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Albas
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Evelyn, Austin 1991, breeding: 'Tamora' X 'Graham Thomas'
Although I have not had a very satisfactory experience with Evelyn in the past, I will try to be fair. The first plant I bought 3 years ago seemed always to be struggling to find it's stride, and never did, always making small growths and producing inconsistant blooms. I have two new plants of it now, growing them under very different conditions on the west coast, and they both appear to be doing better. The early summer blooms are of the finest quality, looking just like the very best photos taken of Evelyn. The bloom you see here opened fully to nearly 7 inches across! Later on in the summer, the blooms are not as fine, being less double, and more inclined to pink rather than peach. To me, this is its most disappointing feature. I
have discovered that there is another David Austin rose that is similar
to Evelyn that I am equally as fond of: Abraham
Darby. I have had a plant of Abraham Darby
for only one season so far (this being the second), and I think it is
a much more attractive rose, consistantly producing stunning peach colored
flowers with a delightful fragrance. ARS
merit rating: 7.6 Original photographs and site content © Paul Barden 1996-2004
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(Supposedly
Evelyn has the stronger fragrance of the two, but I have the impression
that Abe is more heavily scented.) If I could choose only one
of these two roses, I suspect that I would readily choose Abe over Evelyn,
but let me get through this season before I make any firm statements
about this! They are both very beautiful roses well worth growing. Abraham
Darby will get much bigger than Evelyn though, so be warned. Abe will
easily reach 6 feet or more, whereas Evelyn is more likely to stay under
3.5 feet. (except in California, where it gets 9 feet tall!) I have
been told that