On Wednesday morning I ordered 7 roses from David Austin. Not only was I given a discount when I asked if one might be possible, but the teeny postage charge of £3.95 still applied, even though six of the roses were in pots and the seventh was a bare root one that would not be delivered until November. How generous! Not only that, but within 24 hours six boxes of roses duly arrived and within half an hour their sooperdooper packaging was folded neatly for recycling, the clever boxes being easily openable by pulling a strip down one of the sides and the roses removed by folding open the flaps and snipping the tape. Brilliant!
You are probably expecting me to say that I had them planted within a further hour, but I shall have to disappoint you! However, ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ (thank you Ali, the Mindful Gardener, for your recommendation) and ‘Claire Austin’ are waiting in situ for further adjustments to the adjacent paving before their planting holes can be dug, but at least the new pergola (based on our ‘mockery’) had two coats of paint before it rained today so you get an idea of the effect. ‘Strawberry Hill’ is awaiting a structure of its own which will appear in due course.
Having dithered awhile before deciding to go down the Instant Gratification route I am certainly not disappointed in any way. I haven’t ordered container roses by mail order before and am absolutely thrilled with the quality of these. I am guessing they must be grown in a polytunnel as they are in absolutely tip-top condition and smothered in buds, unlike any of the existing roses in my garden which are still devoid of blooms although with some cooler weather and a little rain buds are now beginning to reappear. Arriving now and in the wonderful condition they are there are at least a couple of months of pleasure to be had from these beauties which should be nicely settled in by next year, whereas the bare root roses from last year have only made a token showing this season. Already I can envisage what the area immediately behind the house will look like in summer 2019, by which time I will have found another spot to squeeze in yet more roses – thank you Mr Austin!
Rambling in the Garden 
I get your excitement. Every time a new plant arrives, I feel like it’s Christmas morning.
Doesn’t it just! 😀
Enjoy. We have a Claire Austin, bought because of the gorgeous smell. We saw the rose in the rose gardens at Savill Gardens near Windsor. Had it for a year now. What a delightful show you will have next year. Best wishes
Good to know that we (I!) have made a good choice and I’m certainly looking forward to all those buds opening 😊
I ordered David Austin Roses last year, and I absolutely love them. I will be ordering more again this year! Glad you had such a lovely experience, too!
And no doubt I will have found somewhere for more of them before this time next year!
I have never ordered them as container roses – I am equally impressed by the packaging and the condition of the roses. I love that you couldn’t wait! I have been unable to delay gratification many times!
I would not have even considered container grown roses. They are so easy to grow as bare root stock!
But I would need to wait till November for them, Tony!
Well, yeah! That is only a few months away!
😉
I was slightly uncertain with it being such a dry summer but they had obviously been living an other wordly life, Ali. Thanks again for your brilliant post which I know I will refer to over and over in the future
Have you visited their gardens Cathy? They are a wonderful sight at peak rose time
Yes Brian – and I hoped to go again this year but there just hasn’t been the time
It is always nice to
Oops! It is nice when you can praise the quality of what has been sent. They do look very good plants.
It really exemplified what great service is and how the best products sell themselves
Lady Emma Hamilton is a beautiful rose. and it’s scent is wonderful too, we’ve got three planted together in the Amber & Amethyst garden. I’m planning on buying a Claire Austin standard rose this autumn! Enjoy!
It seems I made the right choices – hope you enjoy your Claire Austin too ☺
They look gorgeous. Always good to see how these plants arrive, some (not roses) I have ordered this year have not been quite what I expected. I can understand the joy of instant gratification. Having dithered for weeks whether to buy 9 cm potted perennials @ £5 ish, or fork out for 2L pots at double the amount, I succumbed to the bigger ones. Hopefully this means they will get their roots well established before next spring and be able to fend off the S&S when the new shoots appear! I look forward to seeing your fabulous roses in their new spots and if I try hard enough I can almost smell them from here!
It must be a difficult time for mail order nurseries with such a dry summer, especially as many need to trim their plants before sending. I think we soon learn which are the better nurseries to order from – and if they have a no quibble guarantee that’s even better. J Parker for example may be cheap and cheerful and the plants of variable quality but they will always replace anything that fails. And DA roses are guaranteed for 5 years. Hope your recent purchases are giving you pleasure.
