I get very little scent from Sombreuil (the large-flowered climber). Occasionally its scent wafts down the side yard where it's planted, but that's it. SDLM is only faintly fragrant to me, too. Blush Noisette is said to be one of the most fragrant, and I barely get anything from it. My allergies diminish my sense of smell, I know. Visitors come to the cemetery rose garden declaring that the scent bowls them over as soon as they get out of the car, and I barely notice it. I had a few days of sinus clarity this spring, and was astonished at the fragrance. The damask scent, fortunately, penetrates my congestion, as do musks and a few of the teas. Anita

Finally back to this thread I started eight years ago. Olde Romeo looks awesome, and also unavailable in the US. I have missed you all and gardening. Last year I was on assignment in San Diego, a temporary arrangement that ended on October 30th. Back at the abbey now, and for any of you who remember me, I wanted to tell you that we are moving into the new place starting on January 11-16...the end of a long journey, and the beginning of a new one. Will there be roses at the new place? Yes. Ambrose and the seminarians transplanted over 100 of the current abbey collection to the new place. I was in San Diego, and I have no idea how they transplanted some of those roses. There was a tea (Rosette Delizy) that was about 10x10 that they basically made a bare root!! It's sprouting tons of shoots at the new location. I am constantly amazed at how tough roses are. When the new garden grows in, I'll post photos for you all. Jerome

I don't know how hardy it is in your zone, but Double Delight ranks very high on my list! Fragrant Cloud is another favorite, but I realize it has a flower color you will probably either love or hate. Few are agnostic about Fragrant Cloud. (I also don't know if Fragrant Cloud would be hardy for you.)

To me, the most fragrant Austin, and my favorite, is The Prince, which smells like an old-fashioned garden rose, like something that would be in a grandmother or great-grandmother's garden. Close runner-ups would be Munstead Wood, which has a very rich fragrance with whiff of berries, and Jude the Obscure, which smells like the Annick Goutal perfume, Eau d'Hadrien. I just started growing Evelyn, and the scent is not powerful (yet), but it is really unique, unlike any rose I've ever smelled. It sort of smells delicious, like you could eat it. The Alwick Rose is also one of my most fragrant, it smells like Raspberries, but also a bit like cake. Lady Emma Hamilton is really also great for scent. I don't get as powerful of a fragrance from Young Lycidas as the roses I mentioned above, but it is quite lovely, and on par with Summer Song in that they both smell great and and are original in every way. They not only have unique fragrances but colors that aren't found in other roses that i have seen, really exceptional in that way. However, while all they are both are healthy, they have sort of gangly/spindly habits, so are perhaps best planted among other plants that will sort of support and fill in for the lankiness. So beautiful though. Jubilee Celebration also gets honorable mention for original scent, in particular, and color as well, but will possibly disappear off the market soon, I have heard. There was a discussion above about the white roses. I have Glamis Castle, Desdemona, Claire Austin, and William and Catherine. None of their perfumes are that powerful in my garden, and I don't see that much of a difference in their flowers. Desdemona perhaps has the most complex fragrance. William and Catherine and Glamis Castle have that very "myrrh" fragrance that some people love or hate (so does the lovely mauve Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which I personally adore), as does Wollerton Old Hall, which has a bit more myrrh than I expected (I kept hearing things, like "honey, etc.) but does smell very sweet and rather strong (and it's only in its first summer). William and Catherine has an attractive and compact bush and is super healthy. Claire Austin needs a lot of space and mine is 15 years old and never better. Desdemona has been floppy and thrown out many octopus canes so am not super enchanted by it yet. Glamis Castle is still a newbie so too soon to tell but it has given me an impressive number of blooms in the 3 or 4 months I have had it (own root). Of the more recent additions, I couldn't get either Gabriel Oak or Eustacia Vye to take off. Emily Bronte in year two, finally, has some repeat bloom and her fragrance is really lovely, and growing on me, and perhaps rivals Evelyn's, but is a bit different. But the one rose that seems to have the most fragrance projection power has to be Mary Rose, which I planted at the end of last summer because it is supposed to bloom all the time, unlike many trickier varieties. And it really does. And the day or so, it is not in bloom, it is remarkable by the absence of its fragrance, which smells like expensive beauty products and adds a note to the overall perfume of the garden but is not the best rose to take inside because it grows in clusters. Golden Celebration smells sweet and lovely, and its cheefuly yellow color makes it remarkable, but in my opinion, the fragrance is perhaps a bit over-hyped in the marketing materials, even if also amazing. I personally don't get strawberries from it. However, mine is only in year one. Abraham Darby also has one of the most complex scents, but mine are still in there first year, so the fragrance is not that powerful yet. Hope this helps anyone trying to figure this out!