The Pilgrim
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Souvenir De La Malmaison
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Madame Hardy
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Not the best behaved but beautiful are they!

Impossible choice, so I'll go for three lesser known beauties:

Penny Lane
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The rose we call 'Threave', but which is probably the old HP 'Sir Joseph Paxton'.
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and the surprisingly excellent 'William Morris'
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Best wishes
Jon

Gosh, Jon, how do you keep managing to outdo yourself? Those are gorgeous roses that I have never heard of. I'm guessing you're a grad of the Monet School of Photography - with honors!

Sherry

My! That photo of William Morris looks So Romantic!

I have seen photos of Constance Spry, and I personally think Constance Spry is quite beautiful. It's a shame that it doesn't repeat.

My most beautiful poofy rose is Sonia Rykiel. And what perfume!

Prettiest HT is Chicago Peace. I love the blending of colors on that rose

The prettiest bud is from pink parfait.

Some of you are fantastic photographers! Thanks for sharing.

jon, that picture of 'william morris' is sooooo dreamy! jerijen, i love 'Mme. Plantier' too.

my list would be:
'armide'
'mme. plantier'
'william morris'

gnabonnand - your namesake rose is SO lovely! Coolly elegant, yet with great innocence.

luanne - Chateau de Clos Vougeot!!! I'm staggered by that color!

jon in wessex - "Threave" is wonderful. That color is usually not my favorite rose color, but obviously this is the exception that proves the rule! Wonderful also is the way the companion plantings complete the experience.

Who can POSSIBLY choose among all these gorgeous blooms? This thread has been a treat!

Can I just say all the recommendations and photo's have been sensational! By the way Jon in Wessex, I think David Austin would want to feature your photographs in his catalog because they are so captivating. Thank you everyone for amazing shots of these old-garden, antique and David Austin roses.

I have written down all the choices mentioned and am researching which ones to order for this spring. IT IS AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES to choose from. What beauty lies ahead of us this spring to add to the garden. This makes life so much more breathtaking to me, that I have been given so many great ideas from all of you that we're kind enough to share all your choices for beautiful roses. May all your gardens be blessed with so much loveliness this spring.

Chance

I'm stuck on the third but absolutely go crazy when Leda and La Belle Sultane bloom. The third might be a tea--love Mme Berard and once mine blooms that might be the third but I am firm on the others.
Sonbie

Jon,

So far 'William Morris' has been good for me, in my garden where Austin roses don't tend to be overly happy. I'm keeping an eye on it. Lovely pictures!

Melissa

1. a bush of white 'Rose of York' in full bloom.
2. a bush of white double 'Lady Banks" in bloom.
3. any and every Old Garden Tea rose. White Maman Cochet has a offered me a bloom this week and so I will honor her by listing her name.
Jon, your photos make me want to book a flight to England, a.s.a.p.. I've never been to Montisfont, and wish to see it, perhaps on my to Lourdes.

Love to all,
Luxrosa

Peace
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Moonstone
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Eglantyne
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Okay, I am teasing you. The title did not exactly say OGR's.

For OGR's, it would be Sombrieul, A Shropshire Lad and Madame Isaac Perreire.

Sombreuil
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A Shropshire Lad
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Mdm Isaac Perreire
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I have Souvenir de la Malmaison right in front of my Adirondack chair and never grow tired of gazing and sniffing:

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A partially opened Tamora, with the tiny raspberry streaks in the peach petal is high on my list:

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I have to agree that Chicago Peace produces the most beautifully colored blooms I have yet to see. Even if it isn't an antique:

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I couldn't live without any of these roses.

Patrick

EVELYN (English) - Image by HoovB at Hortiplex

REINE DES VIOLETTES (Hybrid Perpetual) - Image by Christian at Hortiplex

SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON (Bourbon) - Image by ArchDuke at Hortiplex

THE PILGRIM (English) - Image by Yahyaqu at Hortiplex

Brilliant!

I found it interesting that Sherryocala posted paired photos of two of my favorites -- "Carnation" (found Bermuda rose) and 'Pink Gruss an Aachen'.

For quite a long period of time, 'Pink Gruss an Aachen' was misidentified as the illusive 'Irene Watts'; a few of us believe that "Carnation" may very well BE the illusive 'Irene Watts'.

a few of us believe that "Carnation" may very well BE the illusive 'Irene Watts'.

*** REALLY! I had not heard that! Very cool, I hope it turns out to be a match.

Jeri

LOL Then the next thing to ask is: "Now will the real 'Carnation' please stand up?"

Patrick,
Your comment about your roses reminds me of when I told a friend I'd die if I didn't get 'Maréchal Niel'. She replied, "You sure die easy."
Cheers,
Melissa

No -- "Carnation" would disappear, except perhaps as a synonym for 'Irene Watts.'
It is the Bermuda Study Name.

I really love study names, for they are often very colorful, and tell you a lot about the rose, or where it was found growing.

