I got this rose, The Doctor, due to it's name. The blooms, there's nothing wrong with them, they're actually strikingly large and the pink color is strong and lovely. Just the flower form is a bit simple, perhaps boring, for my taste. I get no trouble from the plant health wise yet either. Planted 9/10 from a gallon from Roses Unlimited.

but the fragrance... it is SO LOVELY and STRONG! I cut a bloom and put it in a vase at my work and my whole desk area smells lovely. so soothing!

Jeri

1) Mary Magdalene - the bush is beautiful to make up for the boring beige flower. It likes my alkaline soil. The scent is mystical: better than frankincense, better than myrrh incense in the Catholic church. It's totally magical and cozy as it wafts into my window.

2) Bolero - this one has dark green leaves, goregous shape as a bush. It looks like a shiny "Mercedes" car! The scent is like an expensive perfume. It does well in alkaline clay soil.

The flowers, individually, are boring, white, single and not big. When it blooms en masse it is a great plant, visually, but it doens't do that but once a year. But it does continually throw off a spray or two, and the fragrance is intoxicating PURE strong clove -- unlike any other rose fragrance I have come across. I first encountered a bloom of it in a fragrance class at a rose show once, stuck my nose in it and bought the rose the next time I came across it, specifically for that fragrance.

It's about the only rose I grow because of sheer fragrance. A possible other one is Double Delight, but it's a nice looking rose too even though I mostly grow OGR and Austins.

I guess my addition to the list could be Sunsprite, I got it because it's touted as a 'fragrant yellow' and it certainly is - occasionally if the conditions are just right the scent will waft across my garden. But the blooms are a pretty average yellow color and if they last for a day you're lucky. So it's a rose I keep around for the fragrance, but the flowers don't have very much 'wow factor' other than that.

The Doctor is growing on me the longer I have it. I'm glad I ended up keeping it. It's growing a fair amount this year and has a lot of buds on it right now... and like you said, Jeri, it's lovely IN the garden. I think the blooms by themselves are a bit boring (I really like high petal count roses typically)... but it really is charming in the garden and I look forward to what it looks like when it gets a bit older.

Here's another more open shot of "The Doctor" bloom on the bush.