Jessie Bayliss

David Austin Roses is the Shropshire-based rose breeder responsible for the English Rose — the group developed by David C.H. Austin from the 1960s by crossing Old Roses with modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. Their Albrighton gardens remain the global reference point for the category.

For David Austin's February 2024 Lookbook, I was commissioned to produce a set of pen and ink botanical illustrations showing where to plant each of the four types of English Rose — drawings designed to help gardeners place the right rose in the right position. I worked each illustration from reference and close observation, paying careful attention to bloom form, foliage and habit so the planting character of each group could be read at a glance.

The illustrations appeared in the David Austin Lookbook.