31-459: The Royal National Rose Society Gardens , also known as The Gardens of The Rose , were the gardens and headquarters of The Royal National Rose Society at Bone Hill, Chiswell Green , St Albans , Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom . The Royal National Rose Society was established in 1876 and the gardens were opened over 50 years ago by Mary, Princess Royal who was a Patron of the society at
62-544: A collection of 30,000 rose bushes and gained an international reputation. The rose society grew quickly to 100,000 members by the 1960s. In 1965, Queen Elizabeth issued a command to add the "Royal" pretext to the society's title, and the name was changed to the "Royal National Rose Society" (RNRS). After the death of Princess Mary, the Queen Mother became the RNRS patron and held the position until her death in 2002. The 1960s and
93-539: A much longer bloom season with the Hybrid Perpetuals. Where other British rose hybridizers worked primarily in summer, Bennett's system allowed him to begin cross-pollination in March. While developing his own roses, he introduced and sold roses acquired from other breeders. Emma Bennett, an avid hunter, died in 1875 from a horse-riding accident. The two surviving daughters, Maria and Mary, then 16 and 11, took over running
124-573: A £27 million build, the project was launched in March 2008 at an event at the Royal Society in London. In December 2015, it was closed. 51°43′38″N 0°22′19″W / 51.727182°N 0.371943°W / 51.727182; -0.371943 This Hertfordshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a garden in the United Kingdom
155-566: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Royal National Rose Society The Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) (1876–2017) was a specialist horticultural organization in the United Kingdom dedicated to the cultivation and appreciation of roses . Founded in 1876 as the "National Rose Society", it was the world's oldest plant society. It was a membership organisation, with members drawn from professional and amateur gardeners and horticultural businesses. Originally based in London ,
186-564: Is awarded. In acknowledgement of the Society's important work, Queen Alexandra established the first Royal Patronage in 1888. The society's membership grew steadily from 900 in 1888 to 16,000 in 1926. The annual journal sponsored by the society, The Rose Annual was first published in 1907, and was issued yearly until 1984. In 1925, Queen Mary was appointed Royal Patron of the society. Membership dropped to 11,500 during World War II , but increased to 15,000 by 1947. When Queen Mary died in 1953,
217-612: The Princess Mary became the society's Royal patron. The society's headquarters was moved from London to its new location at Bone Hill, Chiswell Green , near St Albans , Hertfordshire in 1959. The society created new rose gardens designed to accommodate the International Rose Trials at the eight acre property. The gardens were named the Royal National Rose Society Gardens . The rose gardens grew to
248-515: The 1970s were the rose society's best years. In 1968, an International Rose Conference was held by the RNRS in London. A decision was made at the conference to create a coalition of national rose societies. From that meeting, the World Federation of Rose Societies was established. In 1976 The Queen Mother attended the society's centenary reception at St. James's Palace . To celebrate the occasion, ten thousand rose boutonnières were distributed to
279-497: The 21st century; an entirely new class of roses; and with creating rose cultivars that served as critical genetic material for future hybridizers. 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam', in particular, is in the parentage of tens of thousands of modern hybrid tea roses, starting with Joseph Pernet-Ducher 's 'Mme. Caroline Testout'. 'Mrs. John Laing', a pink Hybrid Perpetual, was described by the British horticulturalist Graham Stuart Thomas as "one of
310-492: The National Rose Society introduced the gold medal, awarded to the most outstanding new rose introduced at one of its rose shows. Bennett won the first and second Gold Medals awarded, with 'Her Majesty' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1883 and 'Mrs. John Laing' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1885. While few of Bennett's roses are still in cultivation, he is credited with developing an entirely new system of rose hybridisation, still used in
341-743: The RNRS rose gardens were known as the Gardens of the Rose . Beginning in the 1990s, the public's interest in roses declined and membership numbers gradually fell, with fewer people attending the Gardens of the Rose. The society's Trustees made the decision to close the gardens and develop a new garden in 2005. The old garden was dismantled and a renovated garden was opened to the public in June, 2007. The new design included 20,000 rose cultivars with new companion plantings. The RNRS continued to struggle financially and finally dissolved
