Above: A Shropshire Lass just starting to spot flower in the last week of October.
Shropshire Lass is a magnificent shrub rose for a big country garden. She is only once-flowering, so when room is tight in a suburban garden and preference is given to repeat flowering roses, many rose lovers may give Shropshire Lass the cold shoulder. But in a big garden where there is plenty of space for Spring-flowering varieties, you just could not go past this rose. The shrub is healthy and boisterous, but it is the blooms that are the winning feature here- so, so beautiful. They are almost translucent, and the colour is impossible to portray with the words 'light pink fading gradually to white', which is the description used in David Austin's own online catalogue.To see a Shropshire Lass in full bloom from head to foot is something you will never forget...as you can probably tell, I am smitten with this rose, and would never have a garden without her in it.
Above: Shropshire Lass. I love roses that display the quirky little turned in petal at the centre trait...it reminds me of a naughty child trying not to laugh and covering their mouth with their hand.
Above and below: The varied faces of The Dark Lady. This again is one of David Austin's "oldies', and is a fantastic garden rose. Named after "The Dark Lady" to whom William Shakespeare penned a sequence of sonnets, this rose spends weeks in late October and early to mid November smothered in deep pink to crimson blooms. The fragrance is strong, and the plant builds up into a strong and healthy shrub. She repeats very well, so long as water is kept up to her over the dry Summer months.
Above: As the buds unfurl, the opening bloom of The Dark Lady resembles a hybrid Tea rose, but soon shows the old-fashioned form which I love so much( see below).
Above: The Dark Lady, fully opened.
Above: The Austin rose Belle Storey is one of the prettiest roses in his large collection. Released in 1984, she is one of the many Austin roses that have been taken off nursery lists by David and his staff because of the misguided belief that they don't perform well in the garden. Most of my favourite Austins are older varieties that have been given the axe from recommended lists...perhaps they are not up to scratch in the cooler climes of England, but here in Australia they are simply brilliant performers in terms of health, vigor and length of flowering period.
Above: Shropshire Lass. I love roses that display the quirky little turned in petal at the centre trait...it reminds me of a naughty child trying not to laugh and covering their mouth with their hand.
Above and below: The varied faces of The Dark Lady. This again is one of David Austin's "oldies', and is a fantastic garden rose. Named after "The Dark Lady" to whom William Shakespeare penned a sequence of sonnets, this rose spends weeks in late October and early to mid November smothered in deep pink to crimson blooms. The fragrance is strong, and the plant builds up into a strong and healthy shrub. She repeats very well, so long as water is kept up to her over the dry Summer months.
Above: As the buds unfurl, the opening bloom of The Dark Lady resembles a hybrid Tea rose, but soon shows the old-fashioned form which I love so much( see below).
Above: The Dark Lady, fully opened.
Above: The Austin rose Belle Storey is one of the prettiest roses in his large collection. Released in 1984, she is one of the many Austin roses that have been taken off nursery lists by David and his staff because of the misguided belief that they don't perform well in the garden. Most of my favourite Austins are older varieties that have been given the axe from recommended lists...perhaps they are not up to scratch in the cooler climes of England, but here in Australia they are simply brilliant performers in terms of health, vigor and length of flowering period.My Belle Storey roses have all grown well beyond the height suggested in books and catalogues, reaching a good eight feet tall. She is the loveliest apricot/creamy peach colour, is very fragrant, and her darker coloured stamens are gorgeous and adored by the "Eurimbla" bee population.
Above: A single bloom of Belle Storey.
Above: This specimen of Belle Storey is at least eight feet tall.
Above: I have a love-hate relationship with this rose. Named "The Reeve", after a character in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", this rose has the most delicious blooms and is a beautiful clear pink. The heads nod down towards the ground, which annoys some growers, but I find this tea-like tendency quite charming in a rose. Everything about The Reeve I love, except for one thing...its fragrance I find totally offensive- reminiscent of cat wee. It is supposed to be myrrh scented, but I love the other Austin myrrh scented roses, such as Constance Spry and Cymbeline. The Reeve though just makes me snort like a horse every time I smell it, trying to remove all traces of its scent from my nostrils. So...love the rose, loathe the smell.
