed much to the world of heritage roses.

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