Sarah Van Fleet (Van Fleet, US, 1926) Rugosa hybrid r. rugosa x 'My Maryland' 8'

This is my favorite rose. She starts to leaf out extremely early in the spring, with beautiful, glossy, fragrant foliage. After an overwhelming debut, during which we can smell roses all the way down the driveway, she is always in bloom, with lovely silky pink, muddled blossoms stongly fragrant of old garden roses. Rather bare at the bottom, but makes an elegant and very hardy screen in a windy, exposed spot. 8' x 5' with no support. There's a white sport called 'Mary Manners' that I'd love to try.