science

Harkness Roses

Harkness Roses is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Harkness Roses rather than just read about it. In short: Harkness Roses (a trading name of R. Harkness & Co.

Key takeaways

Harkness Roses belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Harkness Roses to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Harkness Roses from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Harkness Roses (a trading name of R. Harkness & Co. Ltd) are rose breeders based at Hitchin, Hertfordshire in England. The nursery was founded in 1879 in Yorkshire by brothers, John and Robert Harkness. Early varieties include 'Mrs. Harkness', 'Frensham' and 'Ena Harkness'. Jack Harkness, grandson of original co-founder, John Harkness, established the first rose hybridization program at the company in 1962, developing vigorous, healthy roses by hybridizing from wild rose species. His most successful new rose cultivars include: 'Amber Queen', 'Belmonte' and 'Anne Harkness'.

History

Harkness Roses was established in 1879 in Bedale, Yorkshire by brothers, John Harkness (1857-1933) and Robert Harkness (1851-1920). In 1882, John and Robert began to grow and exhibit roses. Their new rose business was a great success; Queen Victoria purchased her roses from Harkness & Sons in the 1890s. John and Robert soon realized that Yorkshire's climate was too cold for an expanding rose growing business. In 1892, they decided to established a branch of the firm in a location with a warmer climate. Neither brother wanted to leave Yorkshire, so it was decided by a coin toss that Robert would move to Hitchin, Hertfordshire to establish the new branch of Harkness and Sons. In 1901, John and Robert decided to dissolve the company and create two separate nurseries. Robert established R. Harkness & Co, today known as Harkness Roses. Early varieties of Harkness Roses include a sport of hybrid perpetual, 'Heinrich Schultheis', introduced in 1893 as 'Mrs. Harkness'. In the 1950s, Harkness popularized 'Frensham' and 'Ena Harkness', both introduced in 1946 in the United Kingdom

Jack Harkness (1918-1994) was the grandson of the original co-founder John Harkness. He established the first rose hybridization program at the company in 1962, developing vigorous, healthy roses by hybridizing from wild rose species. Early successes were with hybrid teas, and then later with floribundas. In the 1970s he began breeding with Rosa persica, an unusual rose species with simple leaves. During his career, Harkness developed many successful rose cultivars, including 'Alexander', 'Mountbatten' and 'Amber Queen'. He is best known for his floribundas and hybrid tea roses. Robert Harkness, son of Jack Harkness (1951-2012), bred more than seventy rose varieties during his career. Among his best known varieties are: Rosa 'Belmonte' and 'Princess of Wales'. Philip Harkness, Jack's son and Robert's brother continues today as co-owner of Harkness Roses. Today Harkness Roses is run by Philip Harkness (Chairman) and David White (Managing Director) alongside their small team of horticulturists. Philip, David and their team have recently released a number of extremely popular new cultivars including ‘The Captain Tom’ rose, the ‘John Ystumllyn Rose’, ‘The Duke of Edinburgh Rose’ and ‘The Queen Elizabeth II Rose’ as well as winning a Gold Medal at Chelsea Flower Show in 2021. Poet, Ted Hughes, worked at the nursery during the summer of 1955: "The job is following round the expert as he grafts expensive rose-buds onto common bushes, and doing all the trimming and tying-up-with-raffia—a back-breaking job apparently, but outside, and with roses, and with good employers."

Selected roses

References

External links Harkness Roses homepage Interview with rose grower Philip Harkness

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Harkness Roses

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Harkness Roses claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Harkness Roses before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Harkness Roses ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Harkness Roses

In research: Harkness Roses appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Harkness Roses in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Harkness Roses is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Horticultural companies of the United Kingdom, Organizations established in 1879, Plant nurseries, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Harkness Roses outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Harkness Roses in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Harkness Roses means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Harkness Roses out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Harkness Roses in simple terms?

Harkness Roses (a trading name of R. Harkness & Co.

Why does Harkness Roses matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Harkness Roses?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Harkness Roses.