Rose ‘Tottering by Gently' (David Austin Shrub Rose)

David Austin English Shrub Rose

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At a Glance

Rose ‘Tottering-by-Gently’ – David Austin Shrub Rose

Playful, sunny, and delightfully whimsical, Rose ‘Tottering-by-Gently’ is a truly unique shrub rose from David Austin’s English Rose collection, named after the beloved cartoon by Annie Tempest. Bursting with character and natural beauty, this rose brings cheerful yellow blooms, informal charm, and excellent pollinator appeal—perfect for relaxed, wildlife-friendly gardens with a sense of humour and heart.

 

Product Overview

  • Type: English Shrub Rose

  • Breeder: David Austin, UK

  • Named After: Tottering-by-Gently, the cartoon by Annie Tempest

  • Fragrance: Light, fresh and musky

  • Colour: Rich, golden yellow

  • Bloom Form: Single to semi-double, open and lightly ruffled

  • Flowering Period: Repeats from late spring through to first frost

  • Growth Habit: Bushy, rounded, and informal

  • Height: 1.25m (4ft)

  • Spread:  1.25m (4ft)

  • Hardiness: Fully hardy (RHS H6)

 

Bright and Cheerful Blooms

The blooms of Tottering-by-Gently are utterly charming—open, single to semi-double flowers in a bold, sunny yellow. The loose, informal arrangement of petals gives the impression of a wild rose, while the conspicuous golden stamens add vibrancy and visual texture.

Each bloom appears in clusters, creating an abundant, lively display that radiates warmth and optimism throughout the summer months.

 

Bee and Pollinator Friendly

Thanks to its open, pollen-rich flowers, Tottering-by-Gently is a magnet for bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects. If you're looking to support local wildlife while still enjoying the beauty of an English rose, this variety is an ideal addition to any eco-conscious or pollinator-friendly garden.

 

Natural, Free-Flowing Shape

This rose is perfect for gardeners who love a relaxed and informal aesthetic. It forms a rounded, bushy shrub with a loose, flowing habit—ideal for cottage gardens, naturalistic borders, or wildflower-style plantings.

Its unpretentious charm makes it a great choice for blending into mixed borders or softening the edges of paths and terraces.

 

Generous Repeat Flowering

From late spring until the first frosts, Tottering-by-Gently provides continuous waves of blooms, making it a reliable choice for long-season interest. Its simple flowers do not ball or collapse in wet weather, making it exceptionally reliable in the British climate.

 

Light and Airy Fragrance

Though not overpowering, the rose carries a light, fresh, musky fragrance, adding another layer of enjoyment as you pass by or work in the garden. It’s subtle and uplifting—perfect for planting near paths, patios, or seating areas.

 

Planting and Care Tips

  • Position: Full sun for best flowering; tolerates light shade

  • Soil: Rich, fertile, and well-drained

  • Watering: Water regularly until established; mulch to retain moisture

  • Feeding: Apply a balanced rose fertiliser in early spring and midsummer

  • Pruning: Lightly prune in autumn to prevent wind rock over winter. In spring prune down to good, strong, outward facing buds to produce an open wine glass shaped frame, to allow lots of light and air movement into and around the plant.

  • Spacing: Allow approx. 1.25 metres for mature spread and good air flow

 

A Whimsical and Thoughtful Gift

Named after the long-running cartoon strip by Annie Tempest—featured in Country Life—Tottering-by-Gently makes a unique and memorable gift for:

  • Gardeners with a love for English humour

  • Cottage garden enthusiasts

  • Wildlife supporters

  • Anyone who appreciates roses with personality and purpose


Why Choose Rose ‘Tottering-by-Gently’?

  • Cheerful yellow, open blooms that uplift and delight

  • Excellent for bees and pollinators

  • Repeat flowering throughout the season

  • Natural, informal growth perfect for relaxed garden styles

  • A tribute to British creativity and countryside life

 

Add Sunshine and Whimsy to Your Garden

Whether you're planting for pollinators, curating a cottage-style retreat, or simply want a rose that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Rose ‘Tottering-by-Gently’ is a joyful, golden gem with real heart.

Order yours today and let your garden bloom with character, colour, and charm.


Reasons to Buy Roses from Jacksons Nurseries

(1) ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot

Buy with confidence from the only online rose grower rated ‘Excellent’ 4.9* on Trustpilot. We have been a trusted supplier of roses for 3 generations. We take pride in growing our own roses in the field before potting them up, allowing for meticulous quality control to sale.

 

Trustpilot Excellent

 

(2) Best Prices Guaranteed – Direct from the Grower

Save £££s by buying direct from a grower you can trust. We’ve already price checked all of our roses against competitors so you don’t have to. We are so confident we offer the best value, if you find a rose of the same type and grade elsewhere, we’ll beat it by 10%.

 

Price Promise

(3) 12 Month Plants Guarantee

We offer a 12 month guarantee on every plant that you buy from us that we have classified as Fully Hardy. If a plant you've bought from us fails in the first year, we will either replace it or refund you. See our satisfaction guarantee page for more details and conditions.

 

Roses 12 Months Plants Guarantee

(4) Third generation family-owned nursery specialising in roses

Jackson’s Nurseries is a 3rd generation family owned business which has been growing roses for over 60 years. Roses have always been our specialty, as you can see from the colourful array of blooms in the background to the old family photo below. Today, we offer over 200 different varieties of floribundas, hybrid teas, patio, shrub and David Austin roses. Our roses are initially grown in the field before being potted up for website dispatch.

