This beautiful semi-double rambler rose was given to us by my sister. She lives in an 1880's Victorian house, and we can only guess that this is an old rambler planted way back when. It starts with yellowish-ivory buds and then opens up pretty white. The stamens are beautiful and prominent and there is a sweet fragrance that carries on the air. The fragrance is not "rose"--I wish I could describe it accurately, but I can't. As the flower ages, the stamens will turn brown and the petals fold up. The foliage is dark green and is extremely shiny--looks like it has been greased. I think this is why it doesn't seem to be bothered very much by blackspot. Always thought it was a one time bloomer, but have discovered if pruned back after spring flowering, will usually produce a second flush of flowers in the fall. I thought it might be the 1910 rambler SILVER MOON since some of the descriptions seem to match, but maybe somebody here has a better I.D. Thanks for any help you can give.

I am going to try to upload a picture of our rambler as it is grown on our fence, here goes--

That is beautiful, Avedon. Can you get a photo of the thorns? Or of the leaves up close?
I'm eager to hear what others say it is.

I'm keen to know who it is too. She sounds like my kind of rose!

I think Silver Moon is a good guess.

Here are some other ideas: City of York, Gardenia, Jersey Beauty, Baltimore Belle, Nanette, or The Garland. Jersey Beauty looks quite similar, but it has fewer petals. Several of these are about the right color, and several have glossy foliage characteristic of a wichurana rambler. The Garland, Nanette, Baltimore Belle, and Gardenia appear to have too many petals compared to your rose. City of York is a possibility, it was released to the US after WWII. It definitely has highly glossy foliage. I grew it when I lived in NJ and was delighted with it, even though it did not repeat. Whatever rose it is, it's great looking rose.

I have consulted my rose books on Silver Moon and read and re-read descriptions from David Austin, Peter Beales, Graham Stuart Thomas, and Trevor Griffiths, but I think I hit pay dirt when I pulled out the ROSES book by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix. I don't know why I didn't look at this one before, but the description pretty much follows everybody else's; the big difference is that there is a photograph of the rose, and it is a dead ringer for ours. Also, the photo actually is of two flowers and the second flower has curling petals just like ours as it starts to age. Everyone says this rose blooms one time only, but I suspect because of our long growing season and the fact that I have cut it back after the spring bloom, may be the reason why we have had rebloom on this rose. Even when I haven't cut it back, we can count on a number of buds developing and blooming in the fall--again perhaps because of our warmer climate. So, I will be calling this one Silver Moon from now on, unless someone can definitely say it is not. True name or not, it is a super rose to us, and I just wish I could put it in a place where I could let it rip and do its thing--that is, grow to that 20 feet and spread as much as it wants My sister's rose grows on a trellis attached to her front porch, and it is a sight to see when in bloom. It is massive and more than ten feet tall. The birds love to nest in it, too. Thanks, everybody, for your comments.

Just one more thing--remember the fragrance? Several mention the fragrance as being "fruity" or "rich fragrance of green apples" (quote of G. S. Thomas). Just another plus for this rose, and another reason to believe it is Silver Moon.

Just thought of something else--will I be able to put this into the Roses Database now that Silver Moon is probably correct?

You most certainly will be able to do that. The entry is right here:

Rose (Rosa 'Silver Moon')

I think you're absolutely right about your conditions promoting the rebloom. I regularly get a rebloom on my once-blooming yellow Banksias because I prune them after the first bloom.

Now I want a Silver Moon! We have a long season here, too. I really like the rambling look of that rose.

If memory serves me correctly, ARE is a good source for Silver Moon.