Step inside the rose marquee at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and catch up with what's new in the world of roses.

Coming up roses

Roses are always a highlight of the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, but never more so than this year. The rose industry is on an all-time high after the flower was voted Britain's favourite in two national polls.

Inside the marquee

The rose marquee is one of the most popular at the show, and one of the most spectacular. Banks of roses in every possible shade - except, famously, a true blue - scent the air. Towers of them climb up arches on the Peter Beales stand, while baskets of tiny patio roses look dainty and perfect for Wessex Nurseries. Seale Nurseries has even recreated a scene with a painting of Tintern Abbey in the background and a garden overflowing with roses in the front. There's something to delight true romantics everywhere.

A record 20 cultivars in the marquee have never been seen before. The launch of so many new roses has made the Rose of the Year award - now in its 25th year - even more competitive than usual. One rose stood out for its easy-to-grow, disease resistant qualities: the 2007 Rose of the Year is Rosa 'Tickled Pink', a vigorous floribunda bred by Fryers Nurseries in Cheshire.

Gareth Fryer, who developed the rose, is an old hand. He's bred two previous Rose of the Year winners, and his nursery has been breeding roses for 40 years. For him, the award is the ultimate reward for all his hard work.

"It's the most prestigious award in the UK," he says. "It's organised by the [rose-breeding] trade - so if the trade decides that your rose is the rose of the year, then who better?"

Other roses launched at the show followed the age-old tradition of taking their name from well-known personalities. TV presenter Fern Britton said she was delighted to have Rosa 'Fern's Rose' named after her.

"To have anything named after you is a great honour and very flattering," she says. "People tell me they’ve named their dogs after me, but never something as beautiful as this."

The rose was voted Britain's Favourite Flower by BBC viewers and online users during Chelsea and also won a second poll sponsored by the RHS. Gareth Fryer is in no doubt why this most traditional of flowers has such a commanding hold over the affections of Britain's gardeners.

"How do you bring a smile to a young lady's face?" he asks. "I'll tell you - you give them a rose. And most young men don't know that."

View all the roses launched at this year's show and find out which one was voted the public's favourite.