Born on a farm in Albrighton, England, located in the West Midlands, David Austin was fascinated by roses as a teenager in the 1940s. When his sister gave him the book Old Garden Roses by A.E. Bunyard for his 21st birthday, he decided to turn his interest into action. At that time, modern hybrid repeat-flowering tea roses were becoming increasingly popular, but Austin was not fond of their qualities. In his opinion, modern roses lacked scent. David preferred the fragrance and colours (mainly white, blush, pink, and soft red) of antique rose varieties and English roses and came up with the idea to create an entirely new kind: a rose with the beauty and scent of old roses combined with the advantages and strong qualities of modern roses. Over the following decades, he perfected this idea in hundreds of beautiful rose varieties that combine the scent and charm of old roses with the hardiness and long flowering period of modern roses. This is how it all began for the English rose grower and how the English rose came to be.

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 richly flowering. Among the seedlings were strong, short-flowering shrub roses with large pink flowers and a strong sweet scent. Austin showed the new cultivar to his friend and legendary gardener, Graham Thomas, who then showed the English rose to the renowned Hillings Nursery. They were impressed by the beauty, scent, and strong qualities of the rose and decided to cultivate the English rose. Often, an English rose also has a delightful scent. These sweetly 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 designers and gardeners overlooked antique roses, the presentation of this myrrh-scented English rose attracted so much attention that it sparked a new trend. Austin’s innovative rose varieties were embraced by the community and soon shaped the new image of English gardens. Thus, the English rose has a rich history.

In the decades that followed, Austin continued to perfect his ‘new old roses.’ There are now about 200 registered, and his roses are grown under licence 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 for 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 true to the beauty of old roses.

Constance Spry is an example of this; the English garden designer passed on her love of roses to garden lovers in the post-war years. As a lover of literature, 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 notable figures. The beauty thus goes beyond the English rose itself.

If you want to plant an English rose by your house and have no front garden, removing a few paving stones is an easy solution. Some towns 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 feed it with (organic) fertilisers in spring before flowering. Cut off spent flowers and prune to create a nice structure with several large main branches. In winter, cut the shoots back to about ten centimetres from the main branch. This way, you ensure the English rose blooms for a long time with a lovely strong scent.

For over forty years, Belle Epoque has specialised 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 blooms, 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.