Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don has paid heartfelt tribute to David J.C. Austin, the chairman of David Austin Roses, who died at his Shropshire home aged 67 after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and incurable neurological condition.
Tribute from Monty Don
Don, 71, shared his devastation on Instagram: "I am so sorry to hear this. My regards and condolences to all his family. But what legacy he leaves - millions of exquisite roses that will live on for so many, enriching all our lives."
The rose grower had a longstanding collaboration with Gardeners' World, with experts from the Shropshire-based nursery regularly featuring on the show, in the magazine, and at Gardeners' World Live events.
Other Tributes
Zoe Ball, a gardening enthusiast who has appeared on the BBC's coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, added: "Sending love and condolences to the Austin family. Heartbreaking news."
The Gardeners' World magazine's official Instagram account posted: "We're so very sorry to hear this. Sending our love to you all." The Royal Horticultural Society's social media page also expressed condolences.
Family Statement
Austin joined the family rose-growing business, founded by his father David C.H. Austin, in 1990 and chaired the company for 30 years. His three children, Richard, James, and Olivia, paid tribute in a moving statement: "First and foremost, dad was a gardener. He carried our grandfather's vision with humility and an unwavering sense of responsibility, always putting the roses, the family business and its people before himself."
They described him as "kind" and "modest" with a "playful spirit." "He faced his illness with the same courage and dignity that he brought to life. Above all, he was our dad, and words cannot express how much we will miss him. We couldn't be more proud of him," they added.
Don's Recent Health Struggles
Don's tribute comes after he opened up about his own health struggles. He had a "horribly painful" knee replacement in November and said he will need another one next year. He admitted struggling to film Gardeners' World at his Herefordshire home Longmeadow due to the procedure. "I was finding by the end of a day's filming I could barely walk upstairs and I certainly couldn't take the dogs for a walk," he told Saga magazine's April issue. "It was severely limiting what I was doing. I did it so I could keep on working because it was getting to the point where filming was cutting round me limping."
Don added: "However you do it, a knee replacement is horribly painful. But three months on I'm gardening again and haven't walked with a stick for a month. Sarah [his wife] says I've been doing far too much stuff, but it's fine and going to plan – though it can be inexplicably painful one day and then not at all another."
The garden designer and horticulturalist admitted he will have to have another replacement, "probably in late 2027." He also plans to continue presenting Gardeners' World until at least 2028 and struggles to imagine what retirement would look like.
