My only thought is to make sure you have enough room for the number of roses you are planting. DA roses DO NOT get the sizes it says in catalogues in warm areas - they get MUCH bigger.

Jackie

What Jackie said! If you have the space, the one David Austin that I Grow in full sun is ‘Evelyn’. She grows huge, but she loves heat and sun. Lisa

Thank you both for the advice about the size that DA's actually grow to. I will space them in a way that I can take a couple out if they grow too big without spoiling the whole look. I use lavender and penstemon as fillers between plants and they should cover any gaps. I am already planning to expand my kangaroo-proof garden because my research into roses has led me to believe there is no such thing as too many DA roses. Lisa, that photo of Evelyn has put it at the top of my list. Lola.

Carding Mill is an excellent rose for a hot and dry climate, blooms a lot, and is a a very healthy rose. I would highly recommend it for your garden. Another good rose is Bishop's Castle, dark pink and fragrant, although not quite as happy in the harsh sun.

Munstead Wood (not a pastel but a gorgeous red), Mary Magdelene, Pretty Jessica all do well in warm sunny, warm conditions. So does Ambridge.

Ambridge Rose (the light pink one)--stays small for an Austin--oh, I just now saw that you were going to get this rose

Mary Magdelene--stays small for an Austin and I love her scent

Pretty Jessica--Stays upright and only gets to about 5 feet. Great scent too. She has been a blooming machine this year.

Munstead Wood. Color can vary to deep pink to dark red almost black depending on the weather. He does tend to sprawl and grow in a fountain manner.

I found that Jude was not a good bloomer for me and Alnwick is just an OK bloomer as well. I am hoping that they will do better for you.

Lady of Shalott is another one that you might want to consider. She gets BIG but is taking the heat and sun pretty well here and it does get as hot as Hades here. She does get a bit of afternoon shade.

I've been in touch with my nursery and they told me that due to a recent tightening of quarantine rules, there was only one supplier willing to export roses to Tasmania. That means that Carding Mill, Pretty Jessica and Mary Magdalene are out. I have ordered Belle Story, Boscobel, Evelyn, Jubilee Celebration and Windermere.

Lady of Shallot looks very orange in the catalogue. What colour is she in real life? Is Munstead Wood a cool or warm colour? Does Sharifa Asma fade in strong sun?

There is a chain store (Bunnings) that import their own roses and I am hoping they have something different to the other supplier (Treloars). My wish list is growing but I think I am better off buying as many as possible now because quarantine may make it difficult next year to get anything. Lola.

Los looks more peachy to me. Lady Emma Hamilton is more orange, but even that one's intensity fades.

I've just measured my new garden and it is 91ft long with a width varying from 4ft at one end to 6ft at the other and 10ft in the centre. I reckon I can fit Lady of Shallot in there somewhere. Lola.

What sort of temps do you get in Tasmania Lola, during your late Spring/early Summer period..? from what I know it's different to mainland Australia in being cooler, wetter and greener, perhaps more like north island New Zealand, or maybe in parts not so different to my climate? would that be right or not? I think you get 4 proper seasons... I notice you are zone 8... I know my sister in Brisbane wants to move down there because it's cooler..

Depending on those temps. you may get darker, more saturated colours similar to what I get here, in which case 'LOS' will be quite orange, mixed with pink/red and yellow, fading to yellow... but if you're getting 90+F heat, then these colours will be lighter...

Hi Marlorena, we do get a proper 4 seasons down here but our summer temperatures rarely get over 90F. Having said that, our UV is terrible and people from the mainland complain about the heat and how they get sunburnt within minutes without sunscreen. I think the comparison with NI NZ is probably more accurate than with the UK. I spent 2 months in the UK and my face lost all it's freckles and redness but within half a day of being home I was red and freckly again. Winter temps are 25F to 50F with snow twice a year and some good frosts.

I had a Lilian Austin that in the catalogue looks very much like LoS and she flowered during a very cloudy week and was lovely, but then turned into a horribly bleached, frizzled mess when the sun came out. She was planted next to an iron-clad building so reflected heat and light may have been the problem. I moved her yesterday to the most shaded part of the garden so I'll have to wait for summer to see if she is any happier. I suppose if I get LoS I can move her if she doesn't look right where I plant her.

The catalogue photos are so different to the ones on this forum of the same flower. I'm very appreciative of all the help I have been getting, especially the photos of the real thing v the catalogue shots. Lola.

