Each bud of Rosa Eustacia Vye® (Ausegdon) is borne on red-hued stems and unfolds into a shallow cup-shaped bloom consisting of a mass of apricot-pink petals. The delicate contours of the ruffled petals serve to accentuate the subtle color of the flower, which attractively softens in tone as it ripens. In a garden, the impact of this remarkable rose is enhanced by its strong, fruity scent.
By naming this rose, David Austin relives his love for the characters created by Victorian author Thomas Hardy. Throughout his novel, The Return of the Native, the reader follows with fascination as the compelling heroine Eustacia Vye, revered for her exotic beauty, makes her uncompromising but misguided journey through life. (Another protagonist in the novel, Damon Wildeve, gave his name to a rose by David Austin: Rosa Wildeve.)
Eustacia Vye® is a healthy, repeat-flowering rose, which tolerates a windy location well (perhaps a reference to the fictional Eustacia's walks across the wild Egdon Heath). As with other English shrub roses, it can be planted individually in flower borders or in groups for greater impact in rose borders, where they grow attractively together to form a permanent flowering mass of strongly scented pink. The rose will also thrive if planted in a large enough container.