Here at Parfum Flower Company in Aalsmeer, the heart of the worldwide floral industry, we see thousands and thousands of roses passing by everyday (We know, we have the best jobs in the world 😉 ).
We can’t help but have our favorite roses. Of course, it’s hard to pick one or two, so we all needed some time to think of our favorite ones. As a result, we’re going to discuss Johan’s – our sales manager – favorite roses today.
David Austin Wedding Rose ”Keira”
The Stunning David Austin Wedding Rose Keira has natural charm and glorious, vintage-style blooms. This unusual rose breaks all the normal rules for the cut flower industry, because each rose is subtly different in colour, being a beautiful blend of blush pink and cream, often with warm peachy highlights. Some blooms have an irregular flush of pink that highlights the edge of the outer petals, creating a very soft picotee effect. We think that this variation adds to the natural charm of the rose.
The flowers of the David Austin Wedding Rose Keira are beautiful at all stages: the small, plump buds opening into glorious, rounded young blooms that eventually form spectacular cupped rosettes, each with around 100 petals. The edges of the outer petals have an attractive, lightly waved effect. There is a medium-strong rose fragrance.
This David Austin Wedding Rose Keira, perhaps more than any other, looks like it has been freshly cut from the garden. This makes it particularly effective when combined with seasonal flowers, herbs and foliage for a romantic, garden-inspired look.
The name ‘Keira’ is a charming variation on the ancient Gaelic ‘Ciara’.
Specifications David Austin Wedding Rose Keira:
- Shape : Cupped Rosette
- Color : Blush pink to cream to light pink
- Petals Count : 100
- Diameter : 10-12 cm
- Fragrance : Fruity
- Vase Life : 7-8 days
- Breeder : David Austin
- Plant Name : Ausboxer
David Austin Wedding Rose ”Juliet”
The David Austin Wedding Rose Juliet was the first of David Austin’s Cut Roses to be released and is sometimes known as the ‘£3 million rose’. After over fifteen years of intensive breeding, Juliet combines the beautiful cupped rosette form of old roses with a very contemporary colour.
The unusual and sophisticated colour of the David Austin Wedding Rose Juliet was not found in roses of the past and is hard to find among modern roses. Pale peach buds open to reveal deeper inner tones neatly arranged within the heart of the bloom. Beautifully cupped rosettes are held elegantly upright on strong stems. Juliet deserves its place as our most popular variety. A light fragrance reminiscent of snowdrop and daffodil.
The David Austin Wedding Rose Juliet has the lightest fragrance of our cut roses. Despite this, it is always one of the most popular of our cut roses for weddings, commemorations, events and special occasions.
The large, elegant blooms made Juliet utterly different from most other contemporary cut roses. When fully open, the blooms reveal many neatly-arranged petals nestling in folds within the heart of the bloom.
Specifications of David Austin Wedding Rose Juliet:
- Shape : Deeply Cupped Rosette
- Color : Peach
- Petals Count : 90
- Diameter : 10-12 cm
- Fragrance : Snowdrop and Daffodil
- Vase Life : 6-7 days
- Breeder : David Austin
- Plant Name : Ausjameson
Story behind the roses
David Austin was born in 1926 on the farm where he now lives. He is the son of a farmer and began farming before going into business as a nursery man in the early 1960s. From an early age, he has been interested in gardening.
In the 1940s, a copy of George Bunyard’s book on old roses gave him the idea of crossing old roses with modern roses. The old roses – that is the gallicas, damasks, albas, etc. – had all but died out at that time. His objective being to create new roses in the style of old roses, thus combining the unique charm and fragrance of old roses with the wide color range and repeat-flowering qualities of modern roses. He was also particularly interested in producing well formed shrubs that would make good garden plants.
In the year 2000 David began breeding for cut roses. He was looking for roses with the shapes and fragrances of old Garden roses but with the vase life of a commercial cut varieties. Tambuzi, Rosaprima and Alexandra farms are growing these varieties for the cut flower markets of the world and they are testing dozens of new varieties for introductions in the coming years.
If you are interested in having these wonderful roses in your flower shop, for special events or for your own wedding, don’t hesitate and send an email to [email protected]. We’re happy to help you!