David Austin Rose Obsession

[andthebandmarchedon]

I have developed an (unhealthy) obsession with David Austin Roses since lockdown. My sourdough baking morphed into gardening once I had that cracked and now I have a collection of six roses. Please don’t count how much I’ve spent (or tell my husband) and that’s not even counting the huge pots they require 😳. I now follow threads on FB and Instagram and google pictures and even (embarrassingly) have a spreadsheet with my favourites and their qualities.
Anyone else been similarly afflicted?

What about Sceptre'd Isle www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/scepter-d-isle

or Eustacia Vye www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/eustacia-vye

or whiter with pinkish hint Desdemona www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/desdemona

That was for GreyGardens88

My kind of thread!
In my garden and on my allotment grow:
Gertrude Jekyll
Christopher Marlowe
Benjamin Britten
Jude The Obscure (absolute favourite)
Wollerton Old Hall
Fighting Temeraire
Molineux
St Alban
St Cecilia
Lady Emma Hamilton
Munstead Wood
The Shepherdess
Shropshire Lad
DA roses have brought me SO much joy over the years!

For those who are looking for a pale pink scented climber I recommend New Dawn by DA. Although I don't think he created it as we had it in our garden from the 50s before I was born. My lovely sister sent me one last year in memory of our dog

@andthebandmarchedon could your neighbours rose be Malvern Hills?
I moved house earlier this year, and one of the first things that I did was plant some David Austin roses - there were none in the garden, which almost seemed unbelievable to me. The Generous Gardner, Roald Dahl and Olivia Rose Austin (X2). Also the old rose mme le gras de st germain and Alberic Barbier, which is a superb rambler I had at my old house as well. I don’t live too far from Austin’s and next year if your obsession continues op you should definitely go, you would love it. I’ve been a number of times and it never disappoints - you just need to take your wallet because you won’t walk out empty handed.

@Furries that is a beautiful tribute.

I have a vase of Bathsheba Everdene on the table as I type.

I hope whoever bought Kiftsgate has a big garden. It's a thug.

@GreyGardens88 in response to a similar query about the best rose for a pot on instagram Nick Bailey recommended Desdemona, which is a white David Austin with hints of pink. It is very fragrant but quite compact.

I used to get their catalogue each year, and spent hours poring over it.

Who can recommend one which climbs and will be in a shaded area?

https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/collections/ideal-for-north-walls-and-shady-areas?=pf&sort=manual&display=grid&pfftrosessbycategory=filterrrosecategory%3A%20Climbing%20%26%20Rambling%20Roses Madame

Also not Davis Austen, but Albert Carriere, Albertine or New Dawn.

This thread is perfectly timed! We've just started building a rose garden (trellis panels, arches etc) and I have a spreadsheet of various types of bush and climbing roses for the various bed aspects from David Austin and Peter Beales. There are just so many! Also need to think underplanting/companion planting. The north facing bed is camellias and hellebores for now, but am thinking of trying out one or two of the David Austin climbers suitable for shade and see if they perform at all.

Just this minute ordered one as a gift

Only have one myself (small garden) but I'm considering trying to get in a climbing rose somewhere. Will be a DA one.

Desdamonda looks perfect

How big does the pot need to be for one rose?

Big eventually, you can start off a bit smaller for first year (or two) but David Austin site says min 45cm by 45cm if I recall correctly. The pots that site sells (lovely but £££) start at that.

@GreyGardens88 you would need a 45cm pot and reasonably deep as roses have deep roots. They need a lot of water to stay healthy in pots, but I have a Roald Dahl that has done very well in a pot.

I love DA roses, we have a few. The latest one we bought is called Gentle Hermione, a really pretty one that looks almost like a peony and with a beautiful scent.

I drag DH to their nursery every time we’re passing (don’t feel too sorry for him - we live in Scotland so it’s not a weekly occurrence, and he’s bribed with a promise of a visit to RAF !).

We bought a Malvern Hills, Albrighton rambler and Lady of the Lake last year which are all doing reasonably well, although our roses are all prone to black spot which is the ONLY thing in the garden that we spray for.

We also have a Kiftgate and a Rambling Rector, both of which rampage across fences, the Kiftgate, particularly, scents the whole back yard.

Also very proud of a 50p ‘shelf of doom’ climber which does magnificently over the front porch. DH had to cut it right back about 6 weeks ago after it collapsed during high winds but it’s already sprouting back - yellow single flowers, little scent, but have no idea what it it - the label fell off..........

RAF Cosford that should read

@Redhair23 - thank you. It looks a bit sparse and lonely in that spot at the moment, but when it matures it should fill the space nicely. And the solar paw prints give me a little smile when I see them glowing from the window.