Rosa Damascena Madame Hardy

Commonly praised as the most beautiful white rose of the 19th century, the ‘Madame Hardy’ is a damask rose with an intense fragrance of moss and spices cultivated inside the Basin of the Island.

It was bred in 1832 by Julien Alexandre Hardy, a renowned gardener of the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and discoverer of more than 200 types of roses. By calling it ‘Madame Hardy’, he dedicated this rose to his wife Marie-Thérèse Pezard.

It blooms once a year and its incredibly fragranced flower is known for its perfection, with a bright green ‘eye’ at its centre. It can reach 150 cm in height and width.

One could say that the Madame Hardy Rose embodies the classic shape of old roses and maybe, when Shakespeare compared his love to a rose, he was just thinking of a similar flower.