One that got away - Rosa 'Buff Beauty'



"One of the finest of the musk roses, bearing medium-sized, semi-double to double blooms. These are a lovely apricot-yellow colour with a strong ... fragrance" 

How is that for a quote! You'll find this on the David Austin website, describing the plant, Rosa 'Buff Beauty'. And, for those that don't know, David Austin is one of the most highly regarded rose breeders of our generation, so his words carry some weight!

The reason I'm writing about this particular beauty, is that it is one that got away from me (for a period of time ...). 

Let me explain.

I enjoyed the blooms and fragrance of this beauty for over 10 years. It was a rose I acquired after seeing a wall covered in them in the late 1990's - a stunning Summer sight and smell.

Since I moved house a couple of years ago, I've been on the lookout for it in local garden centres, with no luck. I did consider mail order, but decided against, as I know it will appear at some stage for me to buy, and when it does, the waiting will have made obtaining it all the sweeter.


‘Buff Beauty’ forms a well-balanced, arching shrub with smooth stems and handsome dark green foliage. It is reliably repeat flowering (i.e. it will produce a flush of flowers in early summer, mid summer, etc.) producing flowers held in small or large clusters. The flower buds have a yellow-peach'ish colour and these then open to a more to mellow peach colour. Absolutely lovely. As a shrub it grows to 5 ft. x 5 ft., or 8-10 ft. climber, and like most shrub roses should be pruned by thining in early spring.

Update from June 2014: Finally 'Buff Beauty' for sale - yay!


Happy gardening!

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