I really love both of those roses .. and I tend to forgive David Austin roses for any flaws they have since their blooms are unmatched. I think they are both excellent roses and I would love to have Windermere again . I’ll have to look for photos ! I have James here , just moved out of the shade . Poor guy :)

James Galway is a bigger water-hog than Kordes roses. James blooms on top of a TALL BUSH, and it blooms in 3 flushes when there's tons of rain and soaking wet. James is stingier than Kordes roses in the amount of blooms, and James need more water than Kordes due to its height. At least Kordes are continuous bloomers due to the amount of blooms. He can't be trained horizontally since canes are stiff like a pillar. I'm moving James to a flooded area today, low-thorn roses like James like it soaking wet.

I just want to point out that those of us in different parts of the US have different experiences with Kordes roses versus Austins. Kordes roses do not perform well in my garden, and I've removed what few I had, leaving one lone, impossible to get Kordes rose, Caramel Antique Freelander. As far as Austins, or any other rose in my garden go, they all get the same amount of water all season long via the drop system. I haven't found any Austins complaining about the water. Diane

Hah! I'm glad you mentioned that, Diane. I've had horrible experiences with Kordes roses. I have not had a single one do well for me, although my test size was rather small, less than a dozen. I thought it was just me.

I really love this blog and Instagram page . She does a lovely job and is no spray , organic and dosnt hesitate to be honest about the roses .

https://hedgerowrose.com/rose-gardening/2019/01/11/celebration-of-roses-january-11-james-galway-auscrystal/

I found a pic of Windermere but closed my phone and lost it . I’ll look again . It’s repeat is very vigorous and was just a very generous rose !

Forget to add that James Galway is THE BIGGEST WATER-HOG among my 36 varieties of own-root Austin roses. James easily beat Kordes roses in his need for acidic rain-water. Never see blackspots on James, even if we have week-long rain.

Lilyfinch - I've been following that blog also! She has such beautiful photographs. I do wish I knew where she is located though.

Straw - thanks for the input. If James Galway is a water hog, he won't be happy here.

Here in the dirty south, water hogs are okay with me. It typically rains all summer long and water is free with a well. Electricity to run the well is not free but my typical electric bill here is usually around $200 average. We can catch a lot of rain water in the summer too. I'm not mad about it.

If I still lived where water is scarce and my bill was crazy, I'd probably be raising succulents and cacti and just a few roses.

Lily I love the Hedgerow Rose blog!! I've prob read the whole thing lol. I wish she was still posting on the blog. Instagram is okay but I like the blog better.

Here is a blog page with Windermere but you have to scroll wayyyyy down.

https://hedgerowrose.com/rose-gardening/2015/09/29/biltmore-rose-trials-2nd-visit/

Sultry, water is fairly inexpensive here, and the electricity is hydroeclectric, the cheapest kind (or used to be). However, we go around 5 or so months without any rain during the growing season, and not much snow, either, during winter. Diane

Gorgeous, as always, bayarea_girl! So are you saying that Bathsheba is a much superior rose? I'm not really looking for a new rose - it would mean that I would have to remove something else. Your photos of Bathsheba show a rose with beautiful form, and are more pink than the DA photos. Those DA photos are much more orange than I want in my garden. If James Galway is going away, and it's a fabulous rose, I may remove an Eden and put it there. And if Windermere is a "must have" rose, I could see removing something for it. Maybe Dee-lish which is a nice rose, but a much more strident color than I'd prefer, or Abe, which is a lovely rose...at times, but opens an eye popping orange which always makes me unhappy, and he has turned out not to be the happily growing bush that I thought he'd be but rather scrappy looking despite my best efforts at pampering. Or Sonia Rykiel, whose bush was a fright last year.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) David Austin roses often vary in colors depending on the weather, location, etc. Even though Bathsheba is an excellent rose, but if you don't like its color then I think you skip it and save the room for another rose. Helen

Bathsheba never gets really orange here. She is more soft peaches, peachy pinks etc. I am in a warm humid climate. Her leaves stay pretty healthy here.

Bayarea girl: thank you for always generously sharing such GORGEOUS pictures. As if I wasn’t already excited about Bathsheba... You have me even more EXCITED... I can hardly wait to start growing it.

@Ann-SoCalZ10b SunStZ22 I think Bathsheba will look amazing in your garden. Please share pics when it blooms. Helen

Bayarea Girl: Thank you! That means a lot coming from you. Question: would Bathsheba do well in South facing area with all day sun and no protection from afternoon coastal breezes? Or is she one of those roses that would do better with protection from the harsh afternoon sun in Southern California? I wanna make sure she is put in a spot where she can really shine.

@Ann-SoCalZ10b SunStZ22 She is an Austin so harsh sun in zone 10 may not be the best. I’m in zone 9 and all day full sun is OK and I have mild weather. Helen

Windermere was my first Austin, and I love it! IMO the bush form isn’t the most beautiful of you like the nice, full, rounded forms, but it can be graceful with the right pruning and companion plants, and has the loveliest creamy blooms and is very healthy and free flowering for me. And the scent is lovely.

(You can see from the petals on the ground that she’s already past her peak her. She was loaded with blooms!)

Thank you Dillybean for the photos of Windermere. I like to know about healthy fragrant Austins!