A strongly scented blue rose. Rosa ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ (‘Frantasia’), bred by Frank Cowlishaw in England, has dark plum coloured flowers that fade to a striking slate blue colour. The colour has been described as iridescent purple but in overcast conditions it looks remarkably blue. The seed parent is R. ‘Summer Wine’ while the parentage of the pollen parent is complex. This new variety represents an important new colour and it can be grown as a climber, a shrub or if hard-pruned, as a floribunda. It has already won many awards including the Harry Edland Award for the most fragrant rose and a Gold Medal at the Hague International Rose Trials. It will be available from January 2003 from many English Rose growers. For further information contact the Secretary of the Royal National Rose Society, Tel 0044 1727 850461 E-mail: jillyflower@btopenworld.com or E-mail: mail@rnrs.org.uk