Skyla Rose of Glen Avon Nurseries won the NZ Rose of the Year and the Best NZ Bred Rose. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Skyla Rose of Glen Avon Nurseries won the NZ Rose of the Year and the Best NZ Bred Rose. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield remains the reigning rose champion, winning the Pacific Rose Bowl for the second year in a row.
It is the ninth time he has won the award for the New Zealand Rose of the Year, this time for Skyla Rose.
The awards were held at the Hamilton Gardens last week.
The winning rose was special to Somerfield as it has been named after Tauranga girl Skyla Rose Keating.
“She died in 2017, aged 7, after a battle against a rare brain tumour. Her family approached me shortly after her death and asked if I would name one of my roses after her.”
Skyla’s story touched him, so he agreed without a second thought.
“Her family picked the rose out of my trial beds at the nursery. Skyla was a brave little girl, she had a real struggle [with the tumour]. I’ve got children too, I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a child.
“I’m so pleased this rose won, for Skyla’s family’s sake. I know they will be grateful.”
Skyla Rose also won the Best NZ Bred Rose title and Somerfield’s Centurion won the Best Floribunda Rose this year.
Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Somerfield said even though he has won so many times, being announced as the winner again this year was special.
“I was very surprised. I haven’t been counting [how many times I won]. For me, there is no such thing as ‘just another win’,” he said.
“The garden looked the best it has ever been. I don’t take part in the judging myself, but I said to people I don’t know how they are going to pick, because [the roses] all looked so good.”
He said the NZ Rose of the Year trial was important to him because it is judged by the public.
“Other trials are judged by the breeders, but it’s the public that is going to buy the roses.”
Skyla Rose has been previously recognised in the awards. In 2019, it won Most Fragrant Rose, and Best Floribunda Rose.
Image 1 of 7: Hamiltonian Anna Kytmanova was one of over 800 people that voted for the New Zealand Rose of the Year. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
The annual New Zealand Rose of the Year rose trial is the key part of the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival, organised by the Pacific Rose Festival Trust. The festival and trials are held at the Rogers Rose Garden at the Hamilton Gardens, where all the roses are still on display.
The Pacific Rose Bowl is the only rose trial in the world that has a public voting system, all others are being judged by panels of experts.
Pacific Rose Bowl Festival director Ralph Evans said the festival was not only busier than last year but also had more votes cast.
“Around 3500 people came through this year, compared to about 2500 in 2022. It was a lovely vibe ... Seeing the look on people’s faces as they entered the garden and smelled the roses was quite special. You could just see them relax and smile,” he said.
“Over 800 votes were cast this year, and we had a higher proportion of children’s votes - which is nice to see because they are the next generation of rose breeders. The kids have taken the voting quite seriously, they are quite picky.”
The festival has come of age this year as it celebrated its 21st anniversary.
The same year, he won Best Hybrid Tea Rose for Diamond Design.
In 2018, Somerfield’s rose Little Miss Perfect won the Rose of the Year and Best Floribunda Rose titles. He also won the Rose of the Year titles in 2011 and every year between 2013 and 2016.
He has been breeding roses for 40 years and runs the rose nursery Glenavon Roses in Te Puna together with his wife Linda. Somerfield said he usually releases between one and three new rose varieties a year.
His priority: growing healthy plants.
“A lot of people tell me ‘I love roses, but they are so difficult to maintain.’ I want a rose that people don’t have to do much with, take the difficulty out of having roses. The most important thing for that is a healthy plant.”
