For Your Eyes Only - Floribunda

For Your Eyes Only - Floribunda

For Your Eyes Only is an all-terrain rose, pink with salmon or apricot tinges in the main body but with a deep, concentrated pink central eye from which a flurry of golden stamens glitter.
These inner markings are typical of Persica roses, similar to those seductive hibiscus flowers.

The floribunda breeding means that you get masses of flowers continuously over the season from early summer right through to autumn. Even though each individual flower is quite a simple single structure with five loosely arranged petals, its effect is of something far more elaborate. Match this with very disease resistant foliage that is shiny and dark green, a light scent and a pleasing, symmetrical growing habit and you do have the perfect rose.

A Bouquet of For Your Eyes Only

Yes - the pun is irresistible because it was the beautiful Carole Bouquet who starred in the eponymous film! Having said which, these roses look amazing in a vase and cutting them encourages more blooms so you are in a win-win situation. With the length of its flowering season, you could fill a bed with this wonderful rose, maybe underplant with some Stachys byzantina ears blocked around drifts of thyme and a pale Munstead Lavender border.

History & Trivia

It took thirty years for Chris Warner of Warners Roses in Shropshire to hybridise the odd weed looking Rosa persica, making gradual gains on both key sides: the new shrubby plant's health, form, and vigour, and the striking contrast of the blotched flower, a deep wine red centre that contrasts strongly with an apricot halo. He said it took growing 1000 to pick out 2-3 new plants with the required characteristics.
Rosa persica hybrids used to be grouped as ×Hulthemosa,

Revell made a plastic model kit of Bond's 2CV model Citroen in 'For Your Eyes Only'.