For the past 6 months the horticultural team at RHS Garden Rosemoor have been giving their Shrub Rose Garden an exciting refurbishment ahead of this year's Festival of Roses. The first major renovation of this garden since 2004 has seen new support structures installed and over 40 new rose varieties added to the central beds.
The original wooden supports succumbed to rot and have been replaced with metal structures designed by Garden Team Leader and rose specialist Sally Newbrook, in collaboration with local metalwork company Dolton Designs. The cylindrical shapes allow flexible rose stems to be easily trained around them without breaking and the more open structures will also enhance views through this less-formal planted garden.
Team Leader Sally and Horticulturist Emma McFarline selected new varieties to represent a wide range of modern and historical shrub, climbing and rambling roses to add to the garden. Many of these show good disease resistance, and an ability to cope with the changing climate as well as beautiful flowers with wonderful scent, and a good proportion of roses with single flowers with good hips to encourage biodiversity.
Sally Newbrook says: ‘It’s lovely to see this project coming to life after several years of planning and hard work through the winter. It’s given our much-loved shrub rose garden a new lease of life and visitor feedback has been really positive. The roses planted include old favourites as well as new varieties that we hope will excite and inspire people. With these changes we really wanted to highlight the resilience of roses in the face of climate change and make sure the garden is thriving for years to come.’
The refurbished Shrub Rose garden, one of two dedicated gardens at RHS Rosemoor in North Devon, is part of the largest collection in the Southwest and can viewed in its prime during the Festival of Roses from 13 June – 12 July 2026. A highlight of the festival includes a Rose Weekend (supported by Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management) where visitors can enjoy a themed craft fair, rose walks and talks and live music between Friday 26 – Sunday 28 June 2026.
Visitors to the gardens can even purchase a special RHS rose petal infused gin made using botanicals picked from the garden, created by West Country producers Still Sisters, from the Gift shop. The delicately citrus-touched gin with a soft juniper foundation is suited to sipping, light tonic pairing, or use in delicate cocktails – perfect for a summer tipple!