We may be northern gardeners, but that's no reason to endure sensory deprivation. Scented roses can be grown in all but the harshest climates. Species roses and Canadian cultivars have the fortitude to cope with harsh environmental conditions or the gardener's extended absences from the cottage. For example, the circumpolar rose (Rosa acicularis) is a strongly fragrant species rose hardy to Zone 3, with deep pink, single flowers on 1.8-metre canes. Equally fragrant are the light pink, ruffled flowers of 'Delicata', a disease-resistant and cold-loving, 1.2-metre rugosa hybrid (1898, Zone 2) that also produces large, scarlet-orange hips in autumn. Modern, Canadian-bred roses with superior fragrance include 'Louis Jolliet', with old-fashioned pink flowers blooming continuously from June through September on 1.2-metre shrubs, and 'Henry Kelsey', a 2.4-metre climber that blooms repeatedly and freely, with red petals surrounding its golden stamens. Both are hardy to Zone 3 while other sweet-smelling Canadian cultivars are hardy to Zone 2 (see Smelly Canadians, page 83). n our well-tended home gardens, we can give better care and growing conditions to small-scale scented roses, just the right size to keep company with perennials in mixed borders. Many of the antique rose cultivars are surprisingly adaptable to 21st-century planting beds and have the added benefit of their extraordinary perfume and attractive autumn hips. The fiery red blooms of 'Etna' moss rose (mid-1800s, Zone 5) pair nicely with the dark blue 'Kent Belle' bellflower. The double flowers are deeply perfumed and embellished with tiny, soft, camphor-scented bristles. Notable among the damask roses in the one-metre-tall 'Jacques Cartier' (1868, Zone 4), a luxuriously double, free-flowering rose with intensely fragrant pink petals, which contrast nicely with annual or perennial purple-flowered salvias. Old roses generally bloom just once, but last for an extended six-week period in early to midsummer. Many are hardy to Zone 5, though some, including Rosa gallica 'Versicolor', also known as 'Rosa Mundi', can be grown in Zone 2 gardens. The striped crimson and white petals of 'Rosa Mundi', a gallica rose discovered in the 16th century, bring welcome, bicoloured gaiety to grey-leafed companions such as 'Valerie Finnis' Western mugwort (Artemesia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis'). stin English roses are among the most highly perfumed shrubs and set standards in colour and form. Most are reliably hardy to Zone 6, (Zone 5 with winter protection), though the Canadian Rose Society Web site recommends 'Graham Thomas', 'Mary Rose', 'Sweet Juliet' and 'Charles Austin' for gardens in Zones 2 to 4. Austin roses are especially attractive when planted in groups of three or five with a complementary underplanting of perennial alpine strawberries. The plants are hybridized cultivars of Fragaria vesca, the woodland wild strawberry. Alpine strawberries, which have no runners, are reliably hardy (Zone 4) and form thick, leafy clumps that shade the soil and help to keep rose roots cool in hot weather. The plants produce charming white flowers from May through October and tiny, delicious berries.