Unless someone else here knows something that I don't, one thing that is generally lacking in modern hardy roses is scent. I don't know of any of the Explorers or Mordens that have a good smell.

The only way that I know of to get hardiness and smell is once-bloomers. Gallicas and Albas are more or less hardy for us and smell great. My Rosa gallica versicolor is knock-your-socks-off stinky and was green to the tips covered with burlap and leaves this winter. (mind you it was a mild winter, but it's still a good hardy rose) My Harison's Yellow also has a pleasant scent, it's not as powerful but it smells rosey-lemony almost like lemon dish soap combined with roses.

Some people won't consider once-bloomers but I believe they have their place. Perhaps if you interplant them with your Mordens, you will have something to look at all summer, and for a short time you will have the smell too. It should also be noted that the Gallica and Alba groups have very attractive foliage the rest of the summer.

Of course you could also interplant the non-smelly roses with other smelly perennials or annuals.

And if anyone knows of a good smelly hardy repeat bloomer, by all means correct me!!

I suspect living on the prairies I should have used the term reasonably hardy! I also am wanting a rose without the 'killer' canes.

Love my white Alba, so wonderfully charming that while it only blooms the once it is one I could not be without! Have three of the Theresa Bugnet, they have a delightful fragrance and refined canes but taller then I am wanting for the sitting area. Growing the lovely Prairie Dawn that also adds fragrance but while it only needs light pruning it also is too tall as well as it has the thorny canes. (of course the Liptons were certainly not thorn free!) Marie Bugnet is one I'll have to be checking into as it's about the right height I am wanting. While I would like a rose with similar growth as that of the Morden Blush but fragrant ... could be wishful thinking on my part ... but one can always hope! Like Nothspruce said, if anyone out there knows of a good smelly hardy repeat bloomer ... do let us know!

If you wanted a somewhat larger rose, I would say to check out Reine des Violettes. It's a taller shrub like Therese Bugnet, but it is thornless. I believe it can be pruned to a smaller shape. It's a wonderful purple colour and smells.

One thing that bothers me is that you were experiencing unacceptable dieback on S.T. Lipton (a hybrid rugosa)... as far as I know it should be nearly as hardy as any of the other roses we are talking about (except maybe the valiant Therese). I have heard a number of complaints about various Mordens not being cane hardy in zones 2&3.

I would like to know fragrance opinions on Carefree Beauty, Earth Song, Folksinger and Hawkeye Belle. These are all Bucks roses and may or may not be cane hardy for you. I have heard them described as fragrant but not by a reliable source... they might be what you're looking for... but I don't have personal experience.

A rose similar to Morden Blush is Lambert Closse. In fact I like it better. It does smell really nice in the early summer. But as with all of the hardier canadian roses, the scent seems to disapear when it gets hot out. If I remember correctly Alexander Mackenzie, JP Connel and John Davies had a nice scent as well. I'm glad to hear that some of the Buck roses are fragrant as I have quite a few of these on order.
Shelley

Northspruce, I did some googling on the Lipton rose and am so surprised to see it is supposed to be hardy to Alaska and six feet tall! If I would have had only one or two I would suspect mislabeling ... but eight!! And all eight certainly suffered winter kill in my garden right to the ground, as well as being 'bug magnets' Yet growing right beside the Liptons all the Morden Blush grow so well and problem free. They too require some pruning but it is so easily done. Henry Hudson is looking good! I am preparing a list of possibilities to be taking along when I head to the city this week, as I just don't know what varieties the nurseries will be offering. Hope anyone with fragrant roses that are doing well on the prairies will pass along the varieties that they think might be worth a try. Those Buck roses look lovely, would be great if they were hardy here! Will be going back for another look.

Gerry1,are your Morden Blushes problem free? I have 4 and they are B/S magnets. Adelaide Hoodless is another one that gets B/S quite bad. I pretty well have all of the Mordens and Explorers. I don't have Henry Hudson or any that have the wrinkled leaves though. I just don't care for that look although I just picked up a Topaz Jewel on Friday. Buck roses might do okay here. I purchased 3 last year, 2 Prairie Princess and 1 Prarie Star. They sailed though last winter for me. I had to prune my Prarie Star to 3" because the mice really liked this one. It was green this spring about 1' from the ground. I've never seen any of the Buck roses in any of the greenhouses in Saskatchewan. I've had to order mine.
Morden Belle is another rose similar to the Morden Blush except it is a darker pink. Blooms lots, but I don't remember any outstanding fragrance. Another pretty one about the same height is Morden Sunrise. I've said it before, it's the rose that I get the most compliments about.
Gerry1, where do you live in Saskatchewan?
Shelley

Well I have a couple of Buck roses, 'Folksinger' and 'Hawkeye Belle'. HB has a slight scent, which is disappointing, but it's beauty and longevity of blooms totally make up for that! If it were scented too, I'd have my yard full of them! Folksinger, on the other hand, has a wonderful fruity scent, but is struggling in my yard for some reason. It bloomed wonderfully it's first summer, but last summer only produced 5 or 6 flowers. Maybe I'll have to be a little more religious about fertilizing it and maybe that'll help it out.

As for hardy roses with scent, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Morden Sunrise has a nice soft fragrance. And JP Connell is also scented, but only at certain times of the day.

Laurie

Shelly, I live in the Regina area so most of my shrubs and roses are purchased at nurseries in the city. For the rest I am so fortunate to have a wonderful greenhouse just a few blacks away! I also search out greenhouses in the surrounding areas as well. I loved my neighbours Lambert Closse that she had growing two seasons back but hers did not winter. Knowing that can happen to the best of plants I am wondering how long you have been growing yours. I may have to find space for that one!

