Three New English Roses for Australian Gardens
Meet The Generous Gardener™, Gentle Hermione™ and Harlow Carr™, arriving as bare-root roses this June. Australian gardeners have loved English roses for decades, and this winter brings three new reasons to make room for a few more.
From June 2027, David Austin® is introducing The Generous Gardener™, Gentle Hermione™ and Harlow Carr™ to gardens across the country.
The Generous Gardener™
The Climber That Covers the Lot
If you’ve got a fence, pergola or front door that needs softening, this is your rose. True to its name, The Generous Gardener™ is a vigorous climber that smothers its support in clusters of pale pink, chalice-shaped blooms. As they open, they reveal a crown of golden stamens. The fragrance is a real highlight: a strong blend of Old Rose, musk and myrrh. The bees love it as much as you will. In Australian gardens it reaches 4.5–5 m, so it’s ideal for framing the front of the house or turning a plain wall into a feature. It grows in any soil and copes with full sun or part shade, on a wall of any aspect, which makes it one of the easiest climbers to find a home for.
Gentle Herminone™
A Rose with a Story
Named after the queen in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Gentle Hermione™ is all about poise. Its soft pink, shallow-cupped blooms are almost perfectly symmetrical, and they carry a strong Old Rose fragrance with a hint of myrrh. The flowers last well once cut, so it’s a lovely choice if you like bringing roses indoors. In Australian conditions it forms a graceful, slightly spreading shrub, 1.25–1.75 m tall and 1.4–1.8 m wide. Plant it in a mixed border, a cutting garden or a looser, more natural planting where it can relax into its shape. It likes full sun and grows in any soil. A north, east or west-facing position suits it best, and it’s another favourite with the bees.
Harlow Carr™
Small Space, Big Flower Power
Named after the RHS garden in Yorkshire, Harlow Carr™ is the most versatile of the three. It produces rich pink, shallow-cupped rosettes in abundance, with a classic Old Rose fragrance. It’s a healthy, dependable rose that keeps flowering freely through the season. At a compact 1–1.5 m tall and wide in Australia, it’s perfect for courtyards, balconies and smaller gardens. Grow it in a pot, plant a row as a flowering hedge, or tuck it into a border and cut armfuls for the house. It grows in any soil, in full sun or part shade, and does best in a north, east or west-facing spot.
Plan Ahead for Winter Planting
Go for The Generous Gardener™ if you want height and drama on a wall or pergola. Choose Gentle Hermione™ for a romantic border and flowers to cut, or Harlow Carr™ if you’re short on space or gardening in pots.
All three roses arrive as bare-root plants from June 2027. Winter is the ideal time to plant them, while they’re dormant, so they can settle in and put on strong growth in time for spring.
You’ll find them at licensed David Austin® growers and stockists across Australia. Buying from an authorised stockist means you’re getting the genuine rose, grown to the standards David Austin® is known for.
View New for 2027 English Roses here.
