I devoted today’s “Fragrance Friday” on my other blog to David Austin, OBE, creator of the English Roses, about which I have written before: Fragrance Friday: David Austin Roses. I just got the latest catalogue in the mail, with its usual tempting array of spectacular roses old and new.
Do you grow any of his beautiful roses? Which ones?
Old Herbaceous 
I had missed that. I’ve grown a number of English roses over the years. ‘Teasing Georgia’ lived in a small pot for a few years, and is now planted by the front porch, where it has a number of sturdy canes and produces beautiful sprays of flowers starting in late spring. ‘Dove’ and ‘Sharifa Asma’ come back reliably for me. Like ‘Teasing Georgia,’ ‘Sharifa Asma’ seems to be a particularly hardy rose, and the flowers are very beautiful. I’ve smelled English roses that had that rich Old Rose fragrance (Damask rose, to me), and the “myrrh-scented” type — a lovely fragrance in its own way, if unusual. And I’ve smelled some that smelled like raspberries and other fruits, some of those in a delicious combination with the Old Rose scent.
I appreciate that Mr. Austin introduced yellow and ochre and apricot shades of color into roses that look and often smell like Old Garden Roses. And I appreciate that many of his roses that are very like Old Garden Roses repeat bloom. I wouldn’t want to do without the spring-blooming Damask roses and Albas and Centifolias, but I also like to see roses that flower in the summer and fall.
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I agree! I have several of his roses in big pots and a few in the one part of my garden that gets enough sun. I particularly like the pink, yellow, and apricot-colored ones.
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