One of my favourite roses is Zephirine Drouhin, a Bourbon climbing rose. This is an old variety introduced in 1898. It grows to about 9 feet tall and I have it trained up a trellis on the rear wall of the garage. This is a reasonably sheltered but sunny spot and I have underplanted the rose with a Clematis. The flowers of Zephirine Drouhin are a beautiful deep pink and have a very rich fragrance. The Clematis planted with it is the large single flowered variety 'Niobe' which has dramatic dark red flowers providing a good contrast to the pink roses.
Zephirine Drouhin has thornless stems and is repeat flowering. It can be grown as a climber or kept pruned to be grown as a bush or a hedge. Removing the dead flower heads regularly ensures a succession of blooms from June onwards. My climber has already started to flower in the warm May weather. Very little pruning is required if grown as a climber: just take out any dead wood and remove withered shoot tips. As this rose has thornless stems it is ideal for growing over a rose arch where the wonderful scent can be fully appreciated. This is what I intend to do with my next Zephirine Drouhin.
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