Graham Thomas

Another David Austin Rose, the Graham Thomas is a lovely addition to every garden. It provides a beautiful touch of soft, lemon yellow, to a mixed border. The roses are medium in size and come in clusters of 3 - 5 heads. Its scent is lovely and fresh. It isn't a strong scent but a subtle one. My daughter loves to pick these roses and put them in her hair and mine. It has a lovely foliage but it needs a lot of support as the stems are not particularly strong.

The Graham Thomas won an award for the Nations Favourite Rose. Although this rose is lovely I wouldn't personally rank it as my favourite, more like 8th from the top. All gardens look lovely with a glimpse of yellow peeping through a packed border and this rose certainly ticks that box. They look great cut but they do not come on singular stems so if you want to take a cutting you have to take the whole spray. Its not a particularly fast grower and they are predicted to grow 4ft x 4ft. It can also be grown as a short climber.

I have had this rose for three years now and I have not had a single problem with disease. There have been no yellow leaves or blackspot and the foliage has always been healthy. It repeats well and the roses do not seem to be susceptible to water damage. I would not be without this rose in my garden and I would definitely buy this for a friend.

I currently have it planted behind my cluster of Generous Gardeners' and Friends Forevers' which are in the front border of my back garden. I can sit here writing this and see this lovely rose peeking through. The Graham Thomas can be bought from David Austin for £14.50 for a bare root. It can also be bought from garden centres or online.

REVIEW:

Visual Impact - 5

Scent - 3

Growth Rate - 3

Stem Strength - 2

Durability (in poor weather) - 5

Resistance to Disease - 5

SUMMARY:

This lovely rose adds a wonderful touch of colour to a border. My only problem with it is that is it rather slow growing and that its stems are not particularly strong. Staking this rose is essential otherwise it just flops around. I think this rose is my daughters favourite as its the one she always cups, sniffs and removes. Despite the weaknesses mentioned I would recommend you buy this rose. It is very hardy, disease resistant, it has a wonderful scent and visually its colour is wonderful and can only be described as a touch of sunlight in a border.