Rosa 'Belgian Lace'

The Rose 'Belgian Lace' and Lenlord will delight gardeners looking for a graceful, unpretentious, low-maintenance variety. This modern hybrid rose is a small, low, dense bush with an arching habit and small leaves. It is not a repeat bloomer but produces numerous pastel rosettes in small clusters along its stems in early summer. 'Belgian Lace' requires no pruning and naturally forms a slightly blurry dome. It is ideal in a somewhat wild and romantic garden.

While modern roses are often criticised for their stiffness and weak disease resistance, the 'Belgian Lace' variety 'LENlord', created by L. Lens in 1994, stands out. It is a descendant of the 'Robin Hood' rose, a hybrid of the musk rose (Rosa x moschata). Like polyanthas and floribundas, roses in this family produce flowers arranged in clusters, but their colours are more refined and have a more flexible and graceful habit. This 'Belgian Lace' rose forms a small spreading bush with dense and arching branches. It will reach a height of about 90 cm (35in) with a spread of 1 m (3ft). It blooms in June-July on one-year-old branches. Along the branches, small flat flowers measuring 2 to 2.5 cm (1in) in diameter appear, composed of 17 to 25 petals, grouped in small clusters. They start light pink and fade to white. A red eye and numerous yellow stamens occupy the centre of the flowers. They are slightly fragrant and attract bees. The attractive light green foliage is divided into small leaflets. It is deciduous in winter. The hardiness of this rose is rated at -15 °C (5°F).

With its wild rose appearance and modest size, this' Belgian Lace' hybrid rose will find a place in the garden. It adapts to all soils that are not too dry and all climates, making it welcome in any garden, even at medium altitudes. When planted in mass, it borders pathways and highlights shrub beds. It pairs perfectly with beautiful and easy-to-grow plants like hardy geraniums (Geranium Blue Cloud, Anne Folkard, Nimbus, Orion), campanulas (passiflora, rapunculoides), catmints, ground cover roses in harmonious colours... Left to grow freely, it will form a light, flower-filled and wonderfully romantic mass in front of a bed of flowering shrubs.