Plants in the Hortus
Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.
Rosa ‘Vorace’
Bourbon rose. Dark crimson-purple in colour, cupped, large and full in form, of moderate growth but rather uncertain in its flowering. [Paul (1863, 1888), Rivers (1857, 1863), FC p.61/1855].
Rosa ‘White Damask’
A number of old, white Damask roses are known. Catherine Gore lists several, including the ‘White Rose of Italy’, with semi-double flowers, of a beautiful white, fragrant; ‘Dame Blanche’, the flowers double, large, of a pure white when expanded, the buds as red as those of the hundred-leaved rose; ‘Parure des Vierges’, semi-double, middle-sized, white.
Rosa ‘White Fairy’
‘White Fairy’ is almost certainly a white form of the ‘Dwarf Pink China’, the ‘Fairy Rose’, possibly the variety pallida or alba and almost certainly synonymous with Paul’s variety alba or Blanc, in his group of Lawrenceana or Fairy Roses. [Paul (1848, 1863, 1888, 1903)].
Rosa ‘William Griffiths’
Hybrid perpetual. ‘William Griffiths’ has pale satin-like rose-coloured flowers, large and full, expanded in form and it is a robust grower. [Paul (1863, 1888), Henry Curtis p.31 vol.2/1853, FC p.229/1857].
Rosa ‘William Jesse’
Hybrid Perpetual. It has very large, globular, full, highly fragrant flowers, crimson red, suffused with violet on the back of the petals. Reported to make a good pillar rose. [Paul (1848, 1863, 1888), Rivers (1854), Henry Curtis p. 29 vol.2/1853].
Rosa ‘William Lobb’
A Damask Moss rose. A tall-growing rose with scented, purplish flowers which fade to a greyish-mauve, in summer only. To 3m. Introduced by Laffay in 1855. [Paul (1863, 1888, 1903), Amat].
Rosa ‘York and Lancaster’
A Damask rose. ‘York and Lancaster’ has large, full, loosely-globular, fragrant pink and white striped flowers on a vigorous bush.
Rosa alba L. var. bifera
Gore describes its flowers as middle-sized, double, flesh-coloured. George Don lists Rosa alba bifera in his General System of Gardening and Botany, in the section on Damask, Centifolia and Gallica roses, in a sub-section headed ‘Garden roses belonging to some of the species of the present section’, unfortunately no description is given. Rosa alba bifera was described by Gore as a Double Hybrid Rose of Damask origin, a categorisation consistent with Don.
Rosa alba L. var. rubicunda Roessig.
Alba or Gallica rose. ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is a vigorous, upright, arching shrub with cupped, fully double, fragrant, very pale pink flowers, to 7cm across, somewhat paler at the edge of the petals, in summer, with occasional autumn flowers. To 1.2m by 90cm. [Gore, Paul (1848, 1863, 1888)]. Willmot provides an illustration of Rosa alba L. var. rubicunda Roessig., which she describes as the ‘Maiden’s Blush’ of the English.
Rosa alba L. var. semiplena
Alba rose. Rosa alba semiplena is a vigorous, bushy rose with flat, semi-double, scented white flowers, to 8cm across, in summer. To 2.2m. [Thomas].
Rosa arvensis Willd. var. flore pleno
Rosa arvensis flore pleno is most likely a double, so-called Ayrshire form of the ‘Field Rose’, although from the information provided it is not possible to identify it further. ‘Branches four or five yards long when led over a trellis, and therefore well suited for covering arbours, smooth, but armed here and there with hooked prickles. Leaves generally consisting of five, sometimes only three, very rarely seven leaflets, which are ovate, acute, sharply serrate, the terminal one larger than the rest: petiole armed with a few curved prickles, otherwise smooth. Stipules semisagittate conjoined. Flowers in terminal corymbs. Peduncles covered with glandular hairs, with two or three lanceolate, entire, pellucid bractes at the base of each. Germen oval, smooth; segments of the calyx entire, awned, a little hairy. Petals white, obcordate. In these characters we cannot find any thing to distinguish this plant from Rosa arvensis; the extraordinary length of the branches being probably solely owing to culture. It has been known some years in our Nurseries, under the name of the Ayrshire Rose, but upon what grounds it has been so called is difficult to say, for upon the strictest enquiry, as we are informed by Sir Joseph Banks, no Rose of the kind could be heard of there or in any part of Scotland.’ [BM t.2054/1819]. The double field rose is probably very similar to Rosa arvensis ‘Splendens’, still available today. This is a vigorous climber with dark green leaves and purple-red buds opening to loosely-formed, cupped, double, myrrh-scented, pale creamy-pink flowers in summer.
Rosa banksiae R.Br. var. banksiae
Gore describes its flowers as extremely small, very double, white, scented with violets. Almost certainly synonymous with Paul’s White Banksian rose. [Gore, Paul (1848, 1863, 1888, 1903), Rivers (1854, 1857, 1863), BR f.397/1819, Amat].
Rosa banksiae R.Br. var. lutea
Rosa Banksiae lutea is a vigorous climber with long, smooth, thornless stems and small leaves composed of up to 7 leaflets, and numerous clusters of rosette-shaped double yellow flowers, to 2cm across, in spring and early summer. To 10m or more. [Paul (1848, 1863, 1888, 1903), Rivers (1854, 1857, 1863), Willmot, BR f.1105/1827].
Rosa banksiae R.Br. var. normalis
The single white form is now known as Rosa banksiae normalis and bears fragrant, single white flowers. [Paul (1848, 1863, 1888)].
Rosa bracteata ‘Lucida duplex’
Probably a variety or cultivar of Rosa bracteata Wendl. In The Gardeners’ Chronicle of 1841 Rosa ‘Lucida duplex’, seen at Woods and Son’s Nursery, Woodlands, Maresfield, is described as a Bracteata rose, with fine, large, double white flowers with glossy foliage. In 1851 ‘Lucida duplex’ was described as a Macartney rose, further strengthening this claim to identity. It was strongly recommended as a continuous bloomer. William Paul also describes a double form or hybrid of the Macartney Rose which he calls Rosa lucida duplex. The large full flowers are pure white with a rosy flush in the centre, and with glossy foliage, sounding much like the rose seen at Woods’ Nursery. A coloured plate is included in the 9th edition. [Paul (1848, {1888, 1903]. This sounds very much like Gore’s ‘Double Macartney Rose’, Rosa bracteata flore pleno, the flowers of which she describes as pinkish white.
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