ALBRIGHTON, England — David J.C. Austin, the chairman who transformed David Austin Roses from a family-run specialty nursery into a worldwide horticulture powerhouse, died July 22 at his home in Shropshire. He was 67.
His family announced that Austin had been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare and incurable neurological condition that causes rapid brain deterioration. The company confirmed he died surrounded by family, less than eight years after the December 2018 death of his father, company founder David C.H. Austin.
Carrying Forward a Family Vision
Born in 1958, Austin joined the family business in Albrighton in 1990, working directly alongside his father as the elder Austin’s pioneering work with English Roses was gaining global acclaim. Over three decades, he served as managing director and later chairman, steering the company through major expansion while keeping the breeding of fragrant, garden-worthy roses at the core of operations.
Under his leadership, David Austin Roses grew from a regional nursery into a globally recognized name in horticulture, exporting its English Roses to gardeners, florists and landscapers worldwide. He was widely credited with preserving his father’s founding philosophy — that a rose should combine the beauty and fragrance of old garden varieties with the repeat-flowering reliability of modern hybrids.
A Family’s Tribute
In a company statement, Austin’s children — Richard, James and Olivia — remembered their father first as a gardener. “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,” always placing the roses, the business and its employees before himself.
The family described him as kind, modest and playful, with a genuine enjoyment of life, and said he faced his illness with the same courage and dignity he 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 during his illness.
Tributes From the Horticultural World
News of Austin’s death drew tributes across British horticulture. The Royal Horticultural Society expressed deep sadness. BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don said Austin leaves behind “a legacy of millions of exquisite roses that will live on” and offered condolences.
Hundreds of gardeners and rose enthusiasts posted condolences on the company’s social media accounts, many recalling personal encounters with Austin at flower shows or crediting the roses he helped bring to market with transforming their own gardens.
The Company Moving Forward
David Austin Roses said it will continue operating under its experienced leadership team, working closely with the next generation of the Austin family. The company reaffirmed its commitment to partners and rose lovers worldwide, signaling continuity after the loss of both its founder and the son who built it into a global brand.
Austin’s death closes a long chapter of direct family leadership. Yet with a third generation — his children Richard, James and Olivia — already connected to the business, the family’s stewardship of the English Rose appears set to continue, even as the company enters a new phase without either of the two men most responsible for its creation.