Jeri

Everyone knows I'm no expert, but IMHO 'Carnation' looks nothing like Irene Watts (at least not the painting on HMF which has yellow in the flowers) or Gruss an Aachen. 'Carnation' is very much a China, but GaA looks nothing like a China. 'Carnation' flowers look just like carnations at a certain stage of bloom. Plus they have a distinctive white edge on each petal. My photos aren't very good but I think they make my point.

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Don't mean to sound vociferous. It's been a long day, I guess. :))

Sherry

Beautiful pictures. That Wm Morris picture is especially beautiful. I looked it up..it's a seedling of Abraham Darby, but I'm not sure what the other parent is. I love the more lilac coloring.

I think my top three would be Madame Alfred Carriere, Tipsy Imperial Concubine, Anna de Diesbach or Yolande d'Aragon. All very fragrant also.

MAC
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Tipsy
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Anna de Diesbach

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Linda

What a good and difficult question! I wish I knew how to post pics.

Common Moss
Felicite Parmenter
Paul Ricault

Every spring when 'Variegata di Bologna' blooms...I swoon, because it is so lovely. I do the same thing, with 'Therese Bugnet,' and 'Alychemist'...since those roses don't repeat, I will pick three that do...
'Madam Alfred Carriere'
'Champney's Pink Cluster'
'Madame Alfred de Rougemont'

This is difficult.

Clementina Carbonieri
Perle d'Or
Georgetown Tea
Again, very difficult because I adore Jude the Obscure.

Carla

All of these photos of SDLM makes me miss mine big time! *sniff* I'll have to get in again next year...

Melva's comment about one of her favorites, Therese Bugnet, not reblooming again has me wondering why this rose reblooms for some and not for others. My TB last year (as a young plant in its second summer) rebloomed quite a few times and I seem to remember that it does for others on the forum and yet for some it apparently does not. Also, I've seen pictures of it where it definitely looks like a double rose and mine is only semidouble. Is there a possibility there is more than on TB in commerce? I wonder if that will ever get sorted out.

Love the photos everyone! There are so many gorgeous roses out there. I would have to say for an all around everything rose in June in my garden, it would be Fantin Latour. I can't pick a second place because the rest of mine all have great attributes that I love.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Fantin Latour

Chance What a toughie but here goes!

Brenton

1. Mme Gregoire Staechelin

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2. David Austin's Evelyn

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3. Mme Jules Gravereaux

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Here is my Therese Bugnet
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I always hate to get involved in this because I don't have favorites. My favorites change every day. But I must say there is nothing quite like Dame Edith Helen.
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And Orchid Masterpiece.
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And beautiful Madame Butterfly.
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mendocino rose, I have favorites ;-)! In fact I love your photos of Dame Edith Helen, absolutely outstanding rose and Orchid Masterpiece, very pretty flower form and color. Do these roses have fragrance? Can you tell us a little bit more about them?

The photo of Dame Edith Helen reminds me a of Yolande d'Aragon, which I just have gotten. Would you say these two roses are similar?

This Dame Edith is the climbing form. I am sorry to say that her beautiful blooms are very stingily given, but to me worth waiting for. The climber is extremely vigorous. It makes more canes than any rose I've ever grown. I have trained them over to encourage more blooms but then the laterals grow gigantically. The fragrance is lovely too. Dame Edith is not at all similar to Yolande.
My Orchid Masterpiece is also a climber, very vigorous and a much better bloomer than Dame Edith. When it is in full bloom it is just gobsmacking. I found it in a bag at a hardware store years ago. Vintage Gardens sells clones of mine now. It is fragrant too.

mendocino rose, thanks for your answers! Good to know that both roses are fragrant. I have put both roses on my wish list, but I will go for the regular Hybrid Tea form not for the climbing ones! Hopefully the shrubs are as vigorous as the climbers are for you.

You should know Pam that CLIMBING ORCHID MASTERPIECE has been moved to the top of my wish list for next year. I'm a sucker for lavender roses and this beauty looks like a whooper.

Patrick

Here is an image by Labrea of PAT AUSTIN. A lot of people of don't like Pat Austin because she fades from bright tangerine to this warm iridescent tone that reminds me of antique, beige pearls. Personally I'm in crazy-love with the transformation. The intense fruity fragrance is positively orgasmic AND she gracefully nods her head similar to a classic Tea Rose. Sigh...
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So many beautiful roses. But to me the standard, the Ideal, to which other roses are compared is still Madame Hardy. If I were to put a rose in a time or space capsule, she would be it. All others are echoes and personal taste.

WOW...so many beautiful roses!
Just 3?
Impossible but here are some of my favorite pinkies...

Constance Spry -
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Geoff Hamilton -
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Alba Felicitie Parmentier -
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Eden -
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Rugosa Polareis -
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(Hi Luanne! Miss you and the old group.)

