Some roses are chosen for their color or fragrance. Other roses capture the imagination before you have even seen them bloom. Lady of Shalott by David Austin is such a rose. Its name refers to one of the best-known poems by the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson.
It is a story about a mysterious maiden, an enchanted island, a broken mirror, and a final journey down the river to Camelot. A romantic and tragic tale that beautifully suits this warm-colored English rose.
The Lady of Shalott and Her Island
The Poem The Lady of Shalott is set in the legendary world of King Arthur. Along the river flowing toward Camelot Castle lies the island of Shalott. It is a quiet and enchanting place, surrounded by grain fields, water lilies, willows, and trembling aspens.
The Lady of Shalott lives on the island. She stays alone in a tower surrounded by four gray walls and four gray towers. A mysterious curse lies upon her. She may not look directly out of the window at the road, the river, or Camelot.
That is why she sees the outside world only in a mirror.
In that mirror appear the people passing the island: farmers, market girls, lovers, clergymen, and knights on their way to Camelot. She incorporates everything she sees into a colorful tapestry. Day and night, she sits at her loom while real life remains beyond her reach.
A World of Shadows
The reflection in the poem is more than just part of the curse. The Lady of Shalott sees no reality, only a reflection of it. She watches life without ever truly taking part in it.
The poem resembles Plato’s famous allegory of the cave. In it, too, people do not see the real world, but only the shadows it casts on a wall.
As time passes, the Lady of Shalott longs more and more intensely for real life. When she sees two newlywedded lovers in her mirror, she speaks one of the poem’s most famous lines:
“I am half sick of shadows,” said
The Lady of Shalott.
In other words: she is tired of the shadows. She no longer wants to view the world only through her mirror, but to experience for herself what love, freedom, and life mean.
The Arrival of Sir Lancelot
Then Sir Lancelot appears, one of the most famous knights in the stories surrounding King Arthur. He rides past the island on his way to Camelot.
Tennyson describes how the sunlight falls on his armor. His shield, helmet, saddle, and reins gleam. As he rides along the river, he sings. It is an image full of movement, light, and life—everything the Lady of Shalott has been separated from until then.
When Lancelot appears in her mirror, she can no longer resist the temptation. She leaves her loom, walks to the window and looks directly outside.
At that same moment, her weaving flies apart and the mirror cracks from left to right.
The curse has come upon her.
The journey to Camelot
The Lady of Shalott leaves her tower and finds a boat by a willow. On the prow, she writes her name: The Lady of Shalott. Then she unties the boat and lets the river carry her towards Camelot.
It is evening, and the weather is growing dark and stormy. Dressed in white, she lies in the boat. As she sails between the willows, fields and banks, she sings her final song.
Before she reaches Camelot, the Lady of Shalott dies.
The boat continues drifting and eventually reaches the quays of Camelot. Knights, nobles and townspeople come to see the mysterious woman in the boat. Lancelot also sees her for the first time now, not as a reflection, but as she truly is.
He looks at her face and says:
“She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott.”
The story ends tragically. Yet in the end, the Lady of Shalott chose for herself. She leaves the safe but secluded world of her tower to face real life, even though she knows that doing so will bring the curse upon her.
Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites
Alfred Lord Tennyson lived from 1809 to 1892 and was one of the most important English poets of the Victorian era. He was not himself a Pre-Raphaelite, but his poems were a major source of inspiration for Pre-Raphaelite artists.
These painters and poets were fascinated by the Middle Ages, ancient legends, symbolism, love and tragic beauty. The world of King Arthur, Camelot and Lancelot was a perfect fit.
The Lady of Shalott therefore became a popular subject in art. The paintings by John William Waterhouse in particular became famous. His best-known depiction from 1888 shows the maiden in her boat, just before her final journey to Camelot.
J.W. Waterhouse: The Lady of Shalott (1888)
Why was this rose named Lady of Shalott?
David Austin introduced the English rose Lady of Shalott in 2009. That was exactly two hundred years after the birth of Alfred Lord Tennyson. The rose was named after the poem to commemorate this special anniversary.
