Mood-boosting Bring Me Sunshine rose raises cash for National Garden Scheme
To support the National Garden Scheme, David Austin and Emma Bridgewater have joined forces to create a mood-boosting gift. Iconic British pottery brand, Emma Bridgewater, has designed a mug featuring David Austin’s Bring Me Sunshine English rose. A £5 donation goes to the NGS for each mug sold.
Chosen because of its uplifting apricot and golden yellow colouring, the Bring Me Sunshine Half-Pint Mug celebrates British craftsmanship and the country’s many glorious gardens. You can buy it directly from Emma Bridgewater, David Austin Roses or as part of David Austin’s new gift set.
With over 3,500 gardens, the NGS raises funds for charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and Parkinson’s UK. More than £3.4million was donated in 2023.
NGS open days for David Austin
In another first, the gardens of Mr Austin Senior’s red brick farmhouse in Shropshire will be open on June 15-16. The ticketed event will see £10,000 of proceeds donated to the NGS with tickets available here.
David Austin said: “As huge admirers of Emma Bridgewater’s work, we’re thrilled to not only see one of our most popular roses adorned onto the mugs but also dovetail our efforts, to support a charity that we each value greatly.”
David Austin and Emma Bridgewater collaboration
Emma Bridgewater said: “I believe that David named this rose for his late father. My Dad died in December 2023, and he too loved Morecambe and Wise, which I regularly watched with him as a child.
“They were anarchic in a gentle way but I didn’t appreciate the subtleties. I remember loving it when my father relaxed and laughed with Eric and Ernie, without needing to follow or comprehend all that they were up to.
“I empathise with the impulse that prompted David to name this glorious golden rose after a song which is forever associated for him and for so many of us with the sound of happy fathers, laughing.”
Bring Me Sunshine rose
A warm and inviting variety bearing deeply filled, cupped rosette blooms of rich sunset orange-yellow paling to lighter apricot tones over time. A healthy and upright, bushy shrub with a complex medium-strong Myrrh fragrance. Price £23 for bare root, £33 potted.
David Austin and Emma Bridgewater – Gift box and mug
David Austin’s Bring Me Sunshine gift box contains a gift voucher for a David Austin rose of the recipient’s choice (including free delivery), an Emma Bridgewater mug featuring the Bring Me Sunshine® rose, and an NGS A5 notebook, price £60.
The mug on its own costs £25. For more information, visit www.davidaustinroses.co.uk.
