Mary's tea/myrrh scent is very pleasant, like Catholic church's incense or a cozy fire place. The color is soft: peachy-pink in cool weather. The bush is gorgeous with graceful swirls. It's tidy, short, and compact. The bush is VERY prickly, but the repeat is fast. Best color is in partial shade, and best scent is in alkaline soil. I once put acid-fertilizer on Mary, and it broke out in mildew, plus lost its fabulous scent. From that time on, I use alkaline horse manure. This bush looks best and smells best in cool rainy weather. This rose is worth having for the magnificent scent alone. The myrrh scent borders on mystical and divine. I have Scepter'd Isle and St. Cecilia, they can't measure up to Mary in scent nor compact growth habit.
In my garden it's definitely not white. This lovely little rose shows exactely the same shades of peachy pink of 'Evelyn'. The pales it could be, is a light shell pink on outer petals.
