My David Austin Roses

Ive always been keen on gardening and I've always found a way to garden, even when living in a tiny 2nd floor flat in Mt Eden i had a small jungle on the deck. Now however, i have a place with a garden and I'm slowly making a garden of my own. This blog is documenting my garden thru the year, with a touch of cooking and food thrown in as well as the adventures of our menagerie of pets.
First thing i did when we moved into our current house, is what i always do, which is fill up the deck area with pots and plants, veges and flowers lol. Just lately tho I've been starting to dig out new beds thru the kikuyu (HARD work) and making plans for new plantings in the garden proper. This has resulted in some hopeful comments along the lines of "maybe you can clear some of the plants off the deck now?" from my partners mum (who is also the landlord) lol. To that i can only reply........"well....maybe"
I love roses, in particular David Austins English roses, which couple the sheer voluptuous opulence and  fragrance of the "old rose" with the ease and vigour of the modern rose, without that horrible stiff "broomhandle up the jacksie" look of the modern HT (hybrid tea).
For me to grow a rose it has to have two things. One is a colour that i like and i have to admit here to a dislike of the colour pink, which can be a bit of an issue when dealing with roses. Nowadays tho, roses are bred in so many colours and there are so many shades that even i can find roses i love.....even the odd pink one ;) The other thing a rose must have in my garden is a scent. I cant remember where i read this or who actually said it but ive always remembered a quote that went "a rose without perfume is the ultimate disappointment." a sentiment with which i wholeheartedly agree! I have a TON of favourite Austins and atm i have the peachy apricot toned Leander, Golden Celebration, Cymbeline which is an oddly ashy toned pink,  the very thorny but beautiful Glamis Castle, Jude the Obscure which has the most stunning perfume and Graham Thomas with his gorgeous big gold blooms.
I'd be hard put to choose a favourite but Leander has to get a look in. I have him on the deck and every year without fail he puts on the most lovely spring show of fully double blooms. Hes always the first of my roses to bloom and one of the last to stop and i just love coming outside to be greeted by his perfect blooms

Leander is also blessed with a sweet scent, and really, theres nothing lovelier first thing in the morning.....and im most DEFinitely not a morning person.
I have him in a large 50lt container on our deck in full sun and as I've said he's not missed a beat in the 3 years I've had him. He is planted into bagged compost as all my roses are, with added sheep pellets and liquid feeds during the growing season. I know that they say you shouldn't plant into compost...but I've always done it and never had any issues. I have found that he does get a little blackspot, but hey,  I'm in Auckland......most of the PEOPLE feel like they have fungus after a few muggy weeks. Anyway i haven't found that it slows this lovely rose down in the slightest.
The one thing that i think i may have to do is to give him a hard prune this year as he's put a lot of new growth on. Either that or find him a place in the "proper" garden.
Actually this year Leander didn't even suffer too badly from aphids, when the poor Glamis Castle was practically being sucked dry. Normally I use "digital insect control" for aphids (i squash em with my fingers), but poor Glamis Castle was overrun and even with soap sprays was looking very sad. In the end i had to bite my tongue and spray her with conquerer oil. Ill give it its due, it DID help to control the aphids which were the worst I've seen in ages, but I'd still prefer to not have to use something with a list of precautions that cover the back of the bottle!
Speaking of precautions, you'd be advised to take a few against blood loss when dealing with my other deck rose, the lovely, but VERY thorny, Glamis Castle.

With her delightfully muddled, white suffused with a little yellow, blooms with the little button eye, and the delicate scent of handcream,  she's a beauty and no mistake, and when she can display her full, petal packed flowers during a dry spell she's a charmer, thorns notwithstanding. Unfortunately, like most of the sumptuous, petal packed, fully double roses, she balls in wet weather.....and i have her under the eaves for this reason. That ofc means that i have to remember to water her religiously. She suffered very badly from aphids this season, but she's looking lovely and healthy now. I've never tried it, but i suspect she would make a lovely hedge rose in NZ, as most of our Austins grow a LOT bigger here than in their native UK, and she's referred to as a modestly sized shrub there. I may yet have to try her for that as I'm wanting to put a rose hedge out on our street boundary, and something prickly would be ideal
I've had her for about the same amount of time as Leander and she has definitely not put on as much growth as he has.
She is also in a 50lt container, and also planted into compost with added sheep pellets and liquid feeds during the growth season
Anyway I've rambled enough for now....next time I'll put up some pictures of some other Austins i have here.