Urban Rose Garden

Carding Mill was the third David Austin rose that I added to the garden. I found him locally at a garden center and was delighted at the large blooms with the most wonderful fragrance that reminded me of old fashioned candy hearts. This of course would be my introduction to the “myrrh” fragrance that many David Austin roses are famous for.  His first summer was spent in his nursery can on my deck while I debated where to put him. In those early days of gardening I wasn’t very efficient at finding pockets to tuck roses into or very adept at moving things to fit additional roses. But his time in his can on the deck was well spent. He produced bloom after bloom that I got to enjoy while relaxing outdoors. I couldn’t get enough of the unique fragrance.  The myrrh fragrance is described as “licorice” or “medicinal.” To me, carding mill smelled like pure candy and I couldn’t get enough of this new fragrance. Later on I set out to add more roses with this myrrh fragrance, including Scepter’d

 After discovering david Austin roses and adding Gertrude Jekyll from a local nursery, I found myself perusing the DA website to see what else was being offered. There were many incredible looking varieties, but I kept coming back to the newly offered Olivia Rose Austin. Described by the late David Austin as being quite possibly the best Rose that he had ever bred, she tempted me enough to become the first Rose that I would purchase directly through the David Austin website as a bare root plant. She has since been in my garden going on five years and so I figured I would write up my thoughts on her.  The perfect pink rose? When I’m asked what my favorite pink rose is it usually evokes several questions- best pink for fragrance.... for disease resistance, light pink, bright pink, clear pink.... you get the idea. The answer is usually pretty complex because not everyone knows exactly what they are looking for.  Like many other Austin roses, Olivia has a range of colors depending on a bun