News

There are years when the garden feels especially alive and full of stories. In 2025, at David Austin^®, we saw moments that reminded us why we spend our days among stems and buds. Beginnings that feel full of promise, flowers that arrive ahead of expectation, and new roses introduced on some of the most celebrated stages in gardening.

Our breeding team shares what this special season means to them, as the hips ripen in the glasshouses and the next generation of roses begins its journey.

At David Austin Roses, the greenhouses are alive with energy as thousands of young plants grow and develop. This is the stage where the next generation of roses begins to take shape, starting with the formation of rose hips, the small fruits that hold the seeds of future blooms.

The Gertrude Jekyll^® rose is known and loved for its rich, classic fragrance and those beautifully shaped old-fashioned blooms. Though it began in England, gardeners in very different parts of the world have welcomed it into their gardens with equal affection. To celebrate this special rose, we reached out to growers in Japan, Italy and the United States to hear how Gertrude Jekyll^® grows and blooms in their own climates and garden styles.

As the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival drew to a close recently, reflections linger on days steeped in sunshine, heavy with scent, and warmed not only by the blazing summer heat but also by the shared joy of gardening.

In May 2025, Rosa Gertrude Jekyll^® (Ausbord) was named the “World’s Favourite Rose” by the World Federation of Rose Societies, a distinction awarded through a global vote involving rose lovers from 40 countries. This accolade celebrates a rose that has quietly yet firmly held a place in the hearts of gardeners for almost forty years.

Now that the show gardens have been dismantled and the last petals settle, we take a quiet moment to reflect on this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Chelsea is far more than an event; it is a meeting of minds and a celebration of beauty, carefully tended and thoughtfully shared.

The King’s Rose^® is unlike anything we’ve bred before. With its soft stripes, gentle fragrance and natural charm, it marks a distinctive new direction for the David Austin^® collection. Created in support of The King’s Foundation, this rose brings together beauty, purpose and a quiet nod to tradition.

Some roses feel like they have always belonged, nodding gently in the breeze, filling the air with soft fragrance, and settling into a garden as if they were always meant to be there. Rosa Emma Bridgewater is one of them.

Our annual Summer in Bloom photography competition attracted a global wave of entries this year, as enthusiasts from around the country submitted images showcasing the alluring beauty of garden roses.

A milestone anniversary is an achievement to be celebrated. It requires commitment, patience, perseverance and more – and this couldn’t be truer for our roses.   Ours is a labour of love, evidenced by the multiple David Austin varieties that are reaching impressive milestones this year. We pride ourselves on our 12-year breeding program and reaching these milestones is proof of our dedication to cultivating roses that will stand the test of time.   Here’s who we’re celebrating in 2024… Here's to 10 years This fruity-scented trio have each enjoyed a decade of summer blooming and are still going strong.  The Lady of the Lake ^® (Ausherbert) continues to flourish in all its pale pink, citrus-scented glory. A rambling rose named after the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend with semi-double flowers and long, flexible stems ideal for training over a pergola or weaving into the canopy of an established tree.  SHOP NOW Meanwhile, Olivia Rose Austin^®’s (Ausmixture) wondrous pink buds celebrate a decade of flourishing from early spring all the way through to autumn. Named after David Austin Senior’s granddaughter, her beautiful cupped rosettes sit elegantly against dark green foliage – ideal in a border to flank a patio or lawn with her medium fruity fragrance.  SHOP NOW Last but not least, The Poet’s Wife^®(Auswhirl) has brought ten years of sunshine-coloured, lemon-scented loveliness to the David Austin family. This medium shrub rose has a wonderfully rich fragrance that grows stronger and sweeter with age, with rich yellow flowers that make the most cheerful cuttings to bring a little of the garden inside the home. SHOP NOW Here's to 15 years Two of our (rather different) shrub roses are celebrating an impressive fifteen years in the David Austin fold – with more to come.  Our hydrangea-like Kew Gardens^® (Ausfence) rose is reaching its fifteenth year of continual clusters of delicate white flowers throughout its blooming season. A favourite for the bees and incredibly versatile, it can feel as at home in a pot as it can amongst a wild patch of garden.  SHOP NOW Another favoured by the bees, and celebrating the same milestone, is the Lady of Shallot^® (Ausnyson). A vibrantly-coloured English shrub rose with a warm, tea-like fragrance. Its chalice-shaped blooms feature salmon pink petals on the outside and a loosely arranged rich, orange centre which makes for the most eye-catching border or hedge. SHOP NOW Here's to 20 years In wedded traditions, a twenty-year anniversary is marked by a gift made from China to celebrate beauty and delicacy—and here lie two roses that are abundant in both.  Marking two decades with David Austin, these impressive roses continue to stand the test of time. Harlow Carr’s (Aushouse) bright pink flowers are known for blooming on a wonderfully rounded shrub that’s rich in the scent of Old Rose – both nostalgic and uplifting, ideal for positioning close to a seated area or by an entrance into the home.  SHOP NOW Also reaching it’s 20th birthday is the ethereal Queen of Sweden^®(Austiger) with its elegant light pink half-enclosed cup flowers make for a rather pleasing upright arrangement. Ideal for framing a lawn as they are for pruning into a posy to gift to a loved one. SHOP NOW

At this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show on 20th May 2024, David Austin ^® has revealed its new rose of the year in honour of iconic British potter Emma Bridgewater. A beguiling pink English shrub rose, her rosette form opens up to a crescendo of colours ranging from apricot and coral to mauve and lilac, nodding to the painterly nature of Emma Bridgewater’s collectible pottery, which have stolen the nation’s heart for decades

The theme for the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) National Gardening Week in 2024 is 'Knowledge is Flower', which aims to demystify the wonderful world of gardening. The perfect time to dispel some myths and unveil the ease of growing our typically British, David Austin blooms.