I'm another David Austin fan, have several of these. The old garden roses would also be a must have for me if I had more room, especially the albas the scent from these is wonderful, also consider the ramblers if you want to cover large areas.
The David Austins I have are Constance Spry, Abraham Darby, Graham Thomas, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Gertrude Jekyll, Glamis Castle and Asha Sheriff, hope I spelled them right.
Constance Spry will cover a large wall but only blooms once, the rest are repeat bloomers. Most of the pics I have are of single blossoms so they wouldn't give you an idea of how they grow.

Annette

I'm going to move my "Playboy" to the cottage garden next spring. It has single or semi-double flowers with a visible yellow eye on a bush that stays fairly small. What I'm wondering is, what yellow plant will look nice as a companion planting?

I save my fully double and cabbage rose styles for the rose garden.

Rain2Fall

Thank you all for your input. I would like to add a few David Austin roses, but so far Gertrude Jeckyll is the only one I like that seems to be cold hardy enough for my area. I do want to put in some Albas and Damasks along the house, mixed in with other flowers.

On the west side of the house (hot in summer and more exposed in the winter) I'm thinking of putting in some Rugosas and Gallicas. They both seem prone to sucker, so hopefully if I plant them together, with some bee balm and herbs, they can all fight it out and eventually live happily together :)

Another fan of DA roses. I have: Carding Mill, Gentle Hermione (new, bought last year), Graham Thomas, Tamora, Teasing Georgia, The Dark Lady, and Windermere (new, bought last year). My favorites of those are Windermere, soft white with buff tinted center, and Teasing Georgia, which has a wonderful scent and beautiful light yellow blooms.

LL, maybe you could a Nepeta (catmint) next to your roses? There are many colors that you could contrast to your roses. I moved a light blue 'Walker's Low' next to my Graham Thomas. I thought those colors might look nice together. Most Nepetas are pretty hardy I think.

I have others too. I have a few Hybrid Tea roses, which I am not really that fond of. Almost all of the HT's I have are really bright colored, which is too bad since I prefer pastel and dark wine colored. One, 'Tuscan Sun' is such a good grower though. Have quite a few un-named grocery store minis too.

But my favorite will always be my grandmothers rose, passed down the years. Have no clue what it is. Even the good folks on the Name That Rose forum couldn't identify it. She took a real beating from last winter. Now it isn't half the size it is in this pic. I took a cutting of it this year to make sure I will always have it. Here is a pic.

CMK, I've also have an old rose that I tried to have identified, the Antique Rose form came up with two possibles, does yours resemble mine in any way?

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Can someone identify this old rose?

CMK- Beautiful rose! It seems kind of familiar. Have you ever taken a cutting up to the Manito rose garden and asked them? It seems like a lot of the old rose bushes in Spokane were shared with friends and neighbors and show up at a lot of different homes. Maybe that's why it seems familiar. Wish I could be more help :)

Sorry I did not get back sooner, GW is having troubles and I couldn't log in.

-Annette, that is a beauty! Mine looks a bit different; the shape on mine are more cupped. My rose also has repeat blooms and, I think, was grafted. I asked on the Name That Rose forum last year (please excuse the worse than normal spelling, I must have been rushed that day!), here is the thread: Rose Id. Good idea. I may have to try again sometime on the Antique Rose forum.

I moved the pics on my photobucket account, so they don't show up. I still have them in my new My Rose Album. The ones at the bottom of the page, called Unknown Front Rose are them. I took pics of the buds, stems, foliage etc. to help narrow it down.

