I bought Evelyn directly from David Austin Roses, it was one of the first roses I got for my present garden and was planted in spring 2009. I had made a bed to put my first purchases in and some still do well, others produce just a few flowers. My garden doesn't get a lot of sun, it is sandy acidic soil and the bed is on a slight slope. Evelyn manages to keep producing long new growth which is bendy, but not a lot of it. It does marginally better than some of the hybrid roses but the buds dislike wet, rain causes them to 'ball'. The flowers are a very nice cupped shape flattening out with age, buds start more orange in colour fading to pink or pink-orange tones. It has a wonderful scent, the type which makes you want to keep coming back for more. This rose was grown for use in perfumes.

I have not had any problem with black spot on Evelyn although another rose nearby has suffered from it. As it is part of a bed with other plants growing around it it doesn't matter to me whether it flowers well, I appreciated those which it makes. I occasionally give the plants a mulch of organic compost, and organic rose food once a year but I must admit they don't get it every year. It's a good idea to cut out the older wood in spring to encourage new growth, and prune back long growths to a pair of leaf buds. I usually cut them below the previous year's branching stems on the stronger growths, and cut out weaker growths.

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I bought and planted 'Evelyn' spring of 2011 from a local nursery that gets deliveries from a reputable rose dealer. Our soil is very thin, VERY limestone, so the rose beds are raised and filled with quality soil. Evelyn has been a champion. Even through our record heat and drought this summer, the bush still managed to push out occasional blooms. The water restrictions were once a week by the end of summer, and the rose even soldiered through that. Aphids and thrips can be a chore.

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