The name therefore refers not only to the beautiful island of Shalott, but to the entire story and atmosphere surrounding it: romance, longing, courage, beauty and a touch of melancholy.
That makes Lady of Shalott much more than just a beautiful garden rose. It is a rose with a story attached to it—and that is precisely what suits Belle Epoque so well.
A rose in the colors of sunlight and fire
Lady of Shalott’s flowers begin as rich orange-red buds. As they open, they reveal large, cup-shaped flowers with loosely arranged petals.
The center of the flower is warm orange to apricot. The outer petals have a softer salmon-pink hue, while the golden-yellow reverse creates a particularly striking interplay of colors.
The colors evoke sunlight on Lancelot’s gleaming armor. But also a golden evening above the river, the glow of burning candles and the autumn hues during the final journey to Camelot.
Lady of Shalott also has a pleasant, warm tea fragrance with nuances of spiced apple and clove. The flowers appear repeatedly, from late spring well into autumn.
Lady of Shalott as a shrub rose
By nature, Lady of Shalott grows as a vigorous and bushy English shrub rose. It forms long, slightly arching stems with healthy, mid-green foliage. The young leaves often have a beautiful bronze-like glow.
As a shrub, it usually reaches a height and width of about 125 centimeters. This makes it very suitable for a spot at the back of the border, as a standalone focal point or in a group of three roses for a fuller effect.
Thanks to its warm colors, Lady of Shalott combines beautifully with purple salvia, blue catmint, lavender, ornamental grasses and perennials in soft cream and apricot shades.
Lady of Shalott as a climbing rose
Although Lady of Shalott is officially an English shrub rose, it can also be grown excellently as a small climbing rose can be trained. Its vigorous growth and long, flexible stems make it well suited for a wall, pergola, rose arch, trellis or obelisk.
The difference is mainly determined by the way you prune.
If you want it to grow as a full shrub, you can prune the stems back at the end of winter to maintain a compact, bushy shape.
If you want Lady of Shalott to climb, do not prune the main stems back too hard. Carefully tie them at an angle or in a fan shape. By not training the stems completely upright, more flowering side shoots will develop along their entire length.
This allows the same rose to fulfil two very different roles in the garden: as a floriferous shrub in the border or as a romantic, not-too-large climbing rose against a wall or arch.
A strong rose for Dutch gardens
The Lady of Shalott is known as a strong, healthy and floriferous rose. She grows best in a spot in full sun or light partial shade, in fertile soil that retains sufficient moisture but does not remain constantly wet.
Thanks to her vigorous growth, she is also suitable for beginner rose enthusiasts. Give her plenty of space when planting, provide good nutrition in spring and remove spent flowers to encourage repeat flowering.
This makes The Lady of Shalott not only a rose with a remarkable story, but also a reliable choice for Dutch gardens.
A story that continues to bloom
The Lady of Shalott spent years gazing at a world she could see only as shadows in her mirror. Eventually, she chose to leave her tower and face real life.
Her journey ended at Camelot, but her name lived on. First in Tennyson’s poem, then in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites and ultimately in this beautiful English rose by David Austin.
With her warm copper, apricot and salmon tones, The Lady of Shalott herself seems to carry something of that old world within her. A world of towers, rivers, knights and hidden gardens.
As a shrub rose or a small climbing rose: The Lady of Shalott deserves a place where her beauty can be admired not only in a mirror, but by everyone.
Read the poem in Dutch
Alfred Lord Tennyson’s complete original English poem is in the public domain. A Dutch translation by Cornelis W. Schoneveld also exists, titled The Lady of Shalott.
Because this Dutch translation may be protected by copyright, we do not reproduce it in full here. You can read the complete Dutch translation via the source below:
Read The Lady of Shalott and The Lady of Shalott at Fleurs du Mal Magazine
Source poem: Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott, definitive version from 1842.
Dutch translation: Cornelis W. Schoneveld, The Lady of Shalott, published by Fleurs du Mal Magazine.
This blog was written in collaboration with Sabriah.
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