Rosa 'Ispahan'

An old rose that's a great performer

I picked up the Damask rose ‘Ispahan’ for about £2 at a Lidl, or The Range, or some bargain-basement shop which probably had no idea what treasure it was practically giving away. Because every year since then - at least 5 or 6 summers - this rose has been one of the best performers in my garden, sharing dozens of gorgeously-scented pink flowers reliably over about a month every June/July.

‘Ispahan’ is perfectly pink (great for Barbiecore), with double petals and a strong, sweet fragrance - it wafts towards you from across the garden or the top of the driveway, which isn’t surprising as she’s normally packed with clusters of flowers in various states of budding, blooming and decay. She needs regular deadheading to keep her from looking like some kind of floral Miss Havisham, her petals all browning and falling asunder.