These are all excellent Austins: Queen of Sweden, Olivia Rose Austin, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Darcey Bussell, and Munstead Wood.

I haven't grown the others so cannot comment on them.

Kate

Thank you, Kate. That info is very helpful.

Princess Alex is a warm pink. Darcey is redder than pink and is brighter than Munstead. Darcey is an excellent bloomer, a tidier shrub and less thorny than Munstead. If you're looking for strong fragrance in a compact, cool, bright pink consider Noble Anthony.

ratdogheads, Noble Anthony is lovely. Oh, dear - now I think I have more choices! Also thank you for the information about Darcey. Since the photos on Help Me Find are taken under so many different lighting conditions, it's often hard to tell the true color.

You may be interested in this article about their new introductions:

https://therosejournal.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/new-david-austin-roses-for-2016/#comments

I like Winchester Cathedral a lot, my conditions are a bit different than yours though. No blackspot, but I get mildew. Reasons why you might not like it: Scent is not that that strong, blooms do not last long and are not the largest and showiest in the garden. Despite this, it really charms me. Sometimes you get the occasional bloom striped with pink.

Ninkasi, that is good to know about Winchester Cathedral. I also liked the idea of the occasionally pink and white rose. I believe WC is nearly thornless so I thought I might situated it nearer the walkway.

I agree with Ninkasi regarding Winchester Cathedral. It has nice bush shape, is floriferous, gets mildew even in my desert climate, and I've said before that the fragrance hints of latrine. Blooms open a dirty blush. I do not consider it thornless, as it has numerous small but very sharp needle-like thorns that easily penetrate leather gloves and clothing. Overall, it's very nice.

You may want to sniff Glamis Castle before you buy, since to my nose it smells like camphor or mothballs. Also, in my climate, the flowers don't have the lovely form you see in pictures, but look like balls of used Kleenex. The bush grows as a solid block rather than the graceful habit of Winchester Cathedral. It tolerates heat better than Winchester Cathedral.

Queen of Sweden has a starkly upright form, almost fastigiate, here. Alnwick Rose also is very upright in form, tolerates heat well, blooms a lot, and has an intense wafting fragrance which is lovely in the garden (becomes a bit sharp when brought indoors and the myrrh is intensified). Leaves turn a nice burgundy in the winter.

noseometer, this is very good information. I grew Glamis Castle once before, and did not notice an unpleasant fragrance. I recall liking the blossoms, though not the bush itself, but perhaps my memory has rose-colored glasses! I will dig back through my photos.

Looking at my notes, I see that I did not have WC marked as thornless, so I don't know where I got that idea. Needle-like thorns definitely sounds like an "away from the path" rose.

Alnwick Rose was on my short list, so I am going to give it another look. Are there any Austin whites that don't get that "used tissue" look? Claire Austin and Litchfield Angel looked a bit to creamy. I considered Susan Williams-Ellis, but just couldn't find out a whole lot about her.

After doing a little more research, I am considering switching out Winchester Cathedral and Glamis Castle for Snowbird and Claire Austin. Snowbird is highly rated and looks beautiful. Claire Austin looks a little yellow, but I had Jude The Obscure previously in the same area and it bleached out to white, so perhaps CA will be whiter for me. Any opinions about these two choices?

I've heard only good things about Snowbird and really hated my viciously thorny, awful smelling Glamis Castle so I think that's a great exchange.

I love my Tess of the d'ubervilles. It is blooming a lot now, and seems to have blooms all the time. Carding Mill was left off your list - not sure why, its a really nice rose.

Judith

Judith, I am glad to hear that Tess is nice. I was planning her for a prominent location! Do her blossoms hold up well in full sun?

Carding Mill looked a little peachy for the color scheme that I am planning. Is IS a beautiful rose though!

Just a vote for Snowbird, (it is a great rose that is highly fragrant) and against Noble Anthony for certain or many American gardens. I contacted David Austin Rose's in England, as I was directed there from the U.S. Location. The rose in question turned out to be Noble Anthony, and while I do not recall exactly what was communicated " giving this rose the best growing culture" could sum it up regarding this rose in the U.S. This essentially was communicated without knowledge as to where my garden is, just that I was a U.S. Inquirer. I wouldn't dare try it, but YMMV.

Lynn

I love Glamis Castle. I have two and keep them in pots, they stay small. They do have the myrrh scent, but I like it. They will get blackspot, but I spray. I had Redoute, I preferred it to it's parent, Mary Rose. It had a nicer bush form and the blooms were lovely. Tradescant is a dark red/purple. You can grow it as a small climber or let it fountain. Can you grow roses on fortuniana? If so I think Cool Roses in Florida has it, I bought mine from there last year. I just got Darcey, Munstead and Tess. All are clear red/purples and will go well with pinks and whites.

Lynn - I am so thankful that some mentioned Snowbird to me. That one has gone on my finalists list.

Buford - I am not sure if I can grow on fortuniana or not - I will have to investigate. I grew Tradescant years ago and LOVED the color, and was looking to get another, but it seems to be sold out everywhere. Thank you for the reference to Cool Roses.

I do not get hints of 'latrine' with WC, but everyone's sense of smell is different. It is quite faint for me, but pleasant. But it is not 'nearly thornless'. It has small thorns, just the kind that grab your sweater or hair. I have heard wonderful things about Snowbird as well.

My Tess is on a large trellis in back of my horse barn. It gets full morning sun and sun until about 2-3pm, depending on the time of year, then its in shade from the very hot Texas afternoon sun. I have seen no crisping of the blooms, and it is still in full bloom even with the few freezes that we have had. We are having a very mild, wet winter so quite a few of the roses are still pumping out a few blooms. Tess is very thorny, but is a sight to behold when in full bloom. I plan to put some yellows at the base, also some lavender clematis to trail up through it. Tess is a rose that should be more widely grown.

Judith

Judith - That sounds lovely! I am glad to know about her thorniness as well. She will be somewhat near the front steps, so I may have to make an adjustment. I really have my heart set on an old fashioned-looking red climber. Since Souvenir du Dr Jamain will fry in our heat, Tess is my first choice.

Judith - She is beautiful!

Thank you to all the kind respondents to this thread! After quite the ordeal, and several changes of heart and mind, I have finalized my rose list and placed my orders. I ended up ordering more than I originally planned, since I had to remove ALL my roses in front of my house due to rose rosette disease. I will be starting fresh, replacing the soil completely. The finalists, for those who care or may be interested, are ...

From Rogue Valley Roses:-

Zephirine Drouhin (replacing my beloved)

Kathleen Harrop (how could I resist Zephy's sport?)

Duchesse de Rohan (Tolkien fan here)

Snowbird

Yesterday (my free rose)

From Heirloom Roses:

Braveheart (thanks for the suggestion, Kate!)

From Burlington Roses:

Marshmallow Fluff

From Roses of Yesterday and Today:

Felicite Parmentier

From High Country Roses:

Boule De Neige

Alfred Colomb

From David Austin:

Darcey Bussell

Princess Alexandra of Kent

Olivia Rose Austin

Queen of Sweden

Redoute

The Alnwick Rose

The DA roses are grafted bare roots, all others are own-root. So excited!!

Judith, those photos are what made me order Tess lol !

You wont be sorry! I got myself another one.......