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#1733086189770372-699: The Tea Rose. He is considered the father of the Hybrid Tea class. Important cultivars are the Hybrid Tea 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam' (1882), a parent of 'Mme. Caroline Testout' and the Hybrid Perpetuals 'Captain Hayward' (1893) and 'Mrs. John Laing' (1887). Henry Bennett was born in Codford , Wiltshire, to farmer John Bennett and his wife, Caroline Bennett. Henry was a cattle and wheat farmer at Manor Farm, Stapleford, Wiltshire in
403-501: The Tea Rose. He was the first to publish and guarantee the parentage of his roses. He described these roses as having better repeat bloom, higher petal count, and being 'altogether different in type' compared to other roses. None of these roses are still in commerce, however. One result of Bennett's Pedigree Roses introduction was a shakeup of the rose hybridising world. Other hybridizers rushed to copy Bennett's system, with controlled pollination and heated glass houses. In 1880, Bennett
434-413: The gardens were closed permanently. The Royal National Rose Society, originally named "The National Rose Society", was the inspiration of Rev Dr Reynolds Hole , an Anglican priest, author and horticulturalist. In 1858, he founded the first National Rose Show at St James's Hall on Piccadilly , London . The show was considered a great success with 2000 attendees. By 1860, the popular rose exhibition
465-537: The general public in Trafalgar Square ; The Post Office in Britain issued a new commemorative set of rose stamps. In 1978, the traditional Westminster rose exhibition was moved to St Albans, where it was refashioned into a different, updated rose show. Along with the rose exhibition, the two-day festival included live musical performances, craft fairs and trade stands. The show attracted 25,000 attendees and afterwards,
496-594: The household. Bennett moved operations in 1880 from Stapleford to Shepperton in Middlesex. From then on, he was no longer a farmer, but a rose hybridizer who listed his occupation as florist. He travelled to the United States in 1888 to study rose growing there. He introduced some of his roses in that country before introducing them in the UK. Bennett died from cirrhosis of the liver in 1890. His youngest son Edmund introduced
527-487: The mid-1800s. He married Emma Rebbeck in July 1852, and they had eight children. Bennett decided that the future was not in cattle and wheat, but a new source of income was going to be necessary, and that would be roses. In 1865, he bought his first roses and planted them on the farm, to propagate for sale. His knowledge of cattle breeding suggested to him that he might be able to make great advances in rose cultivation by applying
558-450: The new rose cultivars introduced at rose exhibitions, inspired the creation of the society's Gold Medal Award in 1883. Rose breeder and former wheat farmer, Henry Bennett , won the first and second Gold Medals awarded, with Rosa 'Her Majesty' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1883 and Rosa 'Mrs. John Laing' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1885. In later years, an important role of the society was to supervise trials of new rose varieties that were submitted to
589-702: The organization in May, 2017. The gardens were permanently closed. Henry Bennett (rose hybridizer) Henry Bennett (bapt. 3 August 1823 – 12 August 1890) was an English pioneer in the systematic, deliberate hybridisation of roses . Bennett, a tenant farmer from Stapleford in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire , applied the systematic breeding used in raising cattle to roses, and emphasised that his roses were raised scientifically from known parents. His hybrids , between Teas and Hybrid Perpetuals, were called Pedigree Hybrids of
620-406: The recognition of Hybrid Teas as a separate class at 1890, and credits the nursery Paul & Son with the first commercial offering of a Hybrid Tea in 1873, with 'Cheshunt Hybrid'. The National Rose Society in UK recognised the new class of Hybrid Tea in 1893. Of course, 'La France', introduced in 1872 by Jean-Baptiste André (fils) Guillot, is now generally considered to be the first Hybrid Tea, but
651-403: The rose 'Captain Hayward' posthumously, in 1893. Until the 19th century, rose hybridisation was a spontaneous occurrence, mediated by pollinating insects such as bees, or self-pollination. Deliberate, controlled pollination of roses to create new varieties was first systematically practised by Empress Josephine 's horticulturalist, Andre Dupont, in the early 1800s. Still, controlled pollination
