David Austin® Roses new varieties for 2023
Introducing the latest roses added to the world-renowned collection of English roses by David Austin®
Say hello to Dannahue®& Penelope Lively®, our latest English roses to join our collection.
Breeding a new rose is a unique mix of art and science requiring patience and dedication, from pollination to sale, the entire process of creating a new English Rose takes 12 around years.
Take a look at the latest varieties launched in 2023...
This compact and upright bushy shrub is happy in pots and containers and will also thrive against walls and fences, as well as in shadier areas. Dannahue is full of character, with deep peach buds that pale into soft apricot blooms. A medium luscious scent of zesty lemon with notes of lychees and fresh apricots adds to the beauty of its blooms.
BEHIND THE NAMEDannahue® named after ‘The Black Gardener,’ is Danny Clarke’s birth name. In 2022, David Austin was hugely impressed with a garden co-designed by Danny Clarke at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The garden, ‘Hands of Mangrove’ designed with Tayshan Hayden-Smith, founder of not-for-profit Grow2Know, powerfully untied two prominent issues of social injustice and global deforestation.
Danny Clarke’s drive to make gardening more accessible and inclusive, means this city dwelling rose is the perfect pairing to share our passion for the power of gardening. £10,000 from the sales of Dannahue® is being donated to not-for-profit Grow2Know, to support their mission to empower young people through horticulture whilst also creating a more inclusive environment.
Dannahue® (Ausa6b15)English shrub roseVIEW MORE
BEST FOR HEALTH • BEST FOR FRAGRANCE
Colour: Apricot
Bloom size: Medium
Flowering: Repeat flowering
Size: 3.5ft (110cm) x 4ft (125cm)
Expect berry-red buds that bloom into a classic and elegant rose with mid-pink, cupped blooms in poised and open sprays. Penelope Lively®’s flowers are medium sized with varying shades of pink petals that fade to a lavender hue over time. Complementing her elegant colour palette, Penelope Lively® carries a classic rose fragrance with twists of raspberry, lemon, and a whisper of myrrh. A medium-strong level of scent, it is the embodiment of summertime.
BEHIND THE NAMEOur Penelope Lively® shrub rose is named after British author and winner of the Booker Prize and Carnegie Medal, who’s writing spans novels and short stories enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Penelope is a self-confessed gardening addict and, in her memoir, ‘Life in the garden’ she writes: “The two central activities in my life – alongside writing – have been reading and gardening.”
Penelope Lively® (Ausb18a15)English shrub roseVIEW MORE
BEST FOR HEALTH • BEST FOR FRAGRANCE • BEST FOR FLOWERING
Colour: Mid pink
Bloom size: Medium
Flowering: Repeat flowering
Size: 3.5ft (110cm) x 4ft (125cm)
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The Rose Year BeginsFall brings a distinct richness that invites us to slow down and notice the changes. Leaves turn shades of amber and gold, while the lower, softer light catches the borders in the late afternoon. As cooler mornings bring heavy dew and that unmistakable, earthy scent of damp soil, the garden gradually settles down for the season.
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Roses with Large Blooms: Varieties for Garden ImpactA rose in full flower can transform a garden. Large, many-petalled blooms draw the eye through a border, bring colour to a quiet corner or create a beautiful focal point when grown in a pot.
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Best Fragrant Roses for Autumn: Scent and Colour Beyond SummerThe fragrance of a rose is never quite fixed. Temperature, humidity, time of day and even the stage of the flower can all influence how its scent is released and experienced. As the warmth of summer begins to soften into autumn, cooler mornings and greater moisture in the air create different conditions for fragrance, and a familiar rose can reveal itself in a rather different way.
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Using Red Roses to Bring Richness and Depth to the GardenA red rose has a wonderfully compelling presence in the garden. Amongst a sea of green, even a glimpse of crimson catches the eye, drawing you closer for another look. Red can sometimes have a reputation for being difficult to use, particularly alongside softer colours. Yet the palette is far more varied than we might first imagine. From clear crimson to deep, velvety tones, red roses can bring warmth, richness and depth to a garden without overwhelming it.
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Roses for the Last Night of the PromsThere are few evenings quite like the Last Night of the Proms. Familiar melodies fill the Royal Albert Hall, the audience joins in and music heard and loved for generations is given fresh life once more. This year’s programme got us thinking about the curious connections between music, stories and the names of some of our roses. From Elgar and the Malvern Hills to Britain’s long relationship with the sea, each offers a thread to follow from the concert hall into the garden.
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Climbing Roses for Arches, Obelisks and PillarsThere is always room for another rose. When borders are full, the answer is often simply to look upwards. Climbing roses can transform arches, obelisks and pillars into wonderfully abundant garden features, bringing flowers and fragrance to eye level and above. They can tumble over an entrance, rise from the middle of a border or soften a simple post with foliage and bloom. And, with the right rose and a little thoughtful training, they need surprisingly little ground space to make quite an impression.
