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Me and David Austin |
David Charles Henshaw Austin, a self-taught horticulturalist
who spent sixty years working to create his vision of the perfect
rose, passed away December 18th at his home in England. It was
reported he had been “poorly” the past few months. He was 92.
Mr. Austin started hybridizing plants as a teenager and turned his attention to roses full time in
1969. His first big break came in 1983 when his billowy, fragrant rose ‘Graham
Thomas’ was introduced at the Chelsea Flower Show. The rest as they say, is
rose history. (He went on to win 24 gold medals at Chelsea.)
Very few people in life leave this world a more beautiful
place than they found it. David Austin was one of those rare individuals. He
left 230 varieties of his enchanting English roses. And he left many of us with
memories of a shy, gentle man who “lived and breathed” the Queen of Flowers.
This is my story about meeting the great rosarian in 1998.
I shall never forget
him.
![]() |
My fave, 'James Galway' |
A very successful artist friend once told me a story about the day he
knocked on Norman Rockwell’s door. A bashful teenager, my friend only wanted to
express his admiration for the great man and tell him of his hopes of becoming
a painter.
Much to the young man’s surprise, Mr. Rockwell graciously invited him
inside, gave him a tour of his studio, and encouraged him not to give up his
dream of becoming an artist.
I felt very much like my friend several years ago during my first visit
to David Austin’s nursery in England.
I knew I was going to meet the renowned hybridizer as a result of an article I’d written on the popularity of his roses for Fine Gardening magazine.
![]() |
'Marinette' |
I expected he’d
say hello, autograph the copy of The
Heritage of the Rose I’d brought along, and perhaps pose for a photo
with me.
Instead, I was
treated to a personal tour of his entire operation and talked with him for a
couple hours about roses in general and English roses in particular.
![]() |
Another of my favorites, 'Sir John Betjeman' |
The first stop on the tour was the nursery Rose Garden.
Despite the fact it was early October when we visited, hundreds of roses were
still in bloom. The garden features over nine hundred different roses, mostly
antique roses, English and shrub roses. Pergolas draped with climbers and
ramblers surround and weave through the garden.
![]() |
Courtesy David Austin English Roses |
Within the main garden there are five
individual gardens. The Long Garden is the main aisle from which all the other
gardens lead off. Here you’ll find an extensive collection of old roses and
shrubs. The Victorian Garden is a circular display filled with English roses
and modern shrubs.
Another informal garden features wild species roses, hybrids
from other countries and an impressive display of colorful rose hips. The Lion
Garden is a classic bedding garden composed of a mixture of hybrid teas,
floribundas, English roses, miniatures and herbaceous plants.
The geometrically
designed Renaissance Garden is devoted entirely to English roses. A narrow
canal runs down the center leading to a “temple” with pillars. ‘St. Swithun’,
‘Noble Antony’ and ‘Molineaux’ were particularly impressive in this setting.
While strolling through the gardens, Mr. Austin proudly pointed out the many
sculptures crafted by his wife, Pat.
Next we walked
through several greenhouses packed with cuttings in various stages of
development. Some of these would later be crossed with other seedlings. Some
would move out to the trial fields. The not-so-promising would be trashed.
The goal at the moment is to develop English roses with more vibrant colors and disease resistance. Mr. Austin is also interested in the creation of new and better cut flowers.
The goal at the moment is to develop English roses with more vibrant colors and disease resistance. Mr. Austin is also interested in the creation of new and better cut flowers.
Every year,
150,000 pollen crosses are made by hand, that will produce around 400,000
seeds. (Meticulous
records are kept of each seedling’s parentage). These seeds are
planted after being chilled in a cooler for three months.
Approximately
250,000 will germinate and the resulting plants are evaluated for beauty,
character, fragrance, diversity of bloom, disease resistance and potential for
use in flower arrangements.
In the fields, assistants evaluate the bushes for diseases and insect problems. Mr. Austin keeps an eye out for form, color and fragrance in a bloom. He flags those that appear promising with a bamboo stick.
In the fields, assistants evaluate the bushes for diseases and insect problems. Mr. Austin keeps an eye out for form, color and fragrance in a bloom. He flags those that appear promising with a bamboo stick.
![]() |
'The Lark Ascending' |
Years later,
only four to six of the original 250,000 plants will make it into commerce.
I can’t help but
wonder if one of the seedlings I saw in the greenhouse, or one of the bushes
flagged by Mr. Austin in the trial fields, turned out to be one of my favorite
English roses.
Looking back on that unforgettable 1998 day, I like to think
I saw 'Darcey Bussell' at the moment she was taking her very first bow.![]() |
'Darcey Bussell' |
24 comments :
What a beautiful tribute, Lynn. You were fortunate to meet Mr. Austin and he was fortunate to meet you. How wonderful to have a tour of his property and learn, firsthand, about his amazing roses!
Beth, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I was very lucky to have a chance to visit with a man I admired so much. I am grateful I have his roses to remember him by.
Hello Lynn, it was wonderful to ready your story of when you met David Austin. I was never much into roses until I saw the English Roses from DA and now they make up the majority of roses in the garden. We have around 10-15 English Roses varieties and they perform spectacularly well. One thing that you allude to is their cut-flower ability, which is very poor. I love to cut the flowers to bring inside but they don't last for more than a few days, which is a shame.
Sunil, I saw some of your Austins when I visited your garden! You are right about most of our "garden" varieties. They aren't super cut flowers. (One exception for me is 'Sir John Betjeman'.) They do have a cut flower division though. They sent me a bouquet a few years back and the roses lasted for ages! I am ready for spring. How about you?
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