Want an outstanding rose that wins your heart with beauty and scent? Fall planting is just around the corner and if you have a spot for something special, plant the rose lovers across the globe have at the top of their list: Graham Thomas. 
This David Austin rose is officially the World’s Favorite Rose, according to rose aficionados in the 41 member countries that make up the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS). Rosa ‘Graham Thomas’ (Ausmas) becomes only the 14th rose in 33 years to win what many consider to be the rose world’s highest honor.
Triumphing over thorny competition, this stunning yellow bloomer was inducted into the Rose Hall of Fame and will proudly wear the crown for the next three years. To reach this honor, a rose must progress through a nomination and voting process that involves all of the 41 national chapters. Swimsuit competitions, modeling eveningwear, and talent contests were optional.
The first World’s Favorite Rose winner was the famed Peace rose (Rosa ‘Peace’), the 1976 inductee to the Rose Hall of Fame. 
English rose hybridizer David Austin is internationally-known for his introduction of new types of fragrant, full-bodied English Roses that have the plump form and heavy perfume of Old Roses combined with the broad color range and repeat-flowering of modern roses.
R. ‘Graham Thomas’, introduced in 1983, sport cup-shaped blooms with a strong, fresh tea rose fragrance. Their color is an unusually rich, pure yellow, which is not found in the Old Roses and is rare even among modern roses.
R. ‘Graham Thomas’ forms a bushy shrub sized five feet high by four feet wide. Its upright habit makes it well suited to planting in tight groups of three in the garden, which can then be pruned to form a single shrub shape. R. ‘Graham Thomas’ is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9.
Photos courtesy of David Austin Roses.
These are gorgeous…I think I actually have one of these, but the Japanese beatles always get to it as soon as it blooms…
GartenGrl at Planning Plants to Plant