Thank heaven the garden is asleep right now, as there's too much to do in preparation for the holidays without adding gardening chores to the list. This week I'm just posting a few pictures of David Austin's english roses. Above is 'Sister Elizabeth'.
'Claire Austin' is touted as the best white english rose to date, but my young plants are still getting established. They put out a few blooms last summer but I hope for a better show next year.
Warm pink 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' has a hefty bloom with a soft, old rose scent.
Here is 'Lady Emma Hamilton', a delightfully fragrant rose with beautiful sunset coloring.
Finally, this is tiny 'Francine Austin', with sprays of sweet little white roses touched with blush pink. You'll notice the aphids on the bud to the right. I didn't use any pesticides on the roses this year. Occasionally I used the hose to spray off heavy aphids, but that was all. And the plants did just fine!
Lovely roses!
ReplyDeleteEnglish roses are wonderful... fragrance AND bloom. You must have the perfect climate for these beauties.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful... but 'Lady Emma Hamilton'is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm becoming addicted to English roses. I keep trying to figure out where to put more. 'Lady Emma' has been my favorite so far. Do you have any favorite English roses that stay on the smaller side?
ReplyDeleteYou always showcase the most lovely roses. If they smell as good as they look, ahhhh.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I think you might really like pink 'The Countryman'. It stays in the 3' by 3' range, and is a good garden plant - nice rounded, shrubby form. Good health. The fragrance is amazing. The only drawback is that the roses don't last much more than a day in the vase before shattering or getting all wilty. Or peachy-pink 'Queen of Sweden' stays narrow at 2' wide, though it gets 4' tall. It's great for cutting, has ADORABLE blooms, but it has a myrrh scent that isn't my favorite - it smells like my grandma's perfume.
ReplyDeleteOh, that Lady Emma Hamilton is to die for. I have one spot for an Austin rose this year because my beloved Pat Austin gave up the ghost. I was going to replace her, but your beautiful Austin posts are making me reconsider. I have bookmarked them all for my spring shopping trip.
ReplyDeleteVW .. I wasn't a fan of English roses .. I'm still not quite there yet .. BUT .. after planting William Shakespeare and smelling that divine perfume .. well , he has my heart for sure !
ReplyDeleteCan you recommend a white one that is VERY perfumed ? .. and I also do that thing with aphids .. either cute the shrub back a bit or spray them off with the hose .. i try very hard not to use chemicals ;-)
Joy
Fair Bianca has a strong perfume, so does Windemere. They are both lovely in the garden as well.
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