English Roses, often called David Austin Roses, or simply Austin Roses are a group of roses introduced in 1969 by David Austin, a rose hybridizer.

David Austin has tried to create roses that combine the best of both old garden roses and modern roses. His idea was to create roses that produced flowers with the form of the old garden roses, repeat flowering like the modern roses, a variety of colors, such as yellows which are not common among the old garden rose, and the strong fragrances of some of the old garden roses. He accomplished this by crossing old garden roses, particularly those from the 18th and 19th centuries, with modern roses from the 20th century.

Some of the reasons that English Roses are popular with gardeners are:

• Flower form-Most varieties of English Roses have the old-fashioned flower forms of the old garden roses. English Roses usually produce fully double flowers with many petals.
• Repeat bloom-Many gardeners love old garden roses but dislike that many only bloom once a year. Many English Roses produce old garden rose type blooms several times a year. How often they repeat bloom depends on the variety and local climate.
• Color-English Roses come in a variety of colors most are soft pastels but some dark varieties are available.
  Fragrance-While some are more fragrant than others as a group English roses are extremely fragrant.
• Disease Resistance-Many varieties of English Roses seem to be rather resistant to blackspot and other diseases. I have had excellant results with English Roses in the hot, humid south where blackspot is extremely common on roses.

If you havn’t tried English Roses or have just avoided roses because of the problems with disease and the extra care required, I highly recommend you try one of the English Roses, I think you will be pleased. English roses are available online from Jackson and Perkins and Blooming Bulb.