Last week we went to the "Mecca" of English rose lovers... David Austin's gardens in Albrighton, England. We took a two hour trainride and were dropped off at Albrighton station, then it was just a 20 minute walk to the nursery. Unfortunately, it started to rain just as we arrived, so we had a picnic lunch under the shelter at the station, and when it started to clear we walked to the nursery.

Many of the roses were in bloom, but a lot were still waiting to open up. The gardens were incredibly beautiful.

I think the one advantage of the poor weather was that the gardens weren't very crowded. In fact, we were lucky come on a day when they were offering a free "behind the scenes" tour, and only 4 other people signed up! So we got a wonderful, nearly private tour of the gardens... and... we got to go into the private area and visit the greenhouses where all the thousands of potential new English roses were growing!! Our tourguide, shown below, has worked for David Austin for over 20 years, and is obviously still very passionate about the roses, she was so incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, a real sweetheart.

Below are some of my favourite photos from the day:

Mary Magdalene

 

Princess Anne

 

A Shropshire Lad

 

Young Lycidas

 

Gentle Hermione

 

The Herbalist

 

Darcey Bussell

 

The Lady of Shallott

 

Princess Alexandra of Kent

 

Skylark

 

The Generous Gardener

I've also included some photos of the new roses for 2011 (they were all tiny plants, just planted and still showing at Chelsea!), and some other that I think Austin fans might be interested in seeing. At the bottom of the page you'll find thumbnails for the entire gallery of images. I've tried to photograph the nameplate for each rose that I photographed, and to take shots of the full bush as well as individual flowers.

William and Catherine

 

Queen Anne

 

The Fighting Temeraire

 

Susan Williams-Ellis

 

Kew Gardens

 

England's Rose

 

Wisley 2008

 

I ended up buying three roses that day, (you should have seen the looks as we sat on the train buried in our little rose forest). I fell in love with Princess Anne and had to get her. It is just an amazing little rose. Every single bush I saw was just covered with amazing blooms and I loved the colour and shading. I also picked up one of the new ones (I couldn't believe they were selling the 2011 roses just announced that same week at Chelsea), Wollerton Old Hall, which is supposedly one of the most fragrant roses that Austin has ever produced, so I'm very much looking forward to the first bloom! Lastly I picked up St Cecelia, a rose that I used to grow in California and have missed terribly. I adore the scent, a mix of myrrh and almonds, which always reminds me of candy. It is very strongly scented, and I love the bloom shape as well. If I could have grabbed one more, it would have been The Herbalist, which really stunned me with its sheer joy and exuberance. Of course, there are dozens on my wish list, I wish I could just have a trial garden for David Austin... sigh... dream... dream... dream...

You can view all 200+ images, including many other roses and "bush" shots instead of individual flowers on my website by following the link below.

As a lover of many DA roses, I have enjoyed this very much. I love the photos of YL. I have it and love,love,love that rose. I have my eye on Wollerton Old Hall of the new ones. Let me know how that one works out for you. And a big thanks for the link to your entire gallery of photos too.

Juliet

so nice to hear from you---I remember your Cal. garden---

Florence

What a trip of a lifetime..and to think you could go more than once a year if you wanted to!

I wish I could take a trip to England around this time and other well known english gardens.

I wonder what's the name of that white roses just above the photo of the tourist guide. 'Perhaps it's William and Cathrine'? I hope it is. I can't wait for that rose to be release here.

I also love the look of Darcey B. In fact I love roses that show off their button eye at the center.

It must have been so much fun to visit the Austin gardens.

Christina

Ingrid

Florence

Wollerton Old Hall is covered with buds. I've not seen a single bloom yet "in real life", so I've got my fingers crossed. I think I'm expecting something similar to Scepter'd Isle with a lighter colour. I'll post photos when it blooms.

Florence, it's my pleasure, and a treat to share it with others who enjoy the roses!

Silverkelt, I do appreciate how lucky I am to live so close! When I lived in California I never dreamed I'd get to visit, and now I can walk out of my door, get on a train, and be there in just over two hours. I wonder what I should do this weekend?? LOL.

Jumbojimmy, the roses in most of the pictures of the greenhouses are "potential" new Austins, either for garden or cut flowers, so I'm pretty sure we wouldn't know any of them already. If you like button eyes, you should consider Sister Elizabeth and Eglantyne. I thin Sister Elizabeth might do very well in your climate, she loved my So. California garden.

Krista, it was great fun. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.

Hosenemesis, thanks for taking a look!

Inga007, you're very welcome, thanks for taking the time to look through everything.

The Bustopher, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Christina, I'm so glad the photos brought some happiness to your day!

Ingrid, it was my pleasure. Thank you!

Jerome, yes, I agree, I think he is a genius too. I can't tell you how much enjoyment I get out of his creations. I think we are so lucky to have him. He lives in a house on the grounds, and the tour guide told us that he still comes out every morning and walks through the gardens, taking notes, commenting, and finding improvements. He still works in the breeding and selecting and is very much the man we can thank for these roses. So.. thank you very much Mr. Austin!

Kristin, I did spend hours there. We arrived at 11 and left when they closed at 5, and I still could have spent many more hours wandering around. It was really fantastic.

Darcy B. is a stunning rose. I must get that one.