This, one of the original China roses, was definitely brought to Europe from Canton by Peter Osbeck in 1751, but was probably already grown in southern Europe. Authors sometimes attribute it to Capt Eckeberg around 1763, or to James Kerr, surgeon to the East India company from 1774. Parsons received his plant in 1793. It is a hardy, free-flowering shrub, easy to root from cuttings. We have seen it growing in village gardens in western China as well as by old farms in Devon. Around five to 10 mid-pink flowers, which darken as they age, are produced in a branching head. Each flower is about 2½ inches (6cm) across, they have a delicate scent rather like sweet peas. The shrub form grows to 4 feet (1.2m), and there is also a climbing form, see below. We suspect that ‘Old Blush’ has some Rosa multiflora var cathayensis in its ancestry, as that is wild in the same parts of China, and wild double-flowered ramblers are found growing along rivers. According to the latest authority in England, The RHS Plantfinder 2002-2003, the correct name for this rose is Rosa x odorata ‘Pallida’. The drawing illustrated is by a Chinese artist commissioned in China by John Reeve between 1812 and 1817 when he was working as a tea inspector for the East India Company in Canton. We illustrate One of the first drawings commissioned by Reeves and also we have photographed it in a farmyard in Sichuan China.