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#1733086189770682-403: The rose society moved its headquarters to Chiswell Green , near St Albans , Hertfordshire in 1959, where it created the Royal National Rose Society Gardens . In 1965, the society changed its name to the "Royal National Rose Society" (RNRS). At the height of its popularity, the RNRS had 100,000 members and its gardens contained 30,000 rose shrubs. The organisation was dissolved in May, 2017 and
713-452: The same principles to rose breeding – that of using known parents, selected for the qualities desired in the progeny. His first efforts were unsuccessful, so from 1870 to 1872 he visited successful rose hybridizers in France. In France, Bennett was surprised to find that the masters of rose hybridisation did not practice deliberate hybridisation through controlled pollination , but rather raised
744-416: The seeds resulting from natural pollination, which meant that while the seed parent might be known, the pollen parent never was. He also saw that the cool and damp English climate did not provide enough summer heat to ripen rose hips. On returning home he built a heated glass house , where he kept his parent rose plants in pots. This system allowed him to work nearly year-round with Tea roses, and gave him
775-416: The society's test gardens by rose breeders from around the world. A committee of twenty judges evaluated the rose cultivars periodically throughout the season from June to September over two or three successive years. The Gold Medal was generally awarded each year to two or three roses of exceptional quality. There were several years when no roses would meet the strict guidelines for the award and no gold medal
806-457: The society's yearly first publication, The Rosarian's Yearbook . The organisation initially opened an office in central London. Rose exhibitions were the primary focus of the society for its first twenty-five years. It also provided advice to its members with rose related questions, such as finding a specific rose or identifying roses, as well as providing general and specific rose care advice. The public's growing interest in roses, specifically
837-420: The time. The Society's stated aim was to create a "living dictionary" of roses. The gardens contain 2,500 different rose cultivars among 15,000 rose bushes. The Royal National Rose Society went into administration on 15 May 2017. The Gardens are permanently closed. The Royal Entomological Society refurbished the mansion at Bone Hill to become the society's headquarters known as Butterfly World . Following
868-506: Was being held at the Crystal Palace , with 16,000 rose enthusiasts in attendance. Because of the growing interest in roses by the general public, a meeting of leading rose enthusiasts, including Rev Hole, was held on 9 December 1876, and the "National Rose Society" was created. Rev Hole was elected the society's first President. The Rev Henry Honeywood D’Ombrain was appointed the society's first Secretary. From 1877 to 1902, D'Ombrain edited
899-483: Was invited to a meeting of the Horticultural Society of Lyon , then a center of rose breeding and production. It was decided at this meeting that Bennett had created an entirely new class of roses, and that it would be called Hybrid Tea. Other rose growers followed suit, in the UK first by Paul & Son nursery in 1883, then Hugh Dickson of Belfast in 1884. The eminent British rosarian Joseph Pemberton dates
930-455: Was not recognised as a new kind of rose until after the new class was designated at this meeting in Lyon; it was classed as a Hybrid Perpetual when it was introduced. 'La France' also suffers from sterility, making it difficult to use in hybridising, while 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam' is very fertile. The online database HelpMeFind Roses lists over 14,000 descendants for 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam'. In 1883,
961-678: Was practised by very few people before Bennett began hybridising roses, inspired by his knowledge of cattle breeding. The laws of genetic inheritance were largely unknown at the time, as Gregor Mendel 's pioneering work in genetics were not widely disseminated until the turn of the 20th century. The National Rose Society was formed in 1876, largely a group of professional nurserymen and wealthy clergymen. New rose varieties were often introduced at its rose shows . Bennett showed some of his acquisitions in 1878, but did not show or introduce his own roses until 1879. At that time he introduced 10 roses, with named parentage, which he called Pedigree Hybrids of