Gifted to the National Trust by David Austin Roses, the additional 19 rose cultivars are planted across numerous new rose beds on the south side of the garden. The Jacobean house, gardens and watermill in Cambridgeshire now counts 60 different rose varieties in its celebrated rose garden – one of Lord Fairhaven’s first horticultural projects when he bought the estate in the 1920s.
Keen to show the classic English rose’s breadth of appeal, colour, fragrance and form, the David Austin Roses team donated a measured mix to Anglesey Abbey. Varieties such as Bring me Sunshine (Ausernie), Queen of Sweden (Austiger) and Emily Brontë (Ausearnshaw) have all been planted alongside newer varieties such as Tottering-by-Gently® (Auscartoon) and Kew Gardens® (Ausfence).
David Austin and the National Trust worked together to improve the soil on the site, making it more species-rich and biodiverse. Being one of the UK’s largest carbon stores, enriching soil aids in climate mitigation and so the new moisture-rich rose beds were planted with added compost and mulch to pack it with nutrients that allows for less carbon to be released.
“All the work we do is about careful conservation, and that extends to our relationship with David Austin,” said Kevin Tookey, Head Gardener at Anglesey Abbey. “From the soil and environmental stewardship to archaeological due-diligence, this was a project of many months in the making. In January 2024, Oxford Archaeology dug test pits to ensure the new rose beds wouldn’t disturb any features from the original priory. A wall was discovered during the dig alongside fragments of post-medieval pottery and tobacco pipes and so they were refilled with new rose beds established away from the line of the historic wall.”
Liam Bedall, Senior Rose Consultant at David Austin Roses added: “All the donated roses should flower through from now until October time with their next flush coming through in spring the following year. They’ll repeat flower for many years enhancing the property’s historic beauty as they settle into the beds that mirror the exact size, shape and layout created by Lord Fairhaven on his former greenhouses and vegetable gardens.”