Lola, my temps are about the same as yours. I rarely get snow (thank goodness as I hate the stuff and it should stay in the mountains where it belongs) but we do get frost and some freezes here (down to about 20--25 degrees during winter which does havoc on our citrus we grow). I get little rain (about 13 inches a year) and summers are hotter than Hades with temps above 105 upwards to 115 for several months).

That being said, I think the roses you mentioned that I have, e.g., LOS will do fine with some pampering. LOS changes colors. She can be orange or more peach depending on age, weather and her mood. Her first booms were bright orange and I nearly dumped her. Since then she has mellowed and I moved her to less sun. While she is not my favorite, everyone that sees her, just loves her!

Here is LOS in all her moodiness

First year, bright orange (oh, and she is on her own root so it did take time for her to get going as she produced three blooms that year and that was it) Taking time is common with DA roses and you need to give them three to five years to come into their own, so don't be disappointed if they don't produce well until then.

LOS in year two or three. Yes, it is the same rose! She is looking very pink there. I moved her from the sunniest spot in the yard to getting more shade and placed her in a pot for a couple of years until I moved her to a different location in the ground.

This year's pictures I believe. The leaves are not this dark or blue as the only time I was able to take the picture was before going to work, so the sun was barely up. Here she is more orange again with some pinker highlights.

Munstead changes colors depending on the weather. He is much darker in cooler weather.

One of my first blooms on him. He is very dark there as well as very young. Again, own root, first year.

Here he is when the weather is much warmer. He gets the brunt of the afternoon sun and behind him is my house so he gets the reflected heat from the house and sidewalk as well. He still blooms under those conditions!

Lisa, I believe Mary M is still available from DA roses. I was very nervous about getting her but I find her to be a delight. Plus she really can take the heat here.

Hi Lola... I thought your winters might have been a bit colder than that, but you should be able to grow quite a range of roses, depending on what you can obtain, like you say..

You have a long narrow garden so you could make an nice intimate space there with billowing roses...

I don't know 'Lilian Austin', so | hope you like 'LOS', but if you're offended by orange like a lot of people are, it might be a bit much... but there's enough yellow in it I think to take the orange edge off it... I enjoy it because it's bright and cheerful and provides 'sun' when there's not any, if you know what I mean..

1st June... it gets lighter as it ages, but I like it like this...

best of luck with choosing your roses, you have a nice selection so far..

whoops, I've just seen mustbnuts photos before mine, they weren't there when I posted, how odd it is here sometimes.. I've never seen a pink 'LOS', I would never know that was the same rose.. isn't it funny what temps can do to roses.. very pretty though..

Wow, so many colours from one rose! If I get LoS I will put her separate to the others in case she clashes and spoils the look. I can put her in a pot for a year or two and move her around if she is stressed. Lola.

This site won't let me start a new discussion because it won't give me a submit button except in reply so I hope there is someone out there who reads this question and can help me out. I was going to plant Golden Celebration in a particular spot but now realise it will get too big there. If I put it at the end of my new pastel coloured bed next to Windermere will it blend in or will it be too strong in colour for a mainly pastel garden? The strongest colour so far in that garden is Jubilee Celebration with the rest very soft peach, pink and cream. Lola.

I don't grow golden Celebration, so I can't say for sure, but I'm inclined to think it will not blend in well with lots of pastels.

I don't know if you can get some of Austins more recent roses--if you can, definitely look at Olivia Rose Austin--she is a lovely pastel pink, not a large rose--about 3.5 ft tall but only 3 ft wide. Very healthy.

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But if you need to look at the older Austins, here are a couple wonderful lighter pink ones.

Queen of Sweden--about 5 ft tall, narrow and upright, exquisite blooms, very healthy.

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Scepter'd Isle--more graceful, relaxed form, 4ft tall by 3 ft wide, good disease resistance, totally charming, loves to flaunt her yellow stamens.

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Another light pink but somewhat shorter--maybe 3 x 3--is Anne Boleyn--very pretty and delicate looking.:

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As for Lady of Shalott--I do love her, but I don't see her in a pastel garden at all. Her color is quite variable--judge for yourself:

LOS--nearly yellow

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LOS--more apricot with golden (and slightly peach) overtones

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LOS--more pastel apricot

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LOS--lots orange mixed in with the other shades

And just to round this all out, here are a couple of my Munstead Woods--which I love so much that I'd figure out a way to insert it even in a pastel bed! Lots of prickles--you are forwarned--but oh that gorgeous bloom.

