Coming up roses…but earlier than ever this year

When the rose garden at Mottisfont was officially donated to the National Trust on 30 June 1972, it was in peak flower. With head gardeners noting regular changes to flowering patterns, this now equates to a shift by around one day every 2.5 years in the displays being at their dazzling best, reflecting the long-term impact of warming temperatures and changing weather patterns.

This year’s early display has been driven by a mild, wet winter and unusually warm spells in spring, which reduced the roses’ dormancy period and accelerated growth. Similar trends are being reported at other National Trust gardens in the south of England, including Anglesey Abbey, Buckland Abbey and Chartwell, where roses are flowering two to three weeks earlier than in recent decades. In contrast, gardens further north are seeing more typical flowering, highlighting regional variation across the UK.

Head Gardener Rob Ballard at Mottisfont said the scale of seasonal change has been particularly striking this year:

“After a very wet, warm winter, including 42 consecutive days of rain at the start of the year, the roses got off to an early start. Then warm spells in April accelerated growth, and this year they’re flowering earlier than we can remember.”

“Among the early standouts are ‘Lady Hillingdon’, with its tea-scented golden blooms set against dark foliage, and ‘Great Western’, a striking bourbon rose, its magenta and lilac petals releasing a sweet, lingering perfume.”

He added that more extreme and unpredictable weather is changing how the rose garden – and the wider 1.5‑acre site, home to over 1,000 plants – is managed, with a focus on improving soil health and moisture retention:

“Long periods of both very wet and very dry weather have been a real challenge. We’re adapting how we care for the roses so they can cope with these extremes.”

“We’ve mulched the whole garden to lock in water, suppress weeds and build organic matter in the soil. It supports everything from the roses themselves to the worm population beneath them.”

The team are also working hard to protect some of their most famous, historic varieties are looked after and protected for the future:

“We’re adjusting our pruning to let roses such as 'Adélaïde d'Orléans' grow in a more natural way and thinking longer-term about the right plant in the right place, better water management, and conserving rare varieties so they survive for generations to come.”

These adjustments mean that, despite the seasonal shift, visitors can still expect spectacular displays this spring. At Mottisfont, over 1,000 rose plants and nearly 500 varieties, many of which are rare or historically significant, will burst into colour, scenting the walled garden in a short but memorable flowering season.

A similar picture is emerging at Buckland Abbey in Devon and at Chartwell in Kent, where roses are now flowering significantly earlier than in previous decades.

Senior Gardener Sam Brown at Buckland Abbey said:

“We’re seeing roses coming into flower two to three weeks earlier than we would traditionally expect, due to milder winters and hotter summers.”

He added that the impact goes beyond timing, affecting how gardens are managed year-round:

“Shorter dormancy periods, more pests surviving the winter and increasing summer drought all create challenges. We’re responding by improving soil health, selecting resilient varieties and using techniques like mulching and underplanting to retain moisture.”

At Chartwell in Kent, Gardens & Outdoor Manager Christopher Lane said this year’s spring offered a clear example of a longer-term shift:

“This spring is a strong indication of how a changing climate is affecting our gardens. We’ve seen many plants flowering up to three weeks earlier than expected, following a notably warm, frost-free start to the year.”

He added:

“The lack of cold snaps has given plants an early boost, accelerating growth across the garden. We saw our first rose in flower as early as March, something that would normally come much later.”

In contrast, at properties such as Wentworth Castle Gardens in South Yorkshire and Lindisfarne Castle in Northumberland, roses remain in line with the cooler, wetter conditions of the north, with peak flowering still a few weeks away and closer to traditional timescales.

National Trust horticultural specialist Rebecca Bevan said climate change is affecting flowering times of many plants:

“Roses are incredibly diverse, the result of centuries of breeding, and many will respond to mild winters and sunny springs by coming into growth early.”

While early flowering itself is not necessarily harmful, she warned of longer-term risks from climate change:

“The bigger concern is water availability. Research shows that drought poses the greatest threat to roses, so we’re focusing on building healthy soils, choosing tougher varieties and investing in water capture and storage.”

“Across the National Trust’s gardens, teams are refining a more sustainable, long-term approach to gardening in response to climate change and biodiversity loss. This includes boosting soil health, reducing reliance on chemicals, supporting wildlife and experimenting with planting combinations that improve resilience in historic landscapes.”

Rebecca concluded: “Observing the impacts of climate change in our gardens is important so that we can plan to ensure our 180 historic gardens and parks continue to provide great benefits for people and nature for many decades to come.”

Visitors in the south of England are encouraged to plan their trips earlier than usual this year to catch the roses at their best. Some properties, like Mottisfont, are offering special openings to make the most of this special time of year.