My Love Affair With David Austin

Sometimes I think that I was born an old woman. This summer I turned forty. What that really means is at any given point I’m not too far away from a sciatica attack or a new food allergy that might aggravate my rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis. My late clients Elaine and Ann, best friend elderly women who came to me for their nail appointments every two weeks for about a decade, would tell me that ‘aging isn’t for sissies.’ Boy, were they right.

Looking back on my early twenties, I can probably count on one hand how many times I had actually gone out to the bars and got drunk with my friends. When I wanted to go, it was because Brad was home from the Army (yes, that’s his real name for you tea lovers), and I wanted to ‘accidentally’ run into him. The majority of the times I braved the bar scene in our small town because I wanted to feel my age and not hear my friends tell me how lame I was. So I’d go, babysit a brewski and watch the clock until I had been out for long enough that my friends wouldn’t give me shit for leaving early. Besides, I was always worried about running into a client when I was drinking and them thinking I was immature.

As a new grown up who lived on her own with her toddler daughter, my daily struggle was never with partying. Nor was it ever with shoe or purse collection; My daily struggle was more like, ‘where in my apartments I was going to put the second antique mantle I had just found at the Petaluma Antique Fair.’ A love for antiques was something I picked up from my late Aunt Phyllis. Today, my struggle isn’t over the flowers I that were just put out at my local Lowes, it’s about watching the where the sun falls in my backyard once an hour for an entire day to make sure I’m planting my David Austin Roses in the perfect spot. Yes, I’m officially an old woman and I’m embracing it. I know this, because last week while sitting on the couch across from my grandmother, sending my grandmother link after link of some of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen, whittling down which four I was going to order, I told my grandmother that I hadn’t ever realized how many different types of roses existed. She replied that it was ‘an age thing.’ It was at that very second that I had my Oprah ‘Aha Moment,’ and my life had come full circle: I was born an old woman, and it was officially my time to shine.

Today I want to share with you my love affair with David Austin Roses, and to enlighten you with a little bit of ‘Old Lady-ism.’ If you ever find yourself wanting to put roots somewhere, roses are the perfect answer. In just two to three years, you’ll have an impressive size plant, so the wait isn’t ever that long. But if you planted for roots (I mean literally and figuratively speaking) give her 4-6 years, and that’s where the real magic happens. You’ll always have fresh flowers for your kitchen table, because they’re always just a few steps away. And they’re relatively easy to care for, watering every 3-5 days and feeding them once a month. But when you discover David Austin Roses, a whole new range of possibilities broaden your perspective on how you see your garden evolving. Roses that look like peonies, colors and shapes that you never knew were possible in a rose, and the multitude of different fragrances, from a sweet rose candy to spiced apple rose scent. The way he bred his roses to have spacing between every petal to allow light to shine in between each petal through to really highlight their colors- it’s something that no other rose breeder has been able to recreate. Oh… my… gosssshhh… I could go on and on. I’ll warn you though, be careful if you have an addictive personality. Your yard might turn into and Old Century English rose garden over the course of a single spring.

This summer marked a new beginning for my daughter and I, and garden planning was a big part of letting go of that past and accepting what our new future looked like. The roses helped me cope, because they’re cozy and familiar and they are so generous in what they provide for you in blooms. I wanted to share a list of David Austin Roses that I planted in my garden, as well as some that are on my wish list. Hopefully you can find comfort in your favorite David Austin rose, too.

Claire Austin, Earth Angel, Eden Climbing Rose, and Lady of Shallot are the four that landed in my yard from David Austin. I also added a single ‘Singin’ the Blues’ from Heirloom Roses. I lined my fences with Eden Climbing Roses so that in 5 years, the entire fence will be covered, and my immediate view if my backyard will lift the weight off anyone’s shoulders. I have many on my wish list from Kate Roses, but at $70 a pop, they’ll have to wait. I wanted to share my dream list with you all so that maybe you can be a little dreamer as well, or so you can make me jealous and take the leap before I did.

My wish list from Kate Roses: Masora Rose, Lotus Gem Rose, Sweet Dream Rose, Sophie Rochas Rose, Yves Sucre D’Art Rose, Xia Ri Hua Rose, Boule de Perfum Rose, Caffe Latte Rose, Pine Dram Rose, Black Caviar Rose, Royal Palace, and the next one on my list, Sea Anemone Rose. I’m sure there are many more that I have yet to discover that will end up on this list.

My wish list from David Austin: Princess Alexandra of Kent, Scepter’d Isle, Golden Celebration, Tottering-by-Gently, Roald Dahl, The Lark Ascending, Queen of Sweden, Kew Garden, and the next ones on my purchase list from David Austin, Bathsheba, and Jude the Obscure.    

My wish list from Heirloom Roses: Lady in Red, Hot Cocoa, April Love, Sunbelt Savannah, Lyda Rose, Paris de Yves St. Laurent, Abbaye de Cluny, Cinco de Mayo, Dancing in The Wind, and the next ones on my purchase from Heirloom Roses, Carefree Wonder and Sally Holmes.

I hope you loved googling what those roses looked like and daydreaming about gardening as much as I do. If I have inspired you to purchase one of these roses for yourself, will you share it with me? We can swap tips and things that we’ve learned, and maybe even make each other a little jealous of one another’s garden.

Alright, gotta go finish my next rose order. Today, it will be Bathsheba and Wollerton Old Hall from Heirloom Roses. Love ya. Mean it.

XOXO

Jena

Weekly Song Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/6IAuH3hgTRpUUdmOGubXGS?si=5f9f1baab36a4457

Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZGCCJMRqzNeEuHbskj9j3?si=LoeggW4bRjSzIJJIEg5cMA