I love my Evelyn and Tamora, both have a peachy pink coloring and depending on the temp is usually more peach colored and both smell amazing. Tamora is smaller than Evelyn.

Thanks for the suggestions! The pictures I see of Evelyn are always quite pale/pastel-- do you find this to be the case?

Tamora I had nixed because of a myrrh fragrance, but I'd be happy to be wrong! How does it smell to you?

Hi, cricketrose. I grow Jubilee celebration and it is nice-smells pretty strong of fresh peaches to me. It grows taller than wide. Windemere is nice but flowers do shatter. Another really good one for colder zones is Darcy Bussell. It grows a nice bushy shape as wide as it is tall. It's very cold hardy. It is a crimson/purpley-red though. I'll see if I can find some pics. Thanks for posting the great pic of louis odier-I recently planted this one!

Kelly

Thanks Kelly! I love Louise-- she's relatively healthy, beautiful, a prolific bloomer, and WOW that fragrance. I just want to sit there smelling the roses forever. The only problems I've had with her are aphids and caterpillars-- pretty normal. She's grown really fast too-- I'd recommend training to a wall or fence if she's in a smaller space.

How big is your JC? I don't mind if it goes wide, I have a lot of horizontal space for it. I just don't want it to be really short (2 feet or smaller). I love its colors. Darcy (and Munstead Wood) look great for the purple-reds, but I think those are going to have to go in another bed :)

Do you grow Windermere? Do you find the other positive qualities of the rose are worth the short blooms?

My JC is a little over 3' tall. Growth is more upright so maybe plant 3 in a triangle relatively close to give the illusion of a fuller bush. I do grow Windemere and like it, even though the blooms are short lived. It is difficult to find creamy white cold hardy Austins that don't shatter. Lady of shallot is another one that does well for me. Can be orangey-yellow to peachy pink.

Ok, you're giving me hope on JC! Thanks :) I love the look of LOS, but I'd like something more fragrant.

Do you have trouble with JC nodding? That's the only other criticism I've heard.

I'm not very good at describing fragrances of roses, I just know I love the fragrance of both Evelyn and Tamora. My Evelyn can be a little more pastel colored due to the heat but is a more dark peach in the spring. Let me see if I can find a pic.

I planted Evelyn (own root) this past spring and so far it's a mini bloom machine and quite fragrant. I'm planning to prune her if necessary to keep her about 4x4 due to space concerns. She's a bit more orange than Abe, which you'll see below appears a bit more pink. I planted Abe last year (grafted barefoot) but transplanted him this spring. He's still small but I also intend to prune him if necessary to fit his space.

Evelyn

Abraham Darby

Good luck!

Ann

Well, see... now I want them all. :D

Thanks for the beautiful pictures, everyone.

Evelyn v. Abe: If someone told me I could successfully prune Abe to stay 4x4 here, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. However, everyone seems to warn that it gets at least 6x6. The more orange color of Evelyn is a winner for me, but I love the cupped shape of Abe's blossoms. And it sounds like trying to grow and/or kill Abe is an Austin rite of passage everyone should probably experience once ;)

Kelly, your color combinations are amazing! And you really sell both Windemere and Lady of Shalott there. LOS is so tempting, but the space I'm trying to fill is right next to my walkway/driveway, so I really want something I can lean over and smell every day when I get home. My soil in that spot is rich and leafy-- sort of forest loam. I've been amending it for a year or so under compost and leaf cover. In general, my soil is slightly sandy. I could do either own root or grafted, depending on which is more vigorous. My garden borders on z6, so it shouldn't be an issue. Louise has been through two winters with no protection and zero cane kill.

In terms of fragrance, what do you get from LOS? Windemere?

Do those of you who grow Abe think he's worth the hype?

Update: After reading Austin's notes on summer pruning, I'm going to try and give Abe a go. To control size, I'm planning on pruning to 1/3 size in winter, and doing a light prune after each flowering in the summer. We'll see! Will post if I'm successful.

In my other bed, I'm putting a Windermere and LOS for sure. But I'm still a newbie, so one project at a time. Thanks for all the pictures and advice!

I have to chime in about Lady of Shalott - in my garden she is one of my most fragrant roses, and the scent makes me swoon... it's between a sweet/fruity scent and a classic rose scent. It's wonderful. She also grows and blooms like crazy - I got her by accident (the plant was mislabeled, thought I was buying a Lichfield Angel) and I'm SO thankful for the mix-up as she quickly became my most favorite rose! The blooms are just gorgeous, too - I love the shades of peach, salmon and yellow. You'll love this rose.

I prune my Darby's hard and they do just fine. I'm in florida where they can get pretty big. I love Abe Darby & think u made the best choice! I have all the austins u asked about accept for JC. Abe Is the best of the ones on your list -in my opinion. Good luck ! :)

Beautiful Evelyn and Abe, Ann. their colors are so rich.

Kelly, I'm so impressed with all your Austins, and the blue combo with them is perfect. Is the blue flower in the lower corner of the last photo a campanula? It sure looks like it.

Diane

Thanks, Diane. Yep, campanula. So thankful to have Austins that do well here. They don't climb or get monstrous but smell heavenly. I got soo tired of searching the garden centers for fragrant roses. They really don't carry many varieties at most garden centers being zone 4 and all...

Lady or shallot I would agree has a fruity fragrance although not as strong as JC maybe it's the crazy humidity and high 90s temps. I let you know about windemere when it blooms again... Abe is a strong grower but I don't see the yellow or peach undertones in my garden, always soft pink...pretty soon you have to try as many as you can possibly fit. Still trying to figure out where I can rip out some more grass...

For fragrance I would say Abe, Evelyn, or Munstead Wood.

Yes I agree. Plus young Lycidas is also good in the fragrance department.