Born on a farm in English Albrighton, located in the West Midlands, David Austin was fascinated by roses as a teenager in the 1940s. When he received the book Old Garden Roses by A.E. Bunyard from his sister for his 21st birthday, he decided to turn his interest into action. Modern hybrid repeat-flowering tea roses were becoming increasingly popular at the time, but Austin was not charmed by their characteristics. In his opinion, modern roses had too little fragrance. David preferred the scent and colors (mainly white, blush, pink, and soft red) of antique rose varieties and English roses and came up with the idea to create a completely new type: a rose with the beauty and fragrance of old roses combined with the advantages and strong characteristics of modern roses. He perfected this idea over the following decades in hundreds of beautiful rose varieties that combine the fragrance and charm of old roses with the resistance and long flowering period of modern roses. This is how it all started for the English rose breeder and how the English rose came into being.

Starting from the idea of crossing old roses with modern roses, David Austin began with gallica roses (Rosa Belle Isis) and modern floribunda roses (Rosa Dainty Maid). Gallica roses descend from Rosa gallica and floribunda means profusely flowering. Among the seedlings were strong, short-flowering shrub roses with large pink flowers and a strong sweet fragrance. Austin showed the new cultivar to his friend and legendary gardener, Graham Thomas, who then showed the English rose to the famous Hillings Nursery. They were impressed by the beauty, fragrance, and strong characteristics of the rose and decided to cultivate the English rose. Often, an English rose also has a delightful fragrance. These deliciously scented flowers sometimes have heavily filled blooms and sometimes a bushy growth. People also know the English rose for its vigorous growth.

When Austin presented the light pink, beautifully filled English rose Constance Spry in 1963, this marked his breakthrough. At a time when garden architects and gardeners overlooked antique roses, the presentation of this myrrh-scented English rose attracted so much attention that it caused a new trend. Austin's innovative rose varieties were embraced by the community and quickly defined the new image in English gardens. Thus, the English rose has a rich history.

In the following decades, Austin continued to perfect his ‘new old roses.’ There are now about 200 registered, and his roses are grown under license by growers worldwide. Some varieties are so special that it takes ten years to perfect them, and up to 120,000 are grown before the rose is released by Austin for sale. There is an English rose suitable for every garden!

Rose lovers from all over the world visit his rose garden in Albrighton annually, which under the creative direction of his wife Pat, beautifully showcases his roses combined with other plants and sculptures. Austin received various awards in his lifetime, including the Victoria Medal of Honour in 2003. All our English roses are delivered directly from the rose nursery.

David Austin's English Roses stand out because of their beautiful names such as Constance Spry, a Shropshire Lad, Rhapsody in Blue, or L.D. Braithwaite. Austin liked to name the roses after important people who remained faithful to the beauty of old roses.

Constance Spry is an example of this; the English garden architect passed on her love for roses to garden enthusiasts in the post-war years. As a literature lover, Austin also liked to name his roses after writers who inspired him.

Sometimes he named an English rose after important Shakespeare characters, others after the surrounding British landscape, castles, royalty, and notables. So the beauty goes beyond the English rose itself.

If you want to plant an English rose in front of your house and you don't have a front garden, removing a few pavement tiles is an easy solution. Some cities encourage the creation of small front gardens. Keep in mind that the rose grows deep, so make sure to dig a sufficiently deep hole with good soil.

Let the climbing rose grow vigorously for the first two years and give it (organic) fertilizers in spring before flowering. Cut off spent flowers and create a nice structure of several large main branches when pruning. Cut the shoots in winter about ten centimeters away from the main branch. This way, you ensure the English rose blooms long with a delightful strong fragrance.

For more than forty years, Belle Epoque has specialized in the most beautiful climbing roses. English roses by David Austin, but also many other renowned European brands such as the French Meilland and the German Kordes. With us, you buy the most beautiful English rose for your garden. We have large-flowered roses with fragrant flowers, soft pink flowers, cup-shaped flowers, and old historic roses.

Order your English roses or David Austin roses at Belle Epoque. We ship to all European countries but often to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Germany. Buy English roses now directly from the nursery.