 

Third Generation Rose Growing

(5) Grown at altitude to produce strong, healthy plants

Our North Staffordshire nursery is situated at 250 metres above sea level, producing strong, hardy plants that will thrive in your garden. Our nursery sits on clay, so you can be sure our roses can handle heavy soil too.

 

Grown at Altitude Healthy Plants

(6) Help & Advice and Aftercare

We are help to help you with any help and advice you need in choosing, planting and growing your roses before, during and after your purchase from us. The help and advice section of our website has extensive information, see below some examples of articles you may find useful:

 

Help and Advice Aftercare

How our roses are supplied through the seasons

All our roses are cultivated in an open field and are carefully dug up when the weather is optimal, typically in October or November. While other nurseries supply roses bare root, once our field-grown roses have been potted up we supply them freshly potted. This better protects the roots and helps keep them moist in transit, ensuring your roses arrive as healthy as when they left our nursery. So don’t be alarmed if the compost comes away from the roots when you remove them from the pot.

 

Pointing at Graft of Rose after Removing from Pot

The roses can remain in their pots over the winter, as long as they are properly watered and fed, but it's best to plant them out as soon as possible. If you do plant them straight away make sure the planting mix is prepared first, hold the root close to the top of the hole as you tip the pot upside down and try to keep as much compost as possible from falling away. They will already be pruned, so no additional pruning is needed except for trimming any dead tips. Regular pruning can start in late winter, the year after planting.

 

Tying up a Climbing Rose

Rose Types

Hybrid Tea Roses (HT)

Hybrid Tea roses are probably the most popular group of roses, available in both bush and standard form they have long flower stems and shapely blooms. Blooms are typically medium to large in size, with many petals which form a distinct central cone.

Floribunda Roses (FL)

Floribunda roses bears its flowers in clusters or trusses, with several blooms open at time in each truss. A popular choice the Floribunda rose group is unrivalled for colour, reliability and longevity as a bedding display however the flower form in generally inferior to the Hybrid Tea.

Patio Roses (PATIO)

Patio roses were introduced in the 1980’s and the group now contains several popular varieties. Generally low-growing roses that were once grouped with the Floribuna group but have now been put in their own group of compact versions. Usually growing about 50cm high they make excellent plants for patio containers or at the front of borders.

Climbing Roses (CLM)

Climbing roses as the name suggests are the perfect choice for covering a wall or screen. Often grouped together with Ramblers, Climbers tend to have stiffer stems, larger flowers but smaller trusses than Ramblers.

Rambling Roses (RAM)

Rambling roses are often grouped with Climbing Roses but the ramblers tend to have a more pliable stems that can be used to run along the soil to use as groundcover or can be used to make weeping standards.

Miniature Roses (MINI)

Miniature roses have increased in popularity in recent years due to their versatility, even grown indoors as temporary pot plants that grow to a maximum height of 40cm. An ideal choice for planting in tubs, edging beds and rockeries.

English Roses (ENG)

Often referred to as Austin or David Austin Roses, English roses are hybrids of old English roses and more modern varieties bread by David Austin to provide the best of both, mixing old rose shapes and scents with more modern colour range, compact habits and repeat flowering.

Diagram of different types of roses

Planting Advice

Roses like a generous root space, so dig a deep hole approximately twice as wide as the current root system, preferably adding composted organic matter to the soil. Never plant into frozen soil – in winter, await a frost-free period. Carefully remove the pot and gently tease the roots apart to spread them around the hole. Position the plant so that the ‘bud point’ (the place where the shoots emerge from, where the cultivated rose was grafted onto the rootstock) is at soil level. Replace the soil, firming it down gently, then water copiously. Ideally, a general purpose fertiliser should be applied to the surrounding soil as a top dressing. We also highly recommend the use of Rose Rootgrow, which provides a friendly fungus that prevents ‘rose replant syndrome’.

 

Digging Ground for Roses

 

Buying our Roses

Pot Size

Most of our roses are supplied in a 4 litre pot although this may vary slightly depending on rose variety. If the size of pot differes significatly from 4 litres then we will make this clear somewhere on the product page.

Seasonality

Our roses are grown outdoors and as such are subject to seasonal changes. As we sell potted stock throughout the year your rose may not arrive and look like you expect it to. If you are uncertain how your rose will arrive (especially if buying for a gift) then we suggest you contact us prior to making a purchase. 

Freshly Potted

Each year a new batch of roses is potted up ready for the following season. Once potted (usually November/December time) they go on sale as 'Freshly Potted'. If you purchase a freshly potted rose and plant it soon after you will find that when removing the rose from the pot there will be a lot of loose soil as the roots will not have had time to grow and bind the compost.

 

Rose Raised Ready to be Planted

 

Pruned/Cut Back

In autumn the majority of our roses have finished flowering and begin to look untidy, at this point we prune them quite hard in preparation for the following season. We continue to sell roses throughout the year, when a rose has been pruned in such a way we will identify it has being so. If you are not sure what to expect then please ask prior to making a purchase. Some garden centres/supermarkets sell stock that has been grown abroad or in poly-tunnels so they look 'picture perfect' out of season, while this is ideal for a gift they are short lived once planted.

Aftercare

Water regularly until established. In spring, apply a specialised rose fertiliser along with manure mulch, taking care to avoid direct contact of the mulch with the stems. In winter remove all branches which are dead, diseased or damaged along with any older stems as necessary to avoid overcrowding at the centre. Cut back new growth by about a quarter and prune side-shoots to within three buds of the main stem to encourage vigour. Prompt removal of ‘dead-heads’ will encourage further flowering.
 
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