Chelsea Flower Show gold for Shropshire rose breeder
Shropshire's David Austin Roses was in floral heaven today after scooping a gold at the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show.
The firm, based in Albrighton, created a stunning garden of around 500 strains of rose in the Great Pavilion at the floral extravaganza which caught the eye of the judges.
Roses of all colours were included in the award-winning garden, which also featured four new varieties – the Lady Gardener, the Albrighton Rambler, Thomas A Becket and Carolyn Knight.
Thomas A Becket was named for Canterbury Cathedral and actress Joanna Lumley called in to admire it during the show. The award takes the rose breeder's total to 17 gold medals at the show, where it has been exhibiting since 1983.
A delighted David Austin today said: "We really wanted to do something different this year, so rather than basing our design on grand public gardens, as we have done in the past, we opted for a much more domestic approach, taking inspiration from private gardens instead."