MW--dark and moody

MW--lighter, but still a dark jade/purple

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Hmm--I see we are still limited to 10 pics under this new format also. Oh well, that's enough to give you something to think about, Lola.

Looking forward to seeing pics of your garden as it grows and develops.

Kate

Thanks for your help and for the fabulous photos, Kate. I guess I will put GC in the spot I had originally intended to and just keep it well trimmed. I have taken a couple of 'before' photos and can't wait for it all to grow so I can post some 'after' shots as well. Lola.

Lola - I have Molineux and Abraham Darby growing in full sun, about 12 hours per day of exposure during the summer. DA roses can take a few years to get settled. Molineux settled almost immediately while Abe has taken about three years.

Molineux with lots of lovely color variation.

Abe was exceptionally fragrant this past spring.

I have 65 DA roses so I guess I'm a poster child for "you can't have too many". My garden has a lot of areas that get partial shade so DA roses do well. But I do have an all day sun area where in addition to Molineux and Abe, I have Happy Child, Young Lycidas, Munstead Wood, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Evelyn, Crown Princess Margareta, Benjamin Britten, The Endeavour Rose, Chaucer, Anne Boleyn, Wise Portia, Admired Miranda, Mary Magdalene, Lady Emma Hamilton, St. Cecilia, Radio Times, and few others that I just planted this year. My favorite of the ones above is Happy Child due to its beautiful bright yellow color. It's staying compact at about 3 ft after five years in the ground. It was discontinued by DA but it seems that you're able to get discontinued DA roses so you might consider HC.

I laughed when I read the phrase "kangaroo-proof". Do kangaroos find roses tasty?

Ann

Wow Ann, that is a lot of DAs you have!

All kangaroos eat rosebuds and young shoots but luckily Tasmania only has small marsupials. Big kangaroos can trample gardens with their gigantic feet as well. The type of kangaroos I have are called pademelons and they are only knee high and very cute but they love roses. I have fenced to a height of 18 inches around the garden so I can step over the fence and the pademelons can trim whatever is poking through the wire and anything up to 2ft tall on the fence line. I have a friend who only grows standard roses so the critters can't reach them. Lola.

Thanks for the explanation about the pademelons which I’d never heard of before. I looked them up on Wikipedia so now I know a little more about them and some of the other unique marsupials of Tasmania!

I’m originally from near Honolulu and I’ve read that there’s a small colony of wallabies living in a hillside area above the city. They are descendents of escaped wallabies that came to Hawaii maybe 100 years ago as part of a circus. A wallabie occasionally gets hit by a car so that’s how we know they are still there. Otherwise they seem to be living anonymously for many decades which is quite amazing.

Good luck with your Austins! We would love to see photos one day!

Ann

And Lola, always remember that you can try any combination that strikes your fancy. After all, it is YOUR garden--and you can move the rose next year if you decide you don't like it in its present place. : )

Kate

Ann--love all your pics of Molineux--one of my favorites, partly because it presents so many different views. Most of the shades would work well with Lola's pastel bed, but perhaps not Molineux's golden yellow with strong apricot highlights. That "outfit" strikes me as too strong for a pastel bed. But some people may have a different opinion on that.

Lola, if you like Molineux, it is a smaller Austin also--maybe 3.5 ft tall but only 2-2 1/2 ft wide. More vertical than most Austins. A real cutie. I actually plant 3 of them together (about 18 in. apart in a circle) for a bigger, more noticeable display. I call it my 3-in-1 bush.

Kate

It's good to know that there are some smaller DAs. Molineux looks lovely and I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere if I come across one for sale.

I live only an hour from the National Rose Garden which is part of the historic Woolmers Estate and I have heard they grow some Austins, so this spring I will go out there to see how they colour and what size they get to in my climate. It's only since I have discovered how to pademelon-proof the garden that I have tried to grow roses, so I'm a late starter. My village is known as the 'Village of Roses' as we have antique roses from the early heritage estates growing the length of the main street. I must be the only person who didn't inherited any roses with my house, but I'm going to make up for it now. Lola.

Most David Austin roses would prefer some afternoon shade. Full sun can bleach Austins. Most roses do very well with 6 hours of sun, preferably morning sun. In your climate, if the sun is strong, then cut that by half and your roses will do very well.