Inspiration

Soft light spills across a quiet garden, where the hum of bees threads through the still air and petals tremble with the morning dew. There is a hush here, a sense that time itself slows, inviting the senses to wander and the spirit to rest. In these moments, the perfume of roses becomes more than a fragrance. It is at once familiar and fleeting, a memory, a mood, a gentle companion to the day, recalling childhood gardens, evening walks and the warmth of the sun. Among our English Roses, some are distinguished not only by their beauty but by the generosity of their perfume.

When it comes to creating an interesting and harmonious garden, the way you arrange your plants can make all the difference. English roses, with their exquisite forms and captivating fragrances, are the perfect example. Planting them in clusters of three, five or more, particularly when you choose the same variety, is one of the simplest and most effective ways to bring both balance and character to your outdoor space.

For many gardeners, the first sight of a bare root rose can be a surprise. Without its leaves or blooms, it arrives looking rather modest: a handful of roots, a few sturdy canes, and a curious little swelling where the two meet. Yet within this unassuming bundle lies everything needed to grow a strong, healthy rose that will flower for years to come.

As World Mental Health Day reminds us, the way we care for our minds can be as natural and nourishing as tending a garden. Among plants, soil, and sky, we find a space that allows both body and spirit to rest and renew. Few experiences embody this better than the simple act of planting a rose. It asks for patience, attentiveness, and trust in the rhythm of life, and it rewards us with beauty that feels deeply earned.

Gardens high on hills, offer breathtaking views, but the combination of wind, cold winters, and shorter growing seasons can make growing roses a challenge. With careful selection and planting, even these exposed gardens can thrive with elegant, fragrant blooms.

Each summer the Proms bring music, tradition and joy to the Royal Albert Hall. From the first shimmering notes to the final chorus, audiences are carried into a world where sound becomes memory. At David Austin^®, we mark this festival in our own way, with roses that are themselves named after music and musicians who have moved us. These varieties hold within them the same qualities of rhythm, harmony and timeless beauty.

Some roses seem to hold a story in their petals, and Rosa Penelope Lively^® (Ausb18a15) is one of them. Named for the much-loved writer, this English Shrub Rose carries both elegance and quiet depth, a living tribute to a voice that has shaped contemporary literature.

Guest blog by Helen Cross - Author, Journalist, Presenter, and School Gardening Champion. At the start of every gardening session with a new group of children, I always ask them what flower, fruit, or vegetable they would like to grow in their school garden. You might be surprised, but over the last five years, three or four out of every ten children have told me they want to grow roses.

In the quiet town of Woodbury, Connecticut, sits the Old Glebe House Museum, an 18th-century parsonage with a remarkable story to tell. Within its grounds lies something truly special: one of only three gardens in the United States designed by the legendary British plants woman, Gertrude Jekyll. It is also the only one fully realised according to her original plan.

Few roses are held in such regard as Gertrude Jekyll^® (Ausbord). Valued for its rich, mid-pink blooms and one of the strongest Old Rose fragrances in cultivation, it has become a familiar name among gardeners. Yet it is not only the scent that secures its place. This is a rose with structure, presence and the ability to draw planting together. It offers more than a single season’s beauty. It gives shape to the garden and settles easily among other plants, whether used in formal arrangements or in looser, more naturalistic schemes.

From the kitchen window of Bowling Green House, the view is quiet but alive. Beyond the old glass panes, a narrow canal runs still beneath the branches of the weeping ash, its surface shifting with light and the soft wake of ducks. Native reeds and waterlilies fringe the banks, creating a scene that feels more discovered than designed. David C. H. Austin had it dug after admiring something similar in a friend’s garden. Here, it became the garden’s steady centre, a reflective ribbon running through the planting, anchoring moments of calm.

Deadheading roses can feel a bit like clearing up after something quietly wonderful. One flower fades, its colours softening and edges curling, while another is just beginning to open, full of promise. Suddenly your hands are full of petals - soft, warm from the sun, and still carrying that unmistakable, subtle scent of the garden. It’s easy to let them drop back to the soil, returning to where they came from. But sometimes they feel too lovely to leave behind, as though they’ve still got more to offer.

Each June, as the nation gathers to mark Trooping the Colour, a ceremony full of history and pageantry, there is another way to celebrate. Not on the parade ground but in the garden, where beauty grows with care and purpose.