Tempting climbing roses from David Austin®

Sandy Felton looks at three varieties of climbing rose from David Austin.

Climbing roses add height to a garden and are priceless when looking for suitable planting for pergolas, garden arches or as cover for bare walls. They are quite easy to maintain, despite the horror stories one hears from less adventurous gardeners and they are easy mixers, in other words they are quite at home with a variety of companion planting.

We are only highlighting three varieties in this feature but look at the David Austin website and discover for yourself the wide range of choice. They have varieties to suit every situation so if you are looking to brighten up the side of your house, cover an arch or grow up the side of a fence or short wall, then its worth having a look at planting a climbing rose.

If you are looking for a large, saucer-like flower you might find inspiration with St Swithun, (pictured above) a pure soft pink with a strong, pure myrrh fragrance. This is a particularly tough, reliable and healthy grower and especially recommended for garden arches. It is repeat flowering.

If you are looking to cover the side of a building or brighten up the side of your house, The Pilgrim (pictured above)  might be suitable. It has large, perfectly formed, soft yellow rosettes which produce freely. A delicious mixed fragrance of tea rose and myrrh will greet you as you pass and this particular variety is ideal for a shaded area. The Pilgrim also has the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Teasing Georgia (illustrated in our banner at top of page) can cover short walls or fences – it has rich yellow rosette-shaped blooms, a strong tea fragrance and is healthy and easy to grow. It has good disease resistance and is repeat flowering. This variety also has an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The full David Austin range can be found on their website which also has information on planting, pruning and general rose care – http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk