Few flowers capture the imagination quite like roses. From formal gardens bursting with colour to quiet corners where rambling varieties climb over old stone walls, garden roses bring beauty, scent and structure to every space. We’ve picked six RHS Partner Gardens – free to RHS members on selected days – with rose mazes, archways and displays that will enchant you.
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At Coughton Court Gardens, the historic walled garden features an award-winning rose labyrinth. Home to over 200 varieties of shrub, climbing and rambling roses – from Damasks and Albas to Teas, Noisettes and Floribundas – this is recognised as one of the world’s finest rose gardens. With herbaceous companions like geraniums, violets and achilleas, it showcases a breathtaking mix of colour, form and scent that makes this space truly special.
This year, the much-loved rose garden at Anglesey Abbey is more spectacular than ever, with 20 new beds and 180 glorious English roses planted in 2024 – each one chosen for its colour, abundance of flowers and resilience. Wander through waves of colour and scent and discover stories unearthed from the garden’s past. The roses flower from late June until early October, so there is plenty of time to enjoy them.
- Free days out for RHS members in 2025: when open
- Find out more at Anglesey Abbey
Meander through the stunning Mary Rose Garden at Waterperry, where beds brim with colour and wonderfully scented plants that are at their best throughout June. The gardens showcase A plant produced by crossing two distinct parents, often different species, to produce offspring that combine the characteristics of both. Hybrids can occur naturally, but crosses are often made deliberately by plant breeders to produce plants with better yield, improved flowering or vigour, or improved disease resistance.
- Free days out for RHS members in 2025: Wednesdays, plus when open in November
- Find out more at Waterperry Gardens
The beautiful climbing rose arch, nestled within the historic walled garden at Goldstone Hall, is a true delight for garden lovers. This tranquil retreat features a long double herbaceous border, now enriched with newly planted climbing and rambling roses that will come into their own this summer – making it an exciting time to visit.
- Free days out for RHS members in 2025: Monday–Thursday, 24 March–31 October
- Find out more at Goldstone Hall
Stroll under Scotland’s longest scented rose archway, which winds along a unique DNA Pathway with a central flower bed made from cathedral rose window stone. The historic walled garden at Backhouse Rossie Estate is themed around art and science, and offers the opportunity to take a step back and relax among changing seasonal plantings.
- Free days out for RHS members in 2025: Thursdays and Fridays, 2 April–29 September
- Find out more at Backhouse Rossie Estate
The rose gardens of Ainay-le-Vieil in France are set within a series of enclosed spaces, each designed to highlight different styles and varieties. Surrounded by water and medieval stonework, historic roses are grown alongside modern cultivars, all carefully chosen for their resilience as well as shapes and fragrance. This thoughtful design makes the garden as informative as it is beautiful – a living showcase of rose heritage in a striking historic setting.
