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Rosa x cantabrigiensis
The Cambridge rose was a seedling in the University Botanic Gardens in the 1930s when Dr. C.C. Hurst was doing exciting things with the genetics of Chinese roses. It seems that while his back was turned two of his species, the east Himalayan Rosa sericea, which is white, bristly and uniquely has only four petals instead of five, had its own exciting moment with the Chinese Rosa hugonis. R. hugonis was the yellow equivalent of the blazing red R moyesii introduced at about the same time. Unfortunately it is less satisfactory in gardens; its twigs often die back.
The fruit of the union of R. hugonis with R. sericea is the Cambridge rose, the prettiest thing in my garden on this rainy May morning. It is an eight-foot bush, almost as wide, with many tall straight stems arching outwards, covered with wide-open primrose flowers which its little ferny leaves cannot hide. Nothing could be healthier than this yellow dog rose, which flowers just when Iris sibirica brings the perfect blue to keep it company.
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