David Austin Garden Roses

 
Garden roses. The words evoke memories of a beloved grandmother’s garden, filled with soft, show-stopping roses that smelled like heaven. Nostalgia for these gorgeous, old-fashioned blooms has meant a huge surge in the popularity of garden roses in the bridal market and all signs indicate that they’re here to stay.

David Austin Roses are the epitome of the English garden rose and are highly sought after for their beauty. Twelve cut varieties are bred specifically for floral designers and are available in the North American market, in shades of red, hot pink, pink, peach, yellow, and white.

We worked with those 12 varieties in a recent Floral Design Class here in Seattle, Washington: Beatrice, Carey, Charity, Constance, Darcey, Edith, Juliet, Kate, Keira, Miranda, Patience, and Tess. Today on the blog we are featuring the David Austin Garden Roses as part of our Rose Study Series. As with all Flirty Fleurs rose studies, the roses here were processed into clean water. No hydrating solutions or flower foods were used and all flowers were kept at room temperature and not in a cooler. I did speak with Eleanor of David Austin Roses and she informed me that the guard petals should not be removed as they are tougher petals which helps the rose to open to its full cupped garden rose form and prevents the bloom from shattering. Although I did mention above that I did not use any flower food while processing the roses, Eleanor did mention that they recommend using Chrysal’s Rose Food.

Here are our notes:

Beatrice
Vase life: 7 days, peak at 4–5 days
A beautiful, rich golden yellow hue for this ruffly-petal garden rose. Beatrice is a slow opener with a slight scent. The bloom itself is a bit on the petite size, so keep that in mind when ordering this rose – you may want to order extra stems to ensure you’ll have enough to make a statement.

 
 

Carey
Vase life: 5–6 days
A solid dark pink coloring on each petal, Carey opens into a perfect buttercup garden rose shape. Carey is smaller than her ‘sister’ Miranda and nowhere near as showy. Shows consistent color throughout a 12-stem bunch. The darkest pink of the David Austin cut varieties.

 
 

Charity
Vase life: 3–4 days, peak at 3 days.
A large, lovely blush pink rose with a wide-open, green-eyed center, which adds a unique touch. I highly recommend keeping this one in the cooler until you are ready to design with her, she’s finicky and opens quickly. Charity is quite an eye-catcher and worth the work, just handle with a kind hand and take care of this one!

 
 

Constance
Vase life: 5–6 days
Constance is a good-sized rose, although shallow, that will open fully and show its center. The petals are lovely, swirly ruffles. The colors in a bunch can really range from blush pink to a brighter pink. This rose appears to be one of the favorites when I talk with other designers – they are drawn to the perfect rounded garden rose shape and sweet blush-pink coloring.

 
 

Darcey
Vase life: 7 days. Peak at 4–5.
One of two hot pink David Austin roses, Darcey is smaller than Kate, and a deeper magenta-crimson color. Darcey is a slow opener, but will open wide and show its center at its peak. Give this rose a few days out of the cooler to really bloom to its full size. It is a long lasting rose, just like Tess & Kate – a good two weeks out of the cooler.

 
 

Edith
Vase life: 5–6 days, peak at 3–4
Edith is a large bloom with complex coloring: touches of gold, peach and rose tones all in one bloom. She plays well with others because of her coloring, which can pull toward autumn tones. Significant color variation in the 12-stem bunch. Slight scent.

 
 

Juliet
Vase life: 5 days
Juliet is a favorite rose in bridal work for her beautiful peach tones. A beautifully cupped rose. These particular Juliets came from Alexandra Farms, which is a lighter peach. I have noticed that if I receive Juliets from Green Valley that they are a darker, warm peach.

 
 

Kate
Vase life: 7 days
Kate is the other hot pink David Austin. She’s a lush raspberry hot pink into magenta rose blossom that opens nicely, nearly double the size of Darcey. Kate is a long lasting bloom. I’d suggest keeping her out of the cooler so she can open into a full bloom for your design work.

 
 

Keira
Vase life: 4–5 days
Keira is a perfectly cupped-shape rosette whose petals blend from blush pink to cream to light pink. Significant range of colors in a 12-stem bunch of Keira: some tend to be more pink, some more blush. Not a large rose, more delicate and beautifully suited to bouquet work. A slight scent.

 
 

Miranda
Vase life: 5–6 days
The perfect pink garden rose, Miranda is a strong and hearty bloom, by far the strongest of the pinks. Opens to be a very large rose, nearly three inches – the largest of the David Austin cut varieties. Great, solid pink color on all petals.

 
 

Patience
Vase life: 3–4 days. An event rose.
A lovely, silky, creamy white color, Patience has an intoxicating scent. Patience tends to brown easily and has a delicate neck, so she requires tender handling. This particular variety should be kept in the cooler, otherwise it may open to quickly for your event. I find it best to let it sit out for a day to hydrate and open up and then I place it in the cooler to keep it at a premium stage.

 
 

Tess
Vase life: 7days
A rich, dark, velvety red, Tess is the answer to your red garden rose needs. A strong and hearty bloom.
Keep in mind that Tess needs a few days to really bloom open, it took 4-5 days for it to open to the stage where I felt it really showed off its full beauty. It was also a very long lasting rose – a good two weeks.

 
 

 
 
David Austin Garden Roses
http://davidaustinrosesusa.com
All of the David Austin Garden Roses featured here were grown by Alexandra Farms.

Tomorrow I will feature the arrangements we created with these beautiful David Austin Garden Roses during the Floral Design Class.