-LL, thanks! I haven't done that, though someone suggested I take it to the local rose society. Maybe someday I will get around to it. I will always love the rose even if I don't get an id on it, though I shure would like to know what its true name is. Lol, you guys know how uptight I am with the proper names. ;-)
CMK

I am so glad so many of you have DA. I am in WA 8 and have read mixed reviews on them. Now I will go forth with confidence next spring. Just gotta find a place to put some...did I say SOME?????
Jackie

Hi Jackie! Very nice to hear from you. I live in Spokane, which is a bit different in climate than your zone 8. Do you live in the Seattle area (if you don't mind my asking)? I know that there are some DA roses that are reported to do much better in your area than other kinds, like better resistance to fungal issues due to moisture, lack of sun, flowers holding up better during rainstorms, etc. Here are some interesting articles and pages about DA roses in the PNW. I read them a long time ago, but still find them very useful and interesting. There is also a Rose forum and PNW forum on gardenweb that I am sure would be glad to give you some ideas and suggestions too. Were you looking for any specific kinds/colors?

David Austin Roses for the PNW from Rose Magazine.

And the wonderful site rdrop.com
CMK

Hi CMK! I live in Tenino, which is 70 miles south of Seattle. I keep seeing in my mind a yellow or peach shrub in this one area of my yard. I want wonderful fragrance. I do have some floribundas, a couple a hybrids, and some fairies here and there. I have had a terrible time with the deer, but found one of those egg, milk recipes on line that has worked. The deer ate some of the roses to the ground this past spring. So far they have not touched my roses again. Now that the rain is back I won't be able to keep the spray on. Right now the deer have disappeared, as they do every hunting season, but they will be back soon. Thanks so much for the link.
Jackie

"I keep seeing in my mind a yellow or peach shrub in this one area of my yard. I want wonderful fragrance."

Jackie, then you need DA's Jude, The Obscure :-) I grow a few DAs and this one is the best, hands down, at least in my climate. Other DAs tend to languish and look ratty in our hot dry Summers. But of course your climate is quite different, so all I can say is try.

Christin, I find old or old fashioned type roses look better in a cottage type garden. From the ones I grow, Ispahan, a damask, is my favorite. Other ones I have and love are Old Blush (china), the Apothecary's Rose (gallica), Rosa Mundi (gallica), Queen of Denmark (alba), Ballerina (musk) and William Lobb (moss). Once blooming, with the exception of Old Blush. Love them all.

Eduarda

Here is a link that might be useful: Some of my garden roses

Jackie- I was just looking at DA roses on their website, and they list roses that do well by climate. I have hot summers and very cold winters, so my situation is the opposite of yours, but they list roses by climate, by height, by color, by use, etc. They also have gorgeous pictures and tell you the fragrance for each rose. You can also request they send you a free catalog. :)

We grow David Austens up here in Ontario Canada. I know they are grafted so they can withstand our brrr winters. (which dips -20C to 30C (sometimes with windchill it gets to feel -40C). However we do have lots of snow which provides a lot of insulation so this helps the DAs survival too.

eduarda, your Jude The Obscure rose is absolutely stunning! I was going to ask about a cutting then seen you are in portugal....Darn!
I have a Mme. Isaac Pierre that I LOVE. The fragrance is out of the world!
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Tammy

My climate is opposite of yours with mild winters and very hot,dry summers. I put an English style garden in my front yard a year ago. I have 5 Austins there - Molineaux, Charlotte and Carding Mill (in the yellow section of the garden), Glamis Castle and Huntington Rose. The first three are great successes! Glamis Castle is in partial shade. I didn't realize the pattern of the neighbor's tree. I'll move it this winter once it's dormant. It's a pretty cupped white but so far hasn't bloomed too much. I'll move it to more sun and see how it does year two. Huntington Rose has beautiful flowers but is throwing octopus arms (Austin's often do this in my area). I'm moving it out of the front yard and replacing it with a new Austin this year - Young Lycidas (I couldn't resist). I'm also adding Lady Emma Hamilton to the yellow garden.

I have found Austin's to be a fitting addition to the cottage style garden since David Austin deliberately bred them for the overall shape of the bush as well as the flower itself. His catalog and website do show Austin's that are very cold hardy. I'm sure someone on the Antique Rose Forum could advise you on that. I remember someone over there who rose gardens successfully in Montana.

