Ballarat is well known for its heritage, its lake and even a beer – but now a rose has been named in honour of the growing regional city.
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The City of Ballarat rose was officially planted yesterday at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in front of an eager crowd of more than 30.
The rose was bred by Ron and Barb Inverarity, former owners of Rocklyn Roses in Ballarat.
Now based in Portland with Treloar Roses, the couple also bred the Jane McGrath rose a few years back.
Mrs Inverarity said she came up with the name for the rose after discovering the breed almost by accident in 2001.
“It is heritage in appearance and very attractive,” she said.
“Ballarat is a heritage city and very attractive, so we named it City of Ballarat.”
City of Ballarat mayor Mark Harris said it was “fabulous” to have the rose named after the city.
“It is going to be a beautiful rose and they’re available now from nurseries,” he said.
“The name was kindly donated to the City of Ballarat and really honouring the fact that the (Inverarity) family for a long time had contact with the city.”
The rose starts with deep pink buds with hints of apricot at the base that open to large dusky pink blooms.
The flowers are created in an old world style and have an incredibly strong fruity fragrance that gives the plant a sense of nostalgic charm.
It is a tall vigorous bush that reaches two metres in height and can be trained as a stunning small climber over an arbor or similar structure.
The City of Ballarat rose is available from nurseries or ordered direct from www.treloarroses.com.au.