I always wonder if I'm last one out of the hatch here as my roses are just starting except for Harison's Yellow, rosa xanthina and Theresa Bugnet. I never could get Theresa Bugnet to repeat either until I started giving her a shot of fertilizer after the main flush. Try that.
I have quite a few of the ones named here and they're beautiful. I think I'd still name Hallie's Rose for its size, ten-twelve feet and deep pink blooms. This year I'm getting excited by plain old rosa centifolia. I couldn't find it in the US so I got it from Hortico. I asked for ungrafted and they said probably not but they sent me what looked like a sucker. I was surprised by the lucsious, deep pink blooms and it is getting tall.
For a third choice-I don't know-I love them all. Leda, SDLM, Madame Hardy, Felcite Parmentier. I'm guessing for fragrance nothing can beat Apothecary rose.

I only have 9 roses all in their first year. Only 1 of them is truly antique in Zephirine Drouhin. I have to agree with Patrick though on Pat Austin.

As of right now, my top 3.....out of my 9 haha

Red Eden(Eric Tabarly)-
Romantica climber. Only in it's first year but growing well so far with no problems. Blooms are deep red, extremely strong cup form, 180+ petals, and the blooms last FOREVER. It even has a mildly sweet old rose scent.

Pat Austin-
My Pat Austin is growing like a WEED! It is almost 4ft tall now and throwing out canes above EVERY 5 leaf set and even broke out some new basal canes and is budding up like mad. The blooms are a gorgeous unique spectrum of orange, coral, apricot, and yellow. The best part is how the bloom opens up as a reflexed cup and it gives the appearance of an eye opening. Pat Austin nods for me and it appears to look at all the other plants in the garden. Somewhat strong...although not real strong tea fragrance.

William Shakespeare 2000-
Smaller and putting out freakish new growth like Pat Austin as well. Blooming machine. Some blooms can be massive, while others can be nearly the size of some minis. The initial color is INTENSELY vibrant and fades off to a darker burgundy. The best part being the fragrance. A strong and unique fragrance that can only be described and appreciated from first hand smelling of the blooms.

WOW! What beautiful pictures! Thanks everybody for sharing them.

I was caught up in the fun of this, thinking of what rose flower I liked best, when I had a thought - most of the responses and pictures here focus on the beauty of the individual blooms. This is understandable, but it is also how 20th century hybridizers thought, and unfortunately it resulted in the development of:

spindly upright ugly bushes; new roses with no fragrance whatever; & roses so disease prone that everybody had to spray poisons all over their gardens every 2 weeks!

So, I would prefer a different definition of "beauty" - roses that are beautiful not only in their individual blossoms, but as an overall bush. Banksia lutea, as it bursts into bloom all over town, suddenly appearing all over large trees, and dripping down from on high, would certainly be my favorite. All of the teas are graceful shrubs if you have enough room for them, and also have gorgeous flowers. MAC is beautiful in my garden because it has climbed up several old plum & fig trees, and I can see blossoms from my bedroom window as I speak, seemingly floating all over the top of our fruit tree forrest. This has been going on non-stop since March! Ditto Cl Peace, which is now producing blossoms all over the top of a huge pomegranite bush - its third bloom flush so far this year.

I have a dark red/purple many many petaled mystery rose that I found in our garden (from where it was growing inside of a Japanese quince bush, I would say it was planted at least in the 1930s) which I rooted & planted out by the street in the sun, right next to the sidewalk. It blooms for 10 months of the year, and is amazingly fragrant with that heady "old rose" fragrance. Our street is a busy street, as is the sidewalk. This rose is only about 4-5 feet tall, so the blossoms are very accessible to passer- byes who want to smell it. I enjoy watching people's reactions when I am near there weeding or whatever - it is truly a "beautiful" rose, as it startles people into a brief happiness!

Jackie

American Beauty climber

Eugene de Beauharnais

Camaïeux

Are you kidding?...

3?... just THREE?!...;^]

Well, I can give you 3 from each color group:
PINK
'Brother Cadfael'
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'Heritage'
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'Scarborough Fair'
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RED
'Quadra'
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I can't do this...

I could pick 10 for each color group.

I surrender.

Rob
BC:)

Currently:

Lafter
Heritage
Julia Child

Let's revive the OGR version, too!

My favorite OGRs are:

Clotilde Soupert

Souvenir de la Malmaison

Felicite Parmentier

I'm basic--the roses I love are white/blush and cabbagey :)

Shelia, you have Marechal Neil!?! Lovely! For me fragrance is very important so I only have one perfect rose—Marie Pavie. She is pretty special in the category of low thorn and super healthy foliage too! Her blooms are small, but mighty:-) There are so many lovely roses out there, but I have never smelled a fragrance even close to her intoxicating musk. It is transporting! Please LMK if anyone knows of another rose in her scent category, because I have never found one.

@Stephanie, 9b inland SoCal that's beautiful! I always overlooked Marie Pavie because the images at mail order nurseries always show it fully opened. So pretty! I think I have a new obsession :)

MN is wonderfully fragrant.