Where to buy David Austin Roses for your Garden

When I was a kid my grandma had the most magical place. She was a restaurant owner. Not only was she a restaurant owner her home was her restaurant. She and my grandpa restored a victorian parsonage to it’s original glory before youtube and before the diy network. She was a true O.G. when it came to diy. Her and my grandpa would hit up flea markets and antique shows collected bits and bobs for the house to keep it original. They turned it into a business called the domanihuis (I know I spelled that wrong) it is the dutch word for parsonage. You would eat in the first level of the house and they had events in the beautiful yard.

The yard was absolutely incredible with a huge front porch and a big square pool in the back. In the backyard she had the most incredible collection of roses. The fragrance lined the sidewalk and when the wind blew you would catch the scent of myrrh in the breeze. Well at least until as a kid I decided to make potpourri. I don’t know how old I was or where the adults were but I picked every single petal off my grandmas rose bushes and made potpourri. Ahhhh memories.

I think of how much love and care I gave to my roses this past season and it makes me want to cry the thought of that happening. My grandma still remembers that day too haha and I can’t say I don’t blame her. I always thought roses were too finicky and that they were too tricky to grow. I started last year with 10 David Austin Roses and they were so amazing… I have another 40 coming this spring. Gulp. You read that right. 40 David Austin Roses coming right up!

I’m not sure where they are going to go but that’s a problem for another day. Below I’ll share why I buy David Austin roses for my garden and where to buy David Austin roses that make the best, healthy additions to your garden and landscape.

Where to buy David Austin Roses
I have found David Austin Roses in my local nursery but the varieties were very limited. The best selection comes directly from the grower. I ordered 9 bare root roses and 1 potted rose and the bare root roses grew at a much faster rate than the potted rose. Other than the larger variety available from David Austin directly, the biggest benefit is the customer service. I had three roses that never took off and the company responded to my email within hours and replaced them (coming this season) no questions asked. The company was extremely helpful with trying to revive them and the customer service was worth buying directly from them. I wouldn’t buy anywhere else unless I saw a healthy plant that I had to have.

What is a David Austin Rose?
Over 60 years ago David Austin set out to create a better rose. If you have bought many roses from cut flower shops you’ll note they are pretty much void of scent. A David Austin rose is breed to have the fullest beautiful blooms, filled with scent and typically grown on a shrub. There are a few tree roses but most are shrub, climbing or rambling roses. The process to breed and create a new David Austin Rose takes ten years. A David Austin Rose is an english rose bread by David Austin growers.

When do I order David Austin Roses: 
I order my roses in January to make sure that I get all of the varieties I’m after. I ordered all bare roots this year and request a catalog that tells me when they need their routine care. The roses ship at planting time for your region so it’s important that you know your growing zone.

Here are the varieties I ordered in January 2021:
The Generous Gardener
French Lace
Iceberg
Claire Austin
Munstead Wood
Royal Jubilee
Jubilee Celebration
Heritage
Benjamin Britten
Mill on the Floss
Ambridge
Carding Mill
The Alnwick
Wildeve
Jude the Obscure
Windermere
Boscobel
The Ancient Mariner
Queen of Sweden
Lichfield
Desdemona
Scepter’d Isle
The Lark Ascending
James L Austin
Princess Anne
Olivia Rose
Harlow Carr
Emily Bronte
Mary Rose 
The Wedgewood
Gentle Hermione 
Eglantyne
Huntington
Princess Alexandra of Kent
Ambridge
Port Sunlight 

My Favorite David Austin Roses ordered in 2020

Wollerton Old Hall – Planted in front of the barn
Boscobel  – Planted by the garden shed
The Ancient Mariner – Planted by the garden shed
Claire Austin – Planted in the garden (Will be replaced this year)
Emily Bronte – Planted by the garden shed
Windermere – Planted by the garden
The Mill on the Floss – Planted by the garden shed
St. Swithun – Planted by the garden shed (Will be replaced this year)
Mary Rose – Planted by the garden shed (Will be replaced this year)
Bishops Castle – Planted by the garden shed
The Generous Gardener – Planted by the garden shed

Wither you are starting a flower garden or mixing roses into your landscape, David Austin roses are a great choice. They are guaranteed for 5 years and have excellent and thorough growing instructions with each order. I cannot wait to plan out where this next order of roses is going to fit into the garden!