ALBRIGHTON, England — David J.C. Austin, the chairman who transformed David Austin Roses from a specialized family nursery into one of the world’s most recognized rose brands, died July 22 at his home in Shropshire. He was 67.
His family announced that he had been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare and incurable neurological condition that causes rapidly worsening brain damage. The company confirmed he died surrounded by family, less than eight years after the death of his father, company founder David C.H. Austin, in December 2018.
Carrying Forward a Family Vision
Born in 1958, Austin joined the family business in Albrighton in 1990, working directly alongside his father at a time when the elder Austin’s pioneering work breeding English Roses was gaining international recognition. Over the next three decades, he served as managing director and later chairman, guiding the company through significant expansion while preserving the core mission of breeding fragrant, garden-worthy roses.
Under his leadership, David Austin Roses grew from a regional nursery into a globally known name in horticulture, exporting its English Roses to gardeners, florists, and landscapers worldwide. He was widely credited with protecting his father’s founding philosophy — that a rose should combine the beauty and fragrance of old garden roses with the repeat-flowering reliability of modern varieties — even as the company scaled internationally.
A Family’s Tribute
In a statement released by the company, Austin’s children — Richard, James, and Olivia — remembered their father first as a gardener at heart. “That was at the heart of who he was,” they said, describing a man who carried his own father’s vision forward “with humility and an unwavering sense of responsibility.” They said he always placed the roses, the family business, and its employees ahead of himself.
The family described him as kind and modest, with a playful spirit and a genuine enjoyment of life. They said he faced his illness with the same courage and dignity he had brought to everything else. “Above all, he was our Dad,” they said, “and words cannot express how much we will miss him. We couldn’t be more proud of him.”
The family also thanked those who cared for him and supported them during his illness.
Tributes From the Horticultural World
News of Austin’s death drew tributes from across British horticulture. The Royal Horticultural Society said it was deeply saddened by the news. BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don also paid tribute, saying Austin left behind a legacy of millions of exquisite roses that would live on, and offered his condolences to the family.
Hundreds of gardeners and rose enthusiasts left messages of condolence on the company’s social media accounts in the days following the announcement. Many recalled personal encounters with Austin at flower shows or credited the roses he helped bring to market with transforming their own gardens.
The Company Moving Forward
David Austin Roses said it would continue operating under its experienced leadership team, working closely with the next generation of the Austin family. In a statement, the company reaffirmed its commitment to its partners and to rose lovers around the world, signaling continuity for a business that has now passed through the loss of both its founder and the son who expanded it into a global brand.
David J.C. Austin’s death closes a long chapter of direct family leadership at a company built on his father’s decades-long pursuit of the perfect rose. Yet with a third generation of Austins — his children Richard, James, and Olivia — already connected to the business, the family’s stewardship of the English Rose looks set to continue, even as it enters a new phase without either of the two men most responsible for building it.