Above: The nodding heads of "The Reeve".
Above: David Austin's "Moth" growing through the arms of my garden statue who is named 'Deidre, Lady of the Sorrows' after the famous Irish tale.
Above: A fully opened bloom of Moth.
Above: Deidre and Moth
Above: Three of my favourite Austins are Mary Rose, Winchester Cathedral and Redoute, which are all basically the identical rose in three distinctly different colours. Mary Rose came first in 1983, and is the most generous-flowering, I think, of all of the Austins. She is a clear deep pink, and fades to a lighter silvery tone. Mary Rose sported a pristine, white bloom which in 1988 was released as Winchester Cathedral, pictured above. The rose Redoute resulted from another Mary Rose sport, and like Winchester Cathedral is identical to Mary Rosa with the exception that its bloom is a blush pink.
I like to grow these roses as a hedge, and it broke my heart to have to remove a long hedge of them to make way for a pool several years ago. I still have one hedge remaining, though, and it really is stunning in full bloom.
Above: The Mary Rose sport Redoute
Above: Mary Rose. One charming feature of the Mary Rose sports is their tendency to throw blooms that reflect back to their Mary origins...either a whole bloom that is deep pink, or even a petal or half a petal.
Above: An oldie as far as David Austin releases go, this is Charles Austin who first appeared in gardens in 1973. I grow him in a shady position where his blooms retain their lovely deep apricot colouring. He has a lovely fragrance and has grown quite tall- over 6 feet.
Above: A single bloom of Belle Storey.
Above: This specimen of Belle Storey is at least eight feet tall.
Above: I have a love-hate relationship with this rose. Named "The Reeve", after a character in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", this rose has the most delicious blooms and is a beautiful clear pink. The heads nod down towards the ground, which annoys some growers, but I find this tea-like tendency quite charming in a rose. Everything about The Reeve I love, except for one thing...its fragrance I find totally offensive- reminiscent of cat wee. It is supposed to be myrrh scented, but I love the other Austin myrrh scented roses, such as Constance Spry and Cymbeline. The Reeve though just makes me snort like a horse every time I smell it, trying to remove all traces of its scent from my nostrils. So...love the rose, loathe the smell.
Above: The nodding heads of "The Reeve".
Above: David Austin's "Moth" growing through the arms of my garden statue who is named 'Deidre, Lady of the Sorrows' after the famous Irish tale.
This is another rose disowned by the Austin franchise, and of course another that is well-loved by me. Its unusual name comes from the William Shakespeare play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', in which a fairy named Moth is one of the attendants of Titania, the Fairy Queen.
Moth's habit is quite sprawly...she sends out long canes which flower along the entire length. The specimen above sent out just the one cane when I planted her last season, but this Spring has started shooting several more from the base.
The blooms are beautiful, and the most unique colour...a sort-of milky latte mixed with pinky pearl... and have a sweet scent.
Above: A fully opened bloom of Moth.
Above: Deidre and Moth
Above: Three of my favourite Austins are Mary Rose, Winchester Cathedral and Redoute, which are all basically the identical rose in three distinctly different colours. Mary Rose came first in 1983, and is the most generous-flowering, I think, of all of the Austins. She is a clear deep pink, and fades to a lighter silvery tone. Mary Rose sported a pristine, white bloom which in 1988 was released as Winchester Cathedral, pictured above. The rose Redoute resulted from another Mary Rose sport, and like Winchester Cathedral is identical to Mary Rosa with the exception that its bloom is a blush pink.I like to grow these roses as a hedge, and it broke my heart to have to remove a long hedge of them to make way for a pool several years ago. I still have one hedge remaining, though, and it really is stunning in full bloom.
Above: The Mary Rose sport Redoute
Above: Mary Rose. One charming feature of the Mary Rose sports is their tendency to throw blooms that reflect back to their Mary origins...either a whole bloom that is deep pink, or even a petal or half a petal.
Above: An oldie as far as David Austin releases go, this is Charles Austin who first appeared in gardens in 1973. I grow him in a shady position where his blooms retain their lovely deep apricot colouring. He has a lovely fragrance and has grown quite tall- over 6 feet.
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