While I have to do spring clean up on the Blushes it is just a breeze to get them done. My rose growing friends were so impressed that a good number of Blushes have been purchased by a good number of fellow gardeners. I joke that I should be getting a commission! I had three Adelaide Hoodless in my country garden and one here and other then some light pruning they do really well. Yes both the Blushes and Adelaides are problem free in my garden and perform so well... touch wood! Yet growing near to the Adelaide is a David Thompson that I have been battling yellowing. I seem to have made progress with the yellowing last season. It blooms so heavily that I will try to keep it green and growing and it does winter well. Garden catalogues are great for inspiration but better is hearing the experiences of the gardeners doing the growing! Your roses sound lovely!
Gerry

I planted 2 Lambert Closse last year. They were babies in the spring and grew and grew. This spring they are one of my most aggressive bushes.(as is Morden Belle) If your friends died then possibly she didn't plant it deep enough. Or maybe she didn't water enough last year. I always plant mine with the Y 4"-6" deep, water them well weekly and fertilize once a month from May to August. I've been growing roses since 1990. I now have 70 and will have over 100 once I'm done planting this spring. I can say that I haven't lost a rose yet. Besides having a green thumb, I live in the Humboldt area which is a rich grain belt. (This means that I have very good soil to start with.)
Morden Sunrise does have a loveley scent. I have one blooming that I bought on Friday and I went outside to check. As does Cuthbert Grant and Winnipeg Parks. Off to plant my bareroot Jacques Cartier. This one is also supposed to have lovely scent.
Shelley

Gerry, I've had a Lambert Closse for about 6 years. For the first 4 years the poor thing was planted in a low spot in the yard and every spring would sit in water. Even though, this rose still came up and gave me a few blooms every year. Last summer, I finally took pity on this bush, who seemed to have a deep desire to live, and moved it into a new bed with good drainage and fertile soil. It really perked up and grew an extra 6 inches that summer. Now it's leafed out and growing gang-busters, so I can really vouch for this rose's hardiness and determination!

I just can't remember if I smelled the flower to see if it was scented or not. That's definitely on my to do list this year!lol

Laurie

Laurie, do you remember if your Hawkeye Belle is scented? It's soooo pretty!

Gillian, HB has a very slight scent, and only on the third sunday of the month it seems!lol Yeah, if it had a scent, I'd have a dozen of them around the yard! Sorry to hear that your Double Delight didn't make it. I haven't been able to find DD in any of the stores around here. Will keep searching though. I'm sure last year I saw dozens of them everywhere. I wonder if stores alternate what kinds of roses they get in each year?

Darts Dash an Fru Dagmar Hastrop are both very fragrant and will stay below 1m. They have about the same ammount of bloom as Morden Blush, always some flowers blooming. I have never had any winter kill even though they are fully exposed to the north and west winds.
Leo

Northspruce:
Where did you get your Reine des Violettes rose? Is it tall, wide? I have tried purple roses (can't remember names) and have had no luck with them.

Annie (alias Milllenia)

Annie, I don't personally have Reine des Violettes but I have seen it and it is lovely. Cedar Hollow Roses and Old Rose Nursery both have it. I might well order one next year.

It'll get about 5' high and not quite as wide. It's a big rose. Sometimes it blooms more pinky, sometimes very purple. I have also learned to avoid purple roses in general, Angel Face and Blue Girl were both early mistakes although they are fabulous in the right climate. Oh well.

Well I have a very large Rose, which I just trimmed for the first time in about 7 years, it isn't very wide but reached about 5 to 6 ft tall, it seems to be a tidy rose, rich burgundy, some people may see it as a deep purple, could very well be a Reine des Violettes, or cousin to it. Anyway haven't seen one like it anywhere, I will send a pic of it when it is in bloom and maybe someone can identify if for me. Has no fragrance though.

Also tried Angel Face and Blue Girl, just can't do it. Love the Blue Girl may try again, winters here seem to be getting warmer each year. You never know. Had a rose covered this year with those styro containers, covered this particular one because it was new, anyway when I uncovered it, it was still green from the year before with it's leaves still intact as if it never got a winter, all the rest were brown and dried up of course. So I have decided to cover up all my roses from now on. Maybe they will all be green when I reveal them to the spring air. Sure was a treat to see.

Annie

I bought my Riene at Kmart 2 years ago (of all places!). !!! It did ok the first year, better last year and this year..>Wow!!! GORGEOUS and covered in blossoms. I do no chemicals, etc, so it has actually been pretty impressive in my book!

I have a Purple Pavement Rose. Its compact, tough and and very fragrant.

Its not my favorate because because I like roses for cutting but the pavement series may suit your purposes very well.

Is Blanc de Coubert too big? Its supposed to be hardy, continuously blooming and very fragrant. Does anyone here have one?

BTW I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one struggling to grow so called "hardy" Roses. I've had my JP Connel and Champlain for three years and even with winter protection they die down to the ground.

Kuzari Princess

I have Blanc Double de Coubert, but she was just planted last year. She came back great this year and is covered with leaves - no buds yet, of course. Right now she's about 2 feet high. I wanted a taller rose in that spot which is why i chose her over my second choice, Morden Snow Beauty.

Glad to hear that Marie Bugnet is fragrant. My parents gave her to me for my birthday. I'm still trying to choose the perfect spot for her - better do it soon! :)

I ordered a Reine des Violettes rose from Cedar Hollow this year. It is one of the blooming ones that I recived from them. It does have a fair bit of fragrance. It smells like rose perfume. Not the fruity smell that I really love. But it is nice.
Shelley