“Mrs Goode’s Special Tea”, was collected by Pat Toolan c2000 from an old garden in suburban Adelaide, South Australia. When the current owner bought the property in 1951 the rose was already very old and it is her belief that it was planted in the early 1900s.
Pat propagated the rose and placed one in a repository of old garden roses in nearby Mitcham Cemetery. Today there is also a plant in the repository of Teas at Ruston’s Roses, Renmark and a number of enthusiasts have it established in their gardens in Australia.

“Mrs Goode’s Special Tea” is a very decorative, fragrant rose with semi-double to double blooms that are pink to carmine, grading to white/ pale yellow in the centre with petal reverses that are white to pale yellow - as the petals curl and the flowers nod, there is a lively bi-coloured effect.
Several people have noted a certain affinity to Comtesse de Labarthe/ Duchesse de Brabant.

Further detail:
Inflorescence and pedicel: blooms are solitary or produced in small clusters; pedicels are glandular to bristly and curve as the blooms open.
Bud: slender, pointed (ideal buttonhole buds), white to pale yellow, flushed carmine.
Flower: semi-double to double (never very full), open to nodding, loose cupped blooms becoming informal as petals curl and twist. Petals have a tendency to curl back along the side margins as the bloom opens.
Flower colour: pink to carmine, grading to white / pale yellow in the centre. Petal reverses are white to pale yellow.
Receptacle and Hip: receptacle is globular, and the rose sets medium-sized globular hips.
Fragrance: Moderate to strong - both sweet and dry with distinctive violet notes.
Foliage: There are 5 – 7 elongated elliptical leaflets. Newer leaves are glossy. The foliage has a clean brightness that is a very effective foil to the brightly coloured blooms.
Prickles: Occasional descending or slightly hooked prickles, but many stems are thornless. Hooked prickles on the backs of the leaves.
Health: Young plants are susceptible to seasonal mildew.
Recurrence: Very recurrent. Rapid repeat and flowers well in the winter in mild climates. Evergreen in mild climates. Winter blooms and foliage especially attractive.

“Mrs Goode’s Special Tea” is thought to be ‘Marquise de Vivens’ (Dubreuil, 1885).

‘Marquise de Vivens’ was popular in Australia from the 1890s until the 1st World War, and was offered by Kemp’s nursery, which was close to where “Mrs Goode’s Special Tea” was found.