Good luck. I couldn't imagine a garden without roses and Austins are just opulent!

Debbie

For overall general soul-satisfaction: Heritage.

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For fragrance: Gertrude Jeckyll.

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For early bloom, ease of care, and autumn leaf color: Theresa Bugnet (no picture available).

For a short, continually blooming fragrant front of porch rose: Harlow Carr.

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For home security: Sara Van Fleet (planted in front of all first floor windows. It's like 7 foot tall bales of barb wire, but prettier)

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For covering a stone wall in just a few years: Awakening (no picture available).

Lois- Beautiful pictures! How do you choose when you don't have room for all of them? :)

I do want to put in a few Therese Bugnets and I'm wondering if anyone has Marie Bugnet? I think they might look nice together and I've read Marie Bugnet is more deer resistant, which would be nice!

gorgeous! breath taking! absolutely divine. Love heritage and getrude jekyl most of all.

Glad you like the pictures. I love Theresa Bugnet because she blooms a week or so earlier than the rest of the roses, as well as being healthy and almost thornless, at least on the upper part of the canes. I found a picture, by the way..

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Here is a picture (not so good) of Awakening. It looks white in this picture, but it's actually a pale pink.

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Lois in Pa

Wow... Roses for the cottage garden. I am obsessed with the old european roses. My favorites are:
La Ville de Bruxelles
Chapeau de Napoleon
Common Moss
Konigin von Danemark
Felicite Parmentier
Rose de Rescht
Ypsilanti
Belle de Crecy
Charles de Mills
Duc de Guiche
Cardinal de Richelieu
Paul Ricault
Duchesse de Rohan
Sydonie
Salet
Reine des Violettes
Yolande d'Aragon
La Reine

You could also try the rugosas. I have several of these that I put in two summers ago and I love them! I have one David Austin (Abe Darby) but he has never gotten much over 2 ft not sure if because of climate or because it's from a mail order place-not had much luck with mail order roses!
My favorite rugosa is called Buffalo Gal
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second favorite is a Bourbon, Souvenir de la Malmaison
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The lighter colored roses seem to attract the jap beetle and the rose chafer beetle more than the darker ones. I don't spray(rugosas don't like to be sprayed) so every morning I'd be out there with a coffee can that had a few rocks and and some water in it, collecting all I could find and putting them in the can! The water keeps them from flying away and the rocks..well.. you know! Make sure you dump out the can, because it'll stink if left out. Mashed up bugs make an excellent fertilizer!
-B

I agree with Brandymulvaine. Rugosas would be the way to go with your climate, and they don't like to be sprayed. Pickering (in Canada), is the only rose site that I have used. Although, there are many rose mail order companies in Canada. They just don't ship to the US.

Jim

I was looking through this old post...so many beautiful pictures!

Now that spring is finally on the way, I really want to get out in the garden and start planting. I have roses that will be here in late spring, thanks to many of you for helping me decide what to order. I got some this year (including some Therese Bugnets for me and Gertrude Jeckyll and Heritage for mom). Next year, I'll be able to concentrate on more old-fashioned roses to go in front of the lilac hedge :)

Oh I love old garden roses and feel a cottage garden just isn't complete without them! For those who are scared about growing them, don't! I was like that too but then I did some research. I didn't know a thing about roses other than hearing somewhere that they are hard to grow. I didn't even know what antique roses were. I learned that antique roses can thrive with very little care once established and that some like cold or cool climates while some like hot and humid. So I bought the roses that do really well for a hot and humid south like the chinas, teas, and noisettes. I now have 24 roses in my garden and they all all big and beautiful and they are my favorite plants in the garden. I've only just gotten started with them too as they are very addicting! :O) Some people have JP problems I have had so far very little problem with them and some minor thripe problems but nothing that takes away at all from roses. Try them and you will love them but do your homework. The antique rose forum is the best place to start. :O)
I would love to grow DA roses but I don't think that those for the most part do well here without spraying and I don't spray. Who knows I may just get tempted one year to try!
~Meghan

What a beautiful thread this is. It's nice to see it again!

