I miss the old roses terribly.
They are growing few and far between because these old species don't often fit into yards, and their bloom season is but a few weeks in late spring. I miss them because they are fragrant. I miss their cabbage-shaped blossoms. And when I do come upon them I am transported back to Queen Victoria and the gardens of her realm when horticulture was all the rage.
I suspect the English fellow, David Austin, was similarly afflicted long ago. This longing drove a life spent re-creating a nostalgic flower that once nearly disappeared from gardens. While other breeders were seeking to create the most carefree floriferous roses, such as Knock Out and Flower Carpet, Austin was moving in another direction altogether. He was searching for the romance of early Victorian roses, so he could capture their beauty with modern-day ease of cultivation. In short, Austin literally reinvented the rose.
