David Austin Roses

Blooms of Grace and Beauty

What was it that inspired David Austin to collect pollen from one parent rose and seed from another and breed an entirely new offspring? And what was it that continued to inspire him to spend his entire life creating new and magnificent roses? Well it seems that a friend of his fathers' was a plant breeder and David was given a book by this chap about ‘Old' roses. He suddenly had the idea that to create a rose that would have the best attributes of both old and modern roses would be fantastic.

"My first attempts at hybridization were tentative and experimental; but it soon became clear that it was possible to combine the beauty of the Old Roses with the practical virtues of the Modern - to blend the old with the new."

So he set about the process and since then he has introduced nearly 200 new roses to the horticultural world.

It is incredible to see photographs of the two parents and the restultant offspring and to imagine why he se1ected those particular roses to create a new one. The colour, the form, the perfume, the shape, the performance, the ‘virtues' as he calls them, all combine to create a rose that holds the best of its parents in its beauty and performance.

David Austin specifically chose the  character and fragrance of Old Garden Roses such as Gallicas, Damasks and Albas, etc. and the repeat-flowering ability and wide colour range of modern roses like Hybrid Teas and Floribundas.  With regard to fragrance, David has this to say:

 "Fragrance, it has been said, is the ‘soul' of the rose. This may be a little high flown, but the idea is perhaps not so far-fetched as it might seem. Like the soul, fragrance is difficult to pin down because it has no substance. It is not something we can hold in our hands - it is always shifting and changing."

His first rose, 'Constance Spry', was introduced in 1963. Next came 'Chianti' and 'Shropshire Lass'. Although these first roses bloomed only once in spring or early summer, they led, in 1969, to a series of repeat-flowering varieties, including 'Wife of Bath' and 'Canterbury' (both named in honor of the English author Geoffrey Chaucer). Austin's roses soon became the most successful group of new roses in the twentieth century.

Though Austin's roses are not officially recognised as a separate class of roses they are nonetheless commonly referred to in horticultural literature as 'English Roses' (the term he uses) or 'Austin Roses'.

The naming of the cultivars were in honour of David's family, of well-known rose lovers, geographical landmarks in Britain, historical events, and British writers, particularly Shakespeare and Chaucer, and their works or characters.

David's son, David JC Austin has worked alongside his father for over fifteen years. Today the English Roses are grown in every rose-loving nation in the world, winning awards in many different countries.

As well as beauty and fragrance, the se1ectors working with David Austin look for an almost indefinable characteristic: Grace. This is the special quality which they feel sets the English Roses apart from other roses

The team chooses for colour, form and fragrance initially, then the seedlings move on to further tests in the field. Many years of field trials are needed to highlight the seedlings which have outstanding ongoing garden performance to match the beauty of their flowers.

David Austin says that the planning of the crosses is his favourite part of the breeding process. This is a relatively relaxed but highly creative process. Although successful rose breeding depends on meticulous planning and requires close attention to the smallest details, chance will always play a significant part.

This creates much of the fascination of rose breeding as results cannot ever be accurately predicted. David Austin is in his late seventies today and is still going strong, still looking to create the next bloom of perfection. What a brilliant legacy this man has left to the world. He says:

 "To many people, the process of hybridization seems to have something slightly magical about it, as if it comes about by alchemy. The reality is, of course, much more mundane, but even after a lifetime of rose breeding, the subject still fascinates me."

Harry and Lloyds' Top Ten Austin Roses

1. Abraham Darby 

2. Grace

3. L D Braithwaite

4. Mary Rose

5. Sharifa Asma

6. Evelyne

7. Graham Thomas

8. Winchester Cathedral

9. Kathryn Morley

10. Wildeve