The Lark Ascending® David Austin® English Shrub Rose

Graceful, luminous, and wonderfully natural in character, The Lark Ascending® is a beautiful David Austin® English Shrub Rose celebrated for its softly cupped, warm apricot blooms, delicate fragrance, and elegant upright growth. Introduced in 2012, this distinctive English Rose has a light, airy appearance that brings effortless beauty to mixed borders, cottage gardens, and naturalistic landscapes.

The Lark Ascending® produces charming semi-double, cupped flowers in a glowing shade of soft apricot. Each bloom is composed of approximately 22 petals, loosely arranged around a prominent cluster of golden stamens. The flowers gradually become paler toward the outer petals, creating a delicate watercolor effect and giving the entire shrub a wonderfully soft appearance.

Rather than producing flowers individually, The Lark Ascending® carries its blooms in large, gracefully arranged sprays, creating an abundant display above the foliage. The open flower form also makes the blooms particularly attractive to bees and other pollinators, adding life and movement to the garden.

Its fragrance is light and refined, with a gentle myrrh scent that complements the understated character of the flowers. The plant develops into a tall, upright, slightly airy shrub with vigorous growth, making it especially useful toward the middle or back of a mixed border.

Repeat flowering provides successive flushes from early summer through fall, ensuring that this graceful David Austin® rose continues to bring warm apricot color to the landscape throughout the season.

Key Features

Growing Information

Ideal Uses

✔ Mixed Borders
✔ English Gardens
✔ Cottage Gardens
✔ Pollinator Gardens
✔ Dedicated Rose Gardens
✔ Naturalistic Plantings
✔ Landscape Focal Points

Recommended Growing Regions

The Lark Ascending® is well suited for:

• Northeast

• Mid-Atlantic

• Midwest

• Southeast

• Southwest

• West Coast

• Pacific Northwest

• Intermountain West

A Graceful, Natural English Rose

One of the most appealing qualities of The Lark Ascending® is its relaxed, natural appearance. While many English Roses are known for densely packed rosettes, this variety offers something different. Its semi-double flowers are loosely cupped, allowing the golden stamens to remain beautifully visible.

The blooms are carried in generous sprays above the foliage, giving the shrub a light, almost floating appearance when in full flower. This makes The Lark Ascending® particularly effective when combined with ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, and other informal garden plants.

Its open flowers also provide easier access to pollen, making this an excellent David Austin® variety for gardeners interested in creating a bee-friendly rose garden.

Behind the Name

The Lark Ascending® takes its name from the celebrated musical composition by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, which was itself inspired by George Meredith's poem of the same name.

The name beautifully reflects the rose's graceful character, with its softly colored flowers appearing in airy sprays that seem to float above the foliage.

Why You'll Love The Lark Ascending®

• Beautiful warm apricot blooms that soften toward the outer petals

• Gracefully cupped, semi-double flowers with prominent golden stamens

• Large sprays create an abundant yet airy flowering display

• Light myrrh fragrance adds subtle perfume to the garden

• Open flowers are especially attractive to bees and other pollinators

• Repeat flowering provides successive flushes throughout the season

• Tall, upright habit adds height without appearing heavy or formal

• Performs in full sun while also tolerating partial shade

• A distinctive David Austin® rose ideal for cottage and naturalistic gardens

Bring effortless English garden charm to your landscape with The Lark Ascending®. Its glowing apricot flowers, golden stamens, graceful flowering sprays, and elegant upright growth make this distinctive David Austin® English Rose an exceptional choice for mixed borders, pollinator gardens, cottage landscapes, and romantic garden designs.