Rose remembrance
Rosarian David Austin, who passed away in 2018 aged 92, was renowned worldwide for his breeding of diseaseresistant English Roses. These look back to the old roses with their blowsy, cupped rosette form and range of scents, combined with the repeat-flowering nature and wider colour palette of modern roses. His English Roses, arguably the most successful brand in the world today, had a journey that was, however, not without its hurdles.
In the 1950s, when the prevailing trend was for hybrid tea roses, along came the young David, a hobby breeder and farmer’s son, with a vision inspired by a book of old roses, to create a more beautiful variety that would blend the best characteristics of old roses with the benefits of the new. He believed that roses were being grown for the show bench rather than garden worthiness, and wanted to develop ones that would be beautiful but also easy to prune and care for.
There was initial resistance to these ideas, his peers believing that nobody would want to grow his style of roses. Fortunately, David stood true to his instincts and began the journey that would take decades to achieve. The process gained momentum by a lucky chance, when ‘Constance Spry’ was discovered among his early seedlings, and became the foundation of the development of the English Roses. Introduced in 1961, although not repeat flowering, it had a lovely old-world style that still remains a favourite in gardens across the globe.
Gradually more new roses were bred on his farm, with David taking orders across the kitchen table, eventually opening his own nursery in 1970.
‘We prefer to call them ‘English Roses’ because it seems to us that England, more than any other country, is associated with gardens – and more particularly with the rose itself,’ he once wrote. Famous introductions have included ‘Graham Thomas’ in 1983, one of the most well-known roses and voted the world’s favourite rose in 2009, and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ in 1986, twice voted the nation’s favourite rose.
Awarded an OBE, David gained the greatest satisfaction in seeing the pleasure his roses brought to gardeners and rose lovers worldwide. His aim was for his roses to become a class in their own right, displaying a distinctive personality and making a unique contribution to the rose family.
Today the company continues to develop new roses with breeder Carl Bennett and his team, overseen by David Austin’s eldest son, David Jr, and grandson Richard. ‘David was absolutely dedicated to his passion,’ says senior rosarian Michael Marriott, ‘and it just shows in the end result – healthy bushes with beautiful, fragrant roses – as simple as that.’