Some rosarians complain that Austin has released too many roses. I understand the argument. As a person who holds the ideal of the English Rose in high regard and is always eager to place in my garden some rose that more nearly approaches that ideal than the last rose, I welcome each improvement; but always wish I did not have to start anew in order to get what I imagined I was getting the last time. Still, I think one rose does best in one geographic location and another one similar to it will do better in another. Let the market decide.
David Austin set out in 1959 to reclaim the charm of old roses: their shrubby growth, strong fragrance, old rose form, and disease resistance. It was not until about 1984 when he introduced Graham Thomas, Heritage, Abraham Darby, and a handful of other good roses that the general public began seeing things his way. Since then there has been a groundswell of interest in roses with precisely the qualities Austin prizes in his roses. The lions share of this interest is directed toward Austin's offerings. This is an excellent trend.
I have grown Graham Thomas and cannot imagine growing roses without it in my garden. I grow Eglantyne which is as disease free as Austin claims but somehow seems too stiffly upright for my taste. And the pale pink petals leave me cold. Sophy's rose is the only rose in my own garden to reliably bloom once in spring and then again in fall. That would be great except I'm not certain I like the color. What good is a rose if you cannot stand the color of its blossoms? It's a crimson that blues very quickly. Mary Webb produces lovely pale primrose roses on a disease free plant, but it is the very opposite of rampant. Tamora is a little slow going also, but very lovely when a bush produces its annual blossom. Abe Darby did pretty well until he had to move. I shall definitely find another spot for it. My favorite smell of all the roses in the world is that of Ambridge Rose, but that rose perished in poor soil. If I ever garden in good soil, it will be the first rose I plant. Graham Thomas and Golden Celebration are plagued to varying degrees by disease.
Austin's sensibilities about roses changed everything. For this, all of rosedom will be eternally grateful. For this, Austin deserves rich rewards including healthy profits from growing roses. And since we are required to purchase three rose plants to create what seems to be a single shrub, and each of these plants costs up to twice as much as (usually less well developed) roses from competitors it would seem he is being well rewarded. Regardless of the costs, I am confident that I will be planting many hundreds of dollars more of his cultivars. But for now my yard is full. And those new introductions strike me as being just a bit too dear to tear up Sophy or Eglantyne to make room for something that may not be quite as much better as I had hoped.
Name |
Color |
Date |
Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constance Spry | Candy Pink | 1959 | 8.5 |
| The Yoeman | Pink/Yellow Blend | 1969 | 8.1 |
| Wife of Bath | Candy Pink | 1969 | 7.8 |
| Chaucer | Pale Pink | 1970 | 8.1 |
| Charles Austin | Pale Apricot | 1973 | 7.8 |
| Lilian Austin | Coral/Gold Blend | 1973 | 8.4 |
| Yellow Button | Primrose | 1975 | |
| The Squire | Crimson | 1977 | 8.4 |
| Canterbury | Candy Pink | 1979 | 7.3 |
| The Reeve | Candy Pink | 1979 | 7.4 |
| Bow Bells | Candy Pink | 1981 | 7.8 |
| Fair Bianca | White | 1982 | 7.8 |
| Leander | Shell Pink | 1982 | 8.3 |
| Prospero | Purple | 1982 | 8.4 |
| Admired Miranda | Shell Pink | 1983 | 7.5 |
| Cressida | Copper | 1983 | |
| Cymbaline | Shell Pink | 1983 | 8.3 |
| Dapple Dawn | White/Pink Blend | 1983 | 8.5 |
| Graham Thomas | Yellow | 1983 | 8.3 |
| Jaquenetta | Pale Apricot | 1983 | |
| Mary Rose | Pink | 1983 | 8.3 |
| Perdita | Pale Apricot | 1983 | 7.8 |
| Pretty Jessica | Pale Pink | 1983 | 8.0 |
| Tamora | Pale Apricot | 1983 | |
| Troilus | Primrose | 1983 | |
| Belle Story | Shell Pink | 1984 | 8.6 |
| Bredon | Pale Apricot | 1984 | 7.9 |
| Ellen | Apricot | 1984 | 7.5 |
| Heritage | Shell Pink | 1984 | 8.4 |
| Mary Webb | Primrose | 1984 | |
| Windrush | Primrose | 1984 | 7.8 |
| Abraham Darby | Shell Pink | 1985 | 7.8 |
| Emanuel | Shell Pink | 1985 | 8.2 |
| Sir Walter Raleigh | Pink | 1985 | |
| English Garden | Pale Apricot | 1986 | 8.0 |
| Gertrude Jekyll | Pink | 1986 | |
| Othello | Crimson | 1986 | 7.2 |
| Symphony | Yellow | 1986 | 7.8 |
| Fisherman’s Friend | Crimson | 1987 | 7.8 |
| The Nun | White | 1987 | |
| Charles Rennie Mackintosh | Lilac | 1988 | 7.9 |
| L.D. Braithwaite | Red | 1988 | |
| Potter & Moore | Candy Pink | 1988 | |
| Winchester Cathedral | White | 1988 | 7.8 |
| Sharifa Asma | Shell Pink | 1989 | 7.9 |
| Sweet Juliet | Pale Apricot | 1989 | 7.6 |
| Ambridge Rose | Pale Pink | 1990 | 8.2 |
| Brother Cadfael | Candy Pink | 1990 | 8.0 |
| Charlotte | Primrose | 1990 | 7.3 |
| Claire Rose | Pale Pink | 1990 | 7.4 |
| Kathryn Morley | Candy Pink | 1990 | 7.7 |
| Lilac Rose | Mauve | 1990 | 7.9 |
| Peach Blossom | Pink | 1990 | 7.5 |
| The Prince | Purple | 1990 | 7.6 |
| Cottage Rose | Pink | 1991 | |
| Evelyn | Pale Apricot | 1991 | 7.7 |
| The Dark Lady | Crimson | 1991 | 7.8 |
| The Herbalist | Cerise | 1991 | |
| The Pilgrim | Primrose | 1991 | 7.6 |
| Glamis Castle | Buff | 1992 | 7.9 |
| Golden Celebration | Gold | 1992 | 7.8 |
| Happy Child | Yellow | 1993 | |
| St. Swithun | Pale Pink | 1993 | 7.0 |
| Tradescant | Purple | 1993 | 7.8 |
| Eglantyne | Shell Pink | 1994 | 7.8 |
| Jayne Austin | Pale Apricot | 1994 | 7.6 |
| Molineaux | Apricot | 1994 | |
| Jude the Obscure | Pale Apricot | 1995 | 8.0 |
| Noble Anthony | Cerise | 1995 | |
| Pat Austin | Apricot | 1995 | 7.7 |
| Mayor of Casterbridge | Candy Pink | 1996 | |
| Sir Edward Elgar | Cerise | 1996 | |
| Geoff Hamilton | Pink | 1997 | |
| Sophy’s Rose | Crimson | 1997 | |
| Teasing Georgia | Yellow | 1998 | |
| Tess of the d’Ubervilles | Crimson | 1998 | |
| William Morris | Pale Apricot | 1998 | |
| Blythe Spirit | Yellow | 1999 | |
| Falstaff | Crimson | 1999 | |
| Portmeiron | Rose | 1999 | |
| James Galway | Lilac | 2000 | |
| Comtes de Champagne | Ivory & Buff | 2001 | |
| Wisley | Rose | 2001 |