About the name
Name. The variety is named after Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932), the most influential British garden designer of the late XIX and early XX centuries. An artist and author of 15 books on gardens, she created more than 400 gardens in Britain, the USA and Europe. She was the partner of architect Edwin Lutyens — together they created the classic English 'cottage garden'.
Breeding. Bred by David C.H. Austin, Albrighton, UK, 1986, debuted at the Chelsea Flower Show 1986. Code AUSbord (AUSboard on the American market). Parentage: 'Wife of Bath' × 'Comte de Chambord' (Moreau-Robert 1860). Comte de Chambord is a XIX-century Portland rose, from which this variety inherited its legendary damask fragrance and repeat flowering. Wife of Bath is another Austin-bred rose with repeat flowering.
Significance. On 19 May 2025, at the 20th World Rose Convention in Fukuyama (Japan), Gertrude Jekyll was named the 'World's Favourite Rose' — the highest award in the rose world, given by the World Federation of Rose Societies only once every 3 years, based on a vote of 100+ national rose societies. Earlier winners of this award include Peace (Meilland), New Dawn, Iceberg, Pierre de Ronsard, Bonica and Knock Out — true legends of the XX–XXI centuries. The fragrance of Gertrude Jekyll is the benchmark for the 'damask' scent of Austin English Roses; this variety is used in perfumery as a model 'perfume rose'. One of the most durable Austin English Roses: to −34 °C, outstanding disease resistance, grows easily in many climates.