Jacqueline du Pré

Where to plant. Natural cottage gardens, by stone walls, as solitary specimens, in mixed borders with lavender and catmint. Thanks to its R. spinosissima genes it is good for seaside coasts and windy sites.

Climate. Down to −20 °C. In Ukraine, no protection in most regions; in the north, light protection in snowless winters.

Care. Minimal, like a dog rose: remove only thin or dead canes; excessive pruning reduces fruiting.

Name. The rose was created in memory of Jacqueline du Pré (1945–1987), a world-class British cellist and the wife of the conductor Daniel Barenboim. At 26 Jacqueline stopped performing because of multiple sclerosis; she died at 42. Harold Harkness named the variety in her memory, choosing a strong lemon-musk scent as a symbol of her 'purely musical' quality.

Breeding. Bred at the nursery of R. Harkness & Co. (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK) and introduced in 1988. Code HARwanna. Parentage: Radox Bouquet × Maigold; from its father Maigold (Kordes 1953) it inherited blood of Rosa spinosissima (the burnet rose), which explains its small prickles, arching habit, early flowering and high hardiness.

Significance. RHS Award of Garden Merit 1994, the Royal Horticultural Society's award for 'excellent garden qualities'. One of the most respected Harkness shrubs. It belongs to the rare Hybrid Spinosissima category in our catalogue: a classic that combines a cultivated variety with a wild rose root. It is often mistakenly sold as an 'English Rose' or a 'David Austin' rose; this is incorrect: the variety is a Harkness, not an Austin.