Friday, November 27, 2015 3 comments

Three new David Austin beauties head to America in 2016




I attended the Chelsea Flower Show in May 1991. That year, a Silver Medal was awarded to a garden called Gothic Retreat. If I saw it, the plants and design have completely slipped my mind. You see, I was so gobsmacked by the enormity of the show and the variety of blooms, I didn’t know which way to turn.

I trained Cottage Rose as a climber
That year a hybridizer named David Austin introduced three roses I later grew in my Maryland Garden. Cottage Rose, The Dark Lady and Evelyn remain among my favorites.

But Mr. Austin was not new to Chelsea – in 1983 he unveiled two of his new, old-fashioned “English Roses” to the world, Graham Thomas and Mary Rose.

The rest, as they say, is history.


Chelsea photos courtesy David Austin English Roses
In 2014, David Austin English Roses secured an 18th Gold Medal in the Great Pavilion awards. Their team of eight worked for five days to prepare the display in the main marquee. Those readers who recall my posting about the 2013 Austin stand may not believe it, but that year’s presentation was even more stunning.

And in 2014, the show was a also family affair.


David Austin Senior, David Austin Junior and his son Richard were on hand to celebrate the award.  In addition, one of the 2014 Chelsea introductions was named Olivia Rose Austin after David Junior’s daughter.

Olivia Rose Austin (courtesy David Austin Roses)

Because the variety is named for a family member, it had to be something special. Olivia is the first offering in their disease-free line and has been in development for almost ten years.  The rose features soft pink rosette blooms and a fruity fragrance.  The Austin folks believe it might be their best rose to date.  


Now, this stunning rose and two other English beauties will be available to American gardeners in 2016.


The second new introduction, The Poet’s Wife, has really caught my eye. Technical Manager Michael Marriott says it is a rare color in the David Austin pastel palette – an unfading rich yellow. It is a low grower, ideal for the front of the border. The fragrance is described as lemony, becoming sweeter and stronger with age.   

The Poet's Wife (courtesy David Austin Roses)

The final new rose to make its debut next spring is The Lady of the Lake, only the fourth rambler to be added to the English Rose collection. It promises to grow 10 to 15 feet or more with long, slender flexible canes.

Unlike many ramblers, it repeat flowers throughout the summer and boasts a fresh citrus scent. Michael Marriott reports it may only be hardy to USDA Zone 7, but I intend to give it a try here in the mountains, even though we are Zone 6b.

 
Lady of the Lake (courtesy David Austin Roses)

So there you have it. The roses that caused crowds to swoon at Chelsea year before last are headed across the pond. You can place your orders now at David Austin Roses for spring delivery.

If you have a rose lover on your Christmas list, you might want to give a gift certificate. My family gave me one last Christmas and I used it to get a Darcey Bussell tree rose for my new garden. What a holiday treat!

 

Of course the Austin folks presented three more roses at Chelsea this year: Desdemona, The Ancient Mariner and Sir Walter Scott.

Since I’m married to a former officer in the Royal Navy, The Ancient Mariner will be on my must-have list when it becomes available

Wait a minute ­– I’m already getting my heart set on another rose before the 2014 Chelsea winners make their appearance at my front door?

If you have a bad case of English rose fever like me, I suspect you can relate.























Wednesday, November 4, 2015 9 comments

London's Garden Museum fascinates with Tradescants and treasures







As we are packing to head “across the pond”, I wanted to repost this article I wrote about the Garden Museum in 2015.

As Dirt Diaries readers may recall, I visited just before the museum closed for a £7.5 million renovation. I will be covering the reopening, along with the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and other fun destinations.

I’ll also revisit the “window boxes of London” and see what clever things the designers have come up for 2017! And I’ll see how the Queen’s bees are doing at Buckingham Palace.

Enjoy your tour of the “old” museum (which I found fascinating) and join me for all the dirt on UK gardening goings-on when I return. Cheers!



The museum is housed in the former St. Mary-at-Lambeth church
Just before we left on our trip to England, I wrote about some of the gardens and sights we planned to visit there.

In London Calling (London gardens that is), I mentioned the Garden Museum and how much I was looking forward to going there. 



We stopped in on a dreary Tuesday afternoon and were greeted by the news the museum was about to close for an extensive redevelopment program  and won’t be reopened until 2017. Even though activity was winding down, we found the exhibits and grounds intriguing.


A selection of garden gnomes from the final exhibit before renovations
How many garden designs did Jekyll plot at this desk?

The main exhibit was Gnome & Away: Secrets of the Collection, which featured a grouping of antique tools and objects of interest to gardeners. Other assorted goodies were on display elsewhere in the museum including Gertrude Jekyll’s desk and an American pink flamingo.

An early miniature garden

Outside we wandered through the re-creation of a seventeenth century knot garden planted in honor of intrepid plant hunter John Tradescant and his son. Both men traveled the globe to find new plants (and parts of exotic animals) to bring back to England. John the elder was also gardener to Charles I.

Even though it was late September, the garden was still lovely. I can just imagine what it looks like in spring and summer when topiaries are at their best, and the old roses and herbaceous plants are in bloom.

The Knot Garden from above (Photo courtesy London Garden Trust)

The knot garden itself is planted with species either introduced by the Tradescants, or grown in their Lambeth garden, which has long since disappeared. Most plants in the modern garden are labeled with their country of origin and year they were introduced to the UK.

One of the fascinating things on display is a copy of “the catalogue to the John Tradescants’ Ark, cabinet of curiosities and botanical garden.” The Ark was considered to be one of the wonders of 17th century London. Father and son opened the garden and “cabinet” to citizens (at a cost of six pence to get in) and in effect, created London’s first public museum. 

The Tradescant catalog lists an Alegator (sic), Rattle Snakes and a Dragon

Astonishing rarities were reportedly displayed including the “hand of a mermaid, a pelican, a small piece of wood from the cross of Christ and all kinds of foreign plants.”

The Tradescant family tomb is adjacent to the knot garden and is one of the most important churchyard monuments in London. Panels carved into the sides of the monument depict objects from the Tradescant collection. 

An alligator and a nautilus shell are among carvings on the tomb

If you love garden history, the information about the Tradescant catalog, tomb and plants in the knot garden is well worth the price of admission.

But I was sorry to learn I had missed some truly extraordinary earlier exhibits.  One on War and Gardens included a scrapbook of pressed flowers from London bombsites collected by a teenager just after World War II. There was also an array of Wills Rose Cigarette Cards from World War I, and stories of gardens behind the lines.
 
I loved these rose cigarette cards so much I bought one on eBay

I am delving into these stories with the gracious help of the Garden Museum, and will be writing about it all very soon.

I look forward to finding out more about these wartime gardens. 

And I truly look forward to returning to this treasure of a museum in 2017.


Welcome Americans!!





 
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