There are years when the garden feels especially alive and full of stories. In 2025, at David Austin^®, we saw moments that reminded us why we spend our days among stems and buds. Beginnings that feel full of promise, flowers that arrive ahead of expectation, and new roses introduced on some of the most celebrated stages in gardening.

The winter solstice arrives quietly, the shortest day slipping in with little ceremony. In the garden, everything feels suspended. Frost holds the edges of fallen leaves, the soil settles into its long exhale and even the familiar shapes of roses seem to rest. This stillness is not an ending but a pause, a moment when the year hesitates before turning back toward the light.

Roses and Christmas may seem unlikely companions, yet the flower has held a place in midwinter traditions for centuries. At a time of year when daylight is brief and the garden lies still, the rose has often stood for continuity, memory and the promise of renewal. Its presence, whether symbolic, preserved or coaxed into late bloom, has long brought a touch of grace to the festive season.

A winter walk often reveals more than you expect, especially when you start gathering what the season gives you. For generations, people have stepped out into the darker months to collect what the hedgerows have to offer: evergreens, seedheads, berries and, of course, rose hips. A wreath made from these finds feels honest and seasonal, shaped by the garden and the landscape rather than by anything store-bought. It is a small way of bringing winter’s character indoors.

In the stillness of December, when frost feathers the garden and bare branches trace strong silhouettes against pale skies, it is easy to think of another age. A Dickensian Christmas feels close at hand: lantern light on cobbled streets, mist in the air, and behind brick walls and wrought-iron gates, old roses resting through the cold. Though they are bare now, many of the varieties we grow today were already cherished in Victorian times, rooted in gardens that knew the same cold, the same darkness, and the same deep anticipation of return.

Winter draws a different map across the garden. Borders lose their summer softness, the air grows crisp, and each plant stands in its true form. Roses, perhaps more than anything else, reveal their strength now. Their branches hold the memory of last season’s bloom, and beneath the soil they gather themselves for the next. Looking after them at this time of year becomes less a checklist of jobs and more a steady, reassuring conversation with the season ahead.