Rosa Eustacia Vye

Rosa Eustacia Vye, with its breathtakingly romantic flowers, is dedicated to the heroine of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native, which became one of the most popular novels of the 20th century in the UK. It's understandable that she inspired the famous breeder David Austin to create an enchanting rose in shades of tender pink-apricot, with an unforgettable exotic fragrance. The flowers bloom from June to October on a vigorous, disease-resistant bush. It is excellent in borders and hedges, and its flowers are sublime in bouquets.

Rosa Eustacia Vye is part of the latest introductions by the famous breeder David Austin. With the purest English style, this variety combines charm with excellent disease resistance. It forms a shrub with an upright and bushy habit, reaching an average height of 1.25m (4ft) and a width of 90cm (35in). Its growth rate is rapid and vigorous. Its graceful stems are covered with lush, perfectly healthy, dark green foliage. The young shoots are purplish to coppery. The deciduous foliage falls in autumn. The beautiful buds on this repeat-flowering bush gradually open to form a shallow cup, opening into a rosette full of slightly ruffled petals. The changing colour of the roses is a soft gradient of orange and pink tones, fading at the edges over the course of hours. The flowering takes the form of clusters of 3 to 5 flowers. Their powerful fragrance of old roses reveals fruity notes. It will be more noticeable in calm and warm weather.

Rosa Eustacia Vye is ideal for adorning romantic spots in the garden, alongside blue, white, or even mauve flowers. Plant it with annual delphiniums, hardy geraniums, or white foxgloves, for example. It will bring a floral touch to perennial borders, and will thrive in a large shrub border or even a small flowering hedge. The delightful flowers of Eustacia Vye will be enhanced by a flame clematis with its cloud-like flowering. Roses go perfectly with catmints, campanulas, paniculate gypsophila and herbaceous or climbing clematis. Finally, you can plant them in front of taller shrubs or roses, or use them to fill the base of a small tree, which they will adorn with charm.

Obtained by David Austin in 2019.