Queen Anne Rose prose competition winner announced

The 'Queen Anne' from David Austin Roses

Recently, we ran a competition with David Austin Roses to write a piece stating what Royal Ascot means to them. The winning entry was so good, we thought we’d put it on our blog. Here is the master piece from Liz Shaw:

Tradition, heritage, fashion and fun,
Top class facilities, second to none.
Great hospitality, fit for a queen,
The perfect location to see and be seen.
Thundering hooves, excitement and thrills,
Smartly dressed jockeys displaying their skills.
Pageantry, Pimms, punters and posies
Amidst David Austin’s magnificent roses!

‘Queen Anne’ by David Austin, is one of five new rose varieties, which will be officially unveiled in May at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London (24th to 28th May).

The medium-sized flowers of ‘Queen Anne’ are a beautiful, pure rose pink, the outer petals slightly paler than the central ones. It will quickly form an upright but still bushy shrub rose, with very few thorns. The blooms have a most attractive, rounded Old Rose scent with hints of pear drops. The rose is ideal for rose beds, mixed borders and large decorative planters. This beautiful rose is named after the founder of Ascot Racecourse, in celebration of the tercentenary anniversary of this national institution.

Deciding upon a name for a new English Rose is something David Austin sees as an essential part of the rose breeding process. Rose lovers write to suggest many hundreds of names each year, which are considered for one of his new releases. From so many options, David Austin aims to choose a name that perfectly suits the unique character of each rose. Many of the rose names celebrate people or places that have played an important part in shaping British heritage.

David C.H. Austin says: “‘Queen Anne’ is a rose with a very classic Old Rose beauty. The flowers have something of the charming character of Bourbon and Centifolia roses, which have long been celebrated by artists. The way the flowers of a rose are held on the stem has always fascinated me – this makes a very particular and often overlooked contribution to its overall character.