I'm not sure why you consider Darcy Bussell to be a mid-pink to dark pink rose. To me it is bright red and DA also refers to it as a red rose.

Bishop's Castle---DA says it is "rose-pink"--to me it is a med. pink, very healthy, big fat blooms.

Boscobel--is a rich salmon pink and healthy. Gorgeous blooms.

England's Rose--is a "deep glowing pink"--and very tough--healthy. A little taller than the previous ones.

Huntington Rose--is deep pink, "particularly tough and healthy"--really big fat blooms! A little taller than the first ones listed here.

Jubilee Celebration--rich salmon pink with touches of gold (lovely blend!), "very healthy." Another slightly taller one. Not that good a grower in my garden, however.

Princess Alexandra of Kent--glowing warm pink, "very healthy"--handsome plant!

Princess Anne--deep pink, "remarkably resistant to disease"--this might be the best choice if you are competing against the disease-resistance of the Knock Outs.

Sir John Betjeman--bright, deep pink, healthy

However, if you consider Darcy Bussell a dark pink rather than red or crimson, it sounds like a good choice--although I've never grown it so can't say from personal experience.

Most of the roses I listed here are about 3 ft tall. If they are taller, I noted that in particular.

Hope that helps.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: David Austin Search List

Princess Anne might be a good choice if she is as disease resistant as she seems. A bit on the small side though from descriptions. I have PAOK. Love it, but i had some major BS issues for me last summer. It is also a bit upright in structure. Everyone seems to describe Darcey as shrubby which will work better for the site in mind. I'm pretty open to anything on the mid-pink to red spectrum. Just want to stay away from the light pinks. Actually, redder may be better. She'd probably actually like a darker color.

My DB is a big healthy prolific shrubby thing. I would consider her a muted reddish with purple tones. Don't love the color. Rather muddy.

Not a great pic but this is true to her color. On far right

I would recommend Gertrude Jekyll for colder zones. It is very hardy. I don't have too much trouble with blackspot in my no spray zone 5a garden although Lady Emma Hamilton sure gets some. Mary Rose is also good. Rugosa roses such as Pierette Pavement or Foxy Pavement are another alternative. Hardy Buck roses like Earth Song or Country Dancer are also hardy and disease resistant but, like rugosas, do not have old fashioned bloom form. Easy Elegance roses are also disease resistant.

I'm not sure the David Austin's are your best best in zone 5 and certainly not the best for disease resistance in my opinion. My recommendation would be toward some of the Griffith Buck roses instead. He bred many beautiful shrub roses that are very hardy and healthy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Griffith Buck's roses

You might try showing your friend pictures of some rugosa hybrids, such as Therese Bugnet, medium pink. The rugosas are absolutely bullet proof; they practically grow themselves. TB does self clean.

Bishop's Castle is a nice rose, but it's a BS magnet.

I saw Darcey Bussell in a show and it was almost purple (and gorgeous) I'm not sure about disease resistance.

Darcy is very disease resistant for me. Sooo many great choices!

I like the idea of the Buck roses Earth Song and Country Dancer, but they are described as upright growing. I really want a relaxed look...not rounded or structured.

How big does Therese Bugnet get in my zone? Would she stay around 4'x4' (Heirloom's estimate) or would she get as big as HMF says and reach 6'?

'Therese Bugnet' grows to about 6 ft here in zone 3, it's a beautiful very hardy shrub that flowers for most of the season when given good soil and moisture, the spring and early summer flush is amazing! Stems are a nice reddish color and have few thorns and take well to pruning, so plants can easily be kept smaller, though I wouldn't want to be cutting it back overly severe.

Terrance

This post was edited by twrosz on Sat, Jan 4, 14 at 13:44

I have a Sir Edward Elgar that has done well for me. It gets about 5 to 5-1/2 ft tall, and it reblooms dependably. It is a dark pink color similar to the color of the HT Electron, if you know that one. It is a bright, electric pink. The picture below doesn't quite do it justice, but I think you can get the idea. I'm not sure why this rose doesn't appear more often in catalogues because it does reasonably well, at least here.

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Radio Times is another pink Austin.