WHEN he was interviewed a few months before his death at the age of 92 in 2018, nurseryman David Austin, dubbed the ‘Father of English Roses’, marvelled at his fortune in having ‘been able to make a life out of breeding roses’.
The son of a Shropshire farmer, he had already developed an interest in the subject by the time he was old enough to begin working at the family farm in Albrighton. His great love, however, was the charm and fragrance of old types of rose, so, at a time when the solid, all-purpose, Hybrid Teas were everywhere, he set about breeding new types that combined the rosette-shaped elegance and scents of old roses with the diversity of colour and repeat-flowering characteristics of the Hybrid Teas.
Across almost 60 years, Austin introduced more than 200 named English rose cultivars, but might be said to have reached the pinnacle of his ambition with the shrub rose cultivar Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, introduced in 1986. Its parents were Rosa ‘Wife of Bath’ crossed with Rosa ‘Comte de Chambord’. Coming some 15 years after he’d launched his first range of what he termed English Roses, his creation lived up to her name.
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 16, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
