The Reeve
Introduced:   1979, David Austin, UK
Class:  Shrub / English
Zones:  5-9
Parentage:  'Lilian Austin' x 'Chaucer'
Form:  Cupped, Bright pink, 3 1/2"
Height/Width:  5 feet x 4 feet (warm climates)
4 feet x 4 feet (cool climates)
Fragrance:  Strong, musk
Of note:  Superb fragrance. Good repeat bloom.
Open, lax growth habit.

New introductions since the 1979 debut of 'The Reeve' have surpassed her for quality of growth and disease resistance, but she is a lovely rose still.  While the tall, once-blooming 'Constance Spry', introduced in 1961, was the first of David Austin's English Rose line, 'The Reeve' played a major role in the beginning of the wide spread popularity that his roses enjoy today.  Back when most David Austin roses were grown by a relatively small group of collectors, a picture of 'The Reeve' in a Los Angeles garden column helped create tremendous interest in the David Austin roses.

Hot pink buds open to dark or bright pink 3 1/2" cupped blooms; petals curve inward, forming an enclosed globe.   Red-gold stamens may peek from within each bloom.  Repeat bloom is reliable, and the fragrance harkens back to the Old Roses of the past.  Foliage is dark green covering lax, heavily thorned canes.  Training 'The Reeve' on a pillar or along a low, stone wall would be an outstanding use.

'The Reeve' was bred from 'Chaucer' and 'Lilian Austin'; during Chaucer's era, a reeve was an officer of the manner who oversaw feadal obligations.

In closing, due to the lax habit of growth and the need to spray regularly for diseases, my own recommendation for a suitable pink English Rose would be one of the newer varieties such as 'Mary Rose' or 'Heritage'.  However, serious collectors of English Roses should find a place for this important rose.