Also Known As The David Austin Rose

The English Garden Rose, otherwise known as the Austin Rose, made it’s debut in the rose world in the 1960s.  David Austin succeeded in creating a rose that combines the vigor and hardiness of the old garden rose with the colorful and repeat flowering nature of the floribunda.  

The Constance Spry, his first offering to rose lovers, shot up in popularity because of it’s large, soft, translucently pink cupped double flowers. It is a combination of a Mad Gallica ‘The Belle Isis’ and a floribunda ‘Dainty Maid’. Although it blooms just once in summer. However, the myrrh scented abundant blooms are long-lasting. Indeed, they look stunning against dense dark green foliage. In addition to it’s visual attractiveness, it is also very healthy and tolerant of harsh winters.

The English Garden Rose is ideal for both front and back borders. It can be trained to climb and spreads rampantly. All the roses in this variety are known to exude different fragrances. Broadly, these are classified into old rose, myrrh, floral tea, and fruity fragrances. Some roses of this variety have more than 100 petals. 

To instil some old world charm into your modern rose garden, bring home the hardy and yet beautiful English Garden Rose.

Grace is a resilient shrub that gives out many branches and grows to a height of 4 feet and spreads to a width of 4 feet. It is a very healthy repeat bloomer. The dark apricot blooms with paler edges exude a heady and sensuous fragrance. It is ideal for borders and will blend well with purple and dark red flowers. 

Golden Celebration, a medium sized shrub, can be trained as a short climber. A very resilient rose bush that gives out an intense fruity tea fragrance initially that turns into a drugging wine and strawberry scent as the bud opens out fully. It is a repeat bloomer with the most beautiful rich golden hued blooms. Golden Celebration has a shapely growth and arches slightly with sufficient foliage. This rose won the Best Shrub & Most Fragrant Rose awards at the 2000 Rose Awards Day. 

Gertrude Jekyll was voted England’s Favorite Rose and can be grown in pots. It is a medium sized shrub and with encouragement can grow into a short climber.  It was named after a famous gardener, who lived in the late 1800s; her influence being felt strongly even now in rose gardens all over the world.  

It is very hardy with a very strong old rose fragrance.  It’s impeccable tiny scrolled buds blossom into large flowers repeatedly throughout the season. It’s about 4 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide as a shrub and about 8 feet tall as a climber. It won the James Mason Award in 2002 from the Royal National Rose Society. 

Darcy Bussell is an old rose hybrid with a mild fruity scent.  It is very hardy and healthy with deep intense crimson colored roses that take on a mauve tint just before the petals drop off.  This rose grows pretty well in large sized pots.  It flowers repeatedly and is 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall.  It was named after a renowned ballerina. 

Finally, in summary, The English Garden Rose is hardy and resilient. Therefore, these old garden roses do not compromise on flowering frequency, colors, or fragrances. 

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