The Kiftsgate Rose

Taking up half the space on one side in the Rose Border is Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate'. In 1938 my grandmother bought what she thought was Rosa moschata from the late E. A. Bunyard; during the war it thrived unhindered and it was not until Mr. Graham Thomas saw it in 1951 that it was named Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate'. We claim that it is the largest rose in England, and when it was last measured it was 80 feet x 90 feet x 50 feet high. It would indeed be much bigger if it was not severely cut back from the beech hedge and path. Our fear is that it will eventually pull down the large copper beech over which it is draped.

The Kiftsgate Rose

Miss Elizabeth Coxhead, in her 1975 RHS article 'Two Women's Garden', writes 'in spite of its obviously ominous habits visitors adore it and clamour for more rooted cuttings than Mrs. Binny can possibly supply. We want it for the garage they say gaily, and will not heed the warning that presently they may not be able to get at the car.

If ever Kiftsgate house and garden should fall into decay, the Kiftsgate rose will seize its chance, it will become the ramparts of a Sleeping Beauty palace, all by itself'. Despite this ominous description it is a remarkable sight in flower during mid-July, covered with panicles of white blooms each of which consists of 300 to 400 flower heads. The Dictionary of Roses states, 'It is superb, cascading down in great white showers, and no other rose can surpass it'.