What is so great about David Austin roses?

David Austin Roses have taken the Internet by storm. And for very good reason. When I first discovered the beloved blooms, I was instantly and irrevocably hooked. Once you go David Austin, you never go back. But why?

I used to think of roses as so cliche. Stuffy, high-maintenance and overpriced flowers that men felt obligated to buy for their wives on Valentine’s Day. The boring long stems, tightly bound up buds and sickly sweet scent, I wanted nothing to do with any of it. But when I was given a big, beautiful coffee table book on Cottage Gardening, I stumbled upon page after page of big, beautiful, blouse-y blooms sprawling across walls and over arches.

They were like nothing I’d ever seen. Soft, delicate colors. Petals gathered around in a shape that more closely resembled a peony than any rose I’d ever seen. What were these crazy things!? I had to know.

Who was David Austin?

David Austin was an English rose breeder (and writer, go figure) who lived in Shropshire, England. He took old English garden rose varieties (often fiddly and disease prone, but super beautiful and fragrant) and bred them to have similar traits as modern roses (which were often scentless and not so pretty).

At the time, modern roses had become, well, what we often think of when we think of roses. Long, boring and scentless. David Austin roses harken back to a more romantic time, when roses had a certain wildness and incredible fragrance, without all the love bred out of them.

So what’s so special about David Austin’s roses? Well, they’re unbelievably beautiful, they smell incredible, they look wonderful in your garden and they are ridiculously low maintenance.

Are David Austin roses worth the money?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I have purchased (or been gifted) nearly 20 bare-root roses over the last five years and have never had an issue with a single one. In fact, one of my roses was dug up twice, run over by a tractor, covered with gravel and I still managed to salvage it. Last year was its first year in a safer place and it absolutely flourished, sending up blooms all season long.

That’s the other reason why I feel these roses are so worth it. They bloom, bloom, bloom and bloom some more. You get at least 2-3 flushes of roses throughout the season- more if you keep them deadheaded. I wish I would have taken a photo of the first bloom last Spring, it was absolutely breathtaking. My Potager garden smelled like heaven.

What is a bare root rose?

A bare root rose is a rose that comes without any foliage. It is literally a bunch of roots and a few stems that have been cut off. The truly incredible thing is that after you plant them, these roses bloom the FIRST YEAR!

After you order them over Winter (or better yet, get them as a Christmas gift!) they come in the mail in the Spring, when it’s time to plant. You stick them in the ground (with some mycorrhizal fungi) and give them some healthy soil, sun and water and in just a few months YOU HAVE INCREDIBLE ENGLISH ROSES. From roots to roses in a few short weeks.

It’s nothing short of miraculous.

Are David Austin roses hard to grow?

I’ve alluded to this a bit already, but NO, they are absolutely not hard to grow. I barely even prune mine each year and they have thrived everywhere I’ve planted them. All they need is some good soil, a sunny home (for the most part- some like shade) and water. I gave one to my rose-hesitant MIL a few years, I don’t think she’s done a whole lot of anything to it, and it’s big, bad and beautiful!

You can find a rose on David Austin’s website or in their catalog for pretty much any growing circumstance you can think of. For example, a south-facing wall or shady corner, etc.

To keep my roses healthy and happy, I have also been careful to underwater, which means watering from below the foliage. Roses don’t love to be dumped on. I manage this by installing drip tube in my gardens. But at our previous home, we had sprinklers in the beds where I had my rose garden and they didn’t seem to mind.

David Austin roses in my gardens

At our last house I planted a long row of eight David Austin roses, if i remember correctly. I went for an ombre effect, moving from yellow to peach to blush to pink. They are still there and thriving, perfect for me to enjoy every time I drive by our old house.

But here at Bramblewood, other than a few scattered in the cottage gardens in front of the house, I’ve opted to line the Potager beds with my roses. One or two at each end, with a couple climbers framing the entry on a trellis. I love the way they look so much, and they’ve been so happy in there, it blows my mind every Spring when they burst into bloom.

Here are the varieties I currently grow:

