Whether putting on a display out-of-doors, or taking the limelight in a vase, this elegant rose with its delicious perfume is assured of a warm reception. Candy-pink sprays on long stems will make child's play of vase-arrangement. And their impact is fresh and vivacious in the garden, where regular repeat-showings give great value. "Equity" is an excellent choice for beds, or as a flowering hedge. Such a hedge will yield buckets of blooms over the season.

Equity is the trade union for professional performers and other creative people in the entertainment industry. Despite the popular image of the industry, many artists have low earnings, so the Equity Benevolent Fund is there to help with financial hardship or special needs. Sales of the Equity rose will help support this important work.

The Girlguiding UK Centenary Rose sailed through its 7 years of trials with flying colours, seemingly impervious to the vagaries of English summer weather. Blooming proved exceptionally reliable, suggesting that the free-flowering nature of this rose is a consequence of its disease tolerance: a race that is not weakened by disease will grow readily, thus providing the basis continuity in fower production.

The perfume seems to blend musk with a fruity, almost citrus base, a tantalising scent to look forward to when flowers are cut for indoors. The pretty, fresh-looking flowers certainly catch the eye, they will add sparkle to group-planting situations, (beds and low hedges), and particularly to mixed flower borders. This is also a top choice for planters and containers on balconies or terraces.

Selected for the High Sheriffs Association by Jenny Tolhurst, Miranda Hall and John Lyles, to replace the existing High Sheriff rose which had served for eighteen years.

This striking rose is an excellent addition to the range of Border roses, a clear example of just how far they have developed. Its blooms form charming roundels of loosely filled flowers in unstinting sprays, covering the plant in a neatly arranged canopy of champagne with honey-buff overtones. Repeat blooming is outstanding, and may be further improved by regular dead-heading during the flowering season. ‘High Sheriff 2009’ is suitable for many situations, and particularly recommended for planters on terraces or balconies, for grouping in small beds and borders, or as a low hedge.

Rich, pure red lends a touch of magic to the garden, and

Red Hat Lady’s® sheer abundance of blooms and its compact, dome-form are ideal for a number of different purposes:

Container Growing - the rounded bush and its habit of flowering from top to bottom make it a decorative choice for containers and planters.

Beds & Borders - a small group of 2 or 3 gives a splash of colour; and larger beds make an impressive show. Roses are in a class of their own for combination planting, why not try mixing ‘Red Hat Lady®’ among ornamental shrubs or summer flowers?

Dividing Hedges & Edges - top-to-bottom flowering shows to advantage when planted in rows, e.g. at the foreground of borders, or alongside terraces and pathways.

The Red Hat Society® is a global society of women approaching the age of 50 and beyond, who support each other in pursuit of fun, friendship, freedom and fulfilment.

Since hitting the UK seven years ago the Red Hat Society® has gone from strength to strength, with new chapters springing up all over the country. At the last count there were about 80 chapters in England as well as chapters in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The idea of finding time for fun and frivolity after fifty has great appeal to women who have devoted much of their time to their family. It’s a chance to dress up and enjoy outings with their local chapter. The Society as a whole supplies an international sisterhood of friendship, giving love and support for the little girl inside.

For more information, visit www.redhatsociety.com or for more local news www.britishredhatters.co.uk

Says Professor Winston: “It is very special for a geneticist to have something that is hybridized, something beautiful that will give pleasure to thousands, in their name - the rose is indeed beautiful with a delicate fragrance, a rich colour, prolific flowering and the most attractive foliage of any rose I have seen.”

Women for Women is committed to improving serious conditions that can affect women and their babies. Funds raised provide training for vital research into causes and treatments to ensure that more women have a healthy pregnancy and a thriving baby. With up to 250 babies dying every week in the UK and 550 women experiencing miscarriage every day, this work has never been so essential.

Of the three newcomers this has the best potential as a rose for general planting, being compact, bushy and free-flowering. The ‘eye’ is deep in the heart of the flowers, which contain rather more petals than are ideal for displaying their crimson hearts. The name comes from a poem of the same name by Rudolf Steiner, which begins