Yes the mail order companies have had it tough, with plants not growing as fast as usual due to the harsh spring. Fortunately I have been able to get a refund for ones which arrived less than perfect, though I feel a bit guilty as I am nursing some of them and they may make it! I may use J Parker for bulbs this year as Sarah Raven comes out at twice the price! But will I regret it? Her bulbs have always performed excellently.
If JP have the same bulbs as SR then it seems daft (to me) not to buy at the cheaper price. I too have ended up with plants that have come through intensive care but that’s how it goes. I send them photos beforehand and of course it is touch and go whether some live or die
LEH has been a good rose here, very productive and vigorous. Enjoy the beauty.
They certainly look wonderfully healthy and productive. I can’t even imagine getting roses through the mail in that condition as we always get them bare rooted.
How exciting Cathy! Those boxes look most sturdy and reassuring before you even look inside. It’s great that you can enjoy some of them in flower this year and as you suggest they will be ahead of the game when it comes to next summer. ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ is on my wish list but I waver. Tell me what do you think of her scent?
Oh…good for you and i can’t wait to see them in full force.
They look amazing.! I received Crown Princess Margarita and a Shropshire Lad from David Austin in June each full of around 20 blooms…..it made my day when I opened the box. CPM is now full of more buds
Beautiful, a girl can never have too many roses.
Oh yes indeed Chloris, and I am sure by this time next year I will have found a way of having even more! 😁
Cathy that fabulous and beautiful roses by David Austin. And how well packaged with recyclable boxes. No wonder you’re so happy, I would do the same. The Roses are healthy plants and will surely give you many joys. I’m glad for you. I have swallows living inside my house if you want to read the blog the address is https://margaritaexam141.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/golondrinas-viviendo-dentro-de-casa. Greetings from Margarita.
Thanks Margarita – I really am thrilled with them 😀
I’m super-impressed with the packaging: handsome as well as functional.
Packaging, product, a discount, and wonderful service, who could ask for anything more. I’m looking forward to seeing these growing in your beautiful garden.
Me too, Peter!
I’ve been missing the roses from DA which I left behind….I need a treat!!!!! Much better than chocolates.
Yes, your lovely Crown Princess Margarita – seeing them added them to my wishlist at the time! They may be a relatively expensive purchase (particularly conatiner grown), but what pleasure they give, and for such a long time too.
I’ve just placed an order for two Graces….can’t believe the years and the number of flowers I got off the one plant. I wanted a bit of symmetry..and will be a little more restrained in this bed. Tulips and other fine things in that bed too!!
Was it CPM that you had growing over your arch though? I have just looked up Grace which looks similar to CPM so perhaps I have got it wrong? Are you going to be patient and wait for bare rooted ones…?
Could I wait for bare rooted plants…they fight in the cold and wet weather to plant them?
Two Graces arrived yesterday, were planted, and on top the heavens graced them with a good shower this morning.
http://noellemace.blogspot.com/2018/08/in-vase-three-graces.html
On my large pergolas I had Etoile de Holland the most fabulous scented red climber, and the other one Super Excelsa with small pink flowers. I did feather CPM several times, but with its almost lime green foliage, Grace was my favourite. Who is to say all the others will also find their way back into this garden?
There was certainly a great deal more pleasure to be had planting these ones, Noelle, and I suspect I might always go down this line in future if they are available potted. Did you have CPM when we visited? I have it in my head that this is where I first met her and enjoyed her company… 😉
Immediate joy! Can’t wait to see them establish against those lovely frames!
And the one bloom was reaching out of the box to me so of course I have welcomed them with open arms – but mustn’t forget to water their pots at least until I get them into the ground!
How wonderful to be thinking of planting again, Cathy, I can only admire your boundless energy. Still got roses in pots from last year but there’s no way I could plant them as the soil is like concrete and completely dehydrated. Your new scheme looks promising already and I look forward to seeing the roses planted and thrive. Best xx
I was talking to visitors at one of our openings and they asked what I had planned for next year – at the time there was nothing specific but as I spoke I knew there had to be more roses! And I just couldn’t wait… Where they have been planted the ground had not been cultivated as I had to lift paving slabs, so it was not baked dry, but I have dozens (haven’t counted, but it must be!) of pots for the borders that have been waiting till the ground is moister. Hope all is well and the book is coming along nicely