1. The Alnwick Rose. The Alnwick is a true pink English Shrub Rose if you ask me. Shrub roses are the ones that grow on a bush, vs. a climber which needs some kind of support to hold it up. It has a nice round bloom, with petals so bunched together it almost looks like a peony. It starts in May and goes all the way until the first frost, which for us is usually late October. A must have!
2. Gentle Hermione. Also a shrub rose, Gentle Hermione is more of a soft pink, has a little more tissue-like petals which curl over on the edges. It’s gorgeous in Spring arrangements though it blooms all through the season. This one tends to push out 5-6 blooms on each stem. She’s a generous gal!
3. Lichfield Angel. Lichfield Angel is described as a cream but I’d say she’s almost a buttermilk color. Also a shrub rose, this beauty looks so good on the bush that I rarely bring her inside. Although she is easy to use for arrangements as she usually blooms one flower per stem.
4. The Generous Gardener. My first climbing rose, this beauty lives on the arch at the entrance to my Potager garden. Pale pink, blouse-y blooms, she is the perfect welcome to a wild, cottage-style garden.
5. Desdemona. Don’t tell the other roses, but Desdemona might just be my favorite. Her fragrance, her petal formation, her subtle color- sometimes white, sometimes, blush, sometimes pink. She’s the blushing bride of the garden and she’s glorious.
6. Darcey Bussell. Darcey is just about as obvious as Desdemona is subtle. I’m mostly a pastel flower kind of a girl, but Darcey has this hint of blue that somehow mellows her otherwise bold magenta. She pairs so well with the cool greens, purples and pale pinks so prevalent in my garden that I just love her.
7. Olivia Rose Austin. Named after David Austin’s granddaughter, and it’s not hard to see why. This might be the perfect pink rose. Perfect shape, perfect scent, goes perfectly with all her other friends in the garden. Olivia Rose is a real winner!
8. Munstead Wood. I will fully admit to being a closet romantic, we’re talking full-on Anne Shirley level. And Munstead Wood- between the name and the deep, dusty burgundy color- was impossible for me to resist. She reminds me of a red velvet Christmas gown and I love her so.
9. Claire Austin. Claire is my other climber, making her way up the other side of the arch that leads into my Potager garden. She’s technically white, but I just think peaches and cream. And not the sickly sweet peach color that so often gets assigned to the fruit, the actual soft yellow you’d get if you mixed fresh peaches with cream. Gorgeous.
10. Queen of Sweden. Queen of Sweden and Queen of my gardens. I picked this rose initially to flank each side of the front staircase, before realizing the 50+ year old maple would shade out everything that tried to live there. And then my dear friends gifted me another one of these gorgeous plants, so now all three line the rock border of our path. They are the PERFECT cutting rose for arrangements, with strong stems and sturdy blooms. She plays nicely with lots of different colors and is the rose I cut the most for bringing in the house. Long live the Queen!

Roses I’d like to add to my gardens

You never run out of room for David Austin roses! There are a few beds left in my garden without a rose at each end, so there’s definitely room for more. Here’s a few at the top of my list:

• Vanessa Bell. I’ve not historically been one for much yellow in my gardens, but I’m trying to branch out (ha!). I had Vanessa at our last house- which was painted yellow- and she was a keeper. It’s high time she join us here at Bramblewood.
• Ambridge. Apricot rose? I’m in. Apricot is my favorite shade of rose, dahlia, peony, you name it. In fact, a few years ago I fell in love with a Peony named Pastelegance of this very color, but she goes for around $200 per plant, so she’s yet to be mine. But Ambridge will be, mark my words!
• Geoff Hamilton. I know this bloom was named for a friend of David Austin’s, but it feels a little wrong for a rose this pink to be named after a man. Either way, she’s totally gorgeous and needs a spot in my garden!
• Roald Dahl. This was my first David Austin rose. My boys bought her for me for Christmas after I’d been dog-earring the catalog for months. I had to leave her behind when we moved I think it’s high time for another one.
• Grace. My Dad is currently helping me design a small greenhouse to sit inside the Potager garden and I just keep thinking how glorious this peach beauty would look in large pots on either side of the front door.
• Wollerton Old Hall. I don’t currently have a spot for another climbing rose- though I have big plans to add 4 more trellises to the Potager this Spring- and I’m thinking this climber will need to live on one of them. Pale Apricot, yes please!
• Emily Bronte. I will be the first to admit that I am not a Bronte girl. Jane Austen all the way. But, this rose is phenomenal. And even though it reminds me nothing of the slightly tormented mind that produced Jane Eyre, I’d be willing to give it a chance.

Where can I find David Austin roses?

Sadly, this post is not sponsored by David Austin (call me, I’ll be waiting!). But obviously I’ve linked to a whole heap of their products, so you can definitely find whichever rose might suit your fancy. I have also ordered David Austins from Heirloom Roses. They are located near me and are a smaller business if you’re looking for that. They also have LOTS of other beautiful rose varieties.

The last couple of years, as these beauties have gained popularity, I have found David Austins at a few local nurseries. My husband and boys try to buy me at least one per year, and I know they picked one out at the nursery just down the road. How cool is that!?

If you want to get your hands on David Austin roses locally, I’d recommend calling your favorite nurseries or just asking around!

Have you tried David Austin roses in your gardens? Which ones are your favorites!? Leave a comment below with which ones you’ve tried or would like to try this next season! Happy rose buying!

Kali

I’m Kali. Oregon mama, farmer’s wife and creator of the Potager book and blog. Join me and as we cook and garden through the seasons!