Maureen

Gorgeous roses on this thread! I'm another one that was nervous about getting into roses - still am to a large degree! Anything that requires too much fuss doesn't fit into my garden. A number of years ago though on a whim I bought 'Angel rose' seeds and those have become my favorite roses. Supposedly they are Rose chinensis minima, the original minature China roses. I've never seen the plants for sale anywhere but they are easy to grow from seed. They bloom all summer and have marvelous red hips for fall and winter interest. They've never been bothered by any diseases or pests and do well with benign neglect. Here are some pictures:
Mid-June:
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As an under-planting for Blanc Double de Coubert:
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In the fall:
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Last summer was the first time I've ever seen JB in the garden - they swarmed the Blanc Double de Coubert rose! If they reappear in the garden this year - as they no doubt will - I may have to rethink having roses in the garden...

Wow so many beautiful roses!!

I love roses in my cottage garden. Especially my continuous bloomers (The Fairy,Sexy Rexy, Marget Merril, Lillian Austin)and my David Austins (Heritage, Graham Thomas).

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The Fairy

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Sexy Rexy

My husband just surprised me with 'Blue Girl' hybrid Tea this afternoon. Better than five dozen cut roses if you ask me. As my son always teases, nothing says love like sticks in a pot.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience and beautiful pictures.
Sorry for the huge pictures. I don't know how to fix it.

Carrie B.

Here is a link that might be useful: Album

Carrie- Don't apologize, those pictures are beautiful! What kind of mini-roses are those cute little pink ones? I'd love to get some, if they'll survive my zone 4 winters :)

I'm going to look through your album more carefully this afternoon (it's been slow enough to be on the computer today) but who is that little cutie in the jack-o-lantern costume?

Woodyoak- I love those little roses! Where did you get the seeds? Is JB june bug?

Carrie- Your first two pictures, are those pink roses the minis? I think they're beautiful. What are the white flowered plants with them?

LL - I got the original seeds from Vessey's (see link below) but once you have some, it's easy to harvest the hips for seeds. The Vessey's picture is a bit misleading I think - most of my roses are singles or semi-doubles. The doubles seem to be fairly rare. Some of them are nicely scented and some have no scent. They are very easy to grow from seed and they start blooming when the seedlings are about 3-4" tall! So it's easy to select for color and bloom type if you want to. Vessey's says hardy to Zone 5 but I'd give them a shot in zone 4 in a sheltered area or where they'd get good snow cover. I do no winter protection and get some tip winterkill but they bounce back quickly. The birds love the hips and I do find stray roses popping up here and there in the garden :- ) The thorns are wicked so you do have to be careful around them.

JB = Japanese Beetles. I hard heard people complain vigorously about them but didn't really understand the problem until they appeared last summer. Gross!

Here is a link that might be useful: Angel rose seeds

Lavender Lass, The little pink roses in the first two pictures is from a Polyantha rose 'The Fairy'. I planted her last June. She was continuously in bloom right up until November. Not in flushes but a constant mass of pink. I had a big problem with black spot last year, which touch every rose but this one. And so far 'The Fairy' has absolutely no winter damage and I didn't give her a drop of protection. I would highly recommend this rose to everyone. I looked in my journal and found my tag 'The Fairy' is listed as hardy to zone 4a.

The white plant with her is Astilbe 'White Diamond'.

The minis I was talking about are the little potted gift roses 'Kordana' (the burgundy ones in the last picture). You can often find them in the grocery store around holidays like Mother's Day and they come in a rainbow of colours. I was surprised to find out that they are hardy to zone 5.

Lastly the Jack-o-lantern is the youngest of our three children, three year old, Grace.

Carrie B.