Silas Marner is an English shrub rose bred by David Austin and introduced in 2020, named after the kind-hearted hero of George Eliot’s classic novel. David Austin describes it as an “unfussy” rose. Its medium-sized, cupped blooms are soft mid-pink, with paler petal backs and edges that fade gently, and the relaxed, almost ruffled petals sit around a button eye. They’re held on red stems and carry a medium-strong Old Rose fragrance with notes of lemon, green banana and apricot. It repeats in flushes from late spring into fall and is good for cutting. David Austin rates it as very healthy. The shrub is medium-sized, with wide, arching growth to about 105 cm tall and 135 cm wide and glossy dark green foliage. It’s adaptable, growing in full sun or partial shade, in any aspect and in all soil types, and it’s rated hardy to zone 4, which makes it a good choice for colder Canadian gardens.

A healthy, cold-hardy David Austin rose in soft mid-pink with a fruity Old Rose scent.