‘French gardeners love English roses and although some French garden centres do stock them, it's difficult for customers to buy something more unusual,' says Charlotte Liddell, who moved to Juaye Mondaye near Bayeux with husband Charles and their three children in 2003.

‘Our clients particularly love Tess of the d'Urbevilles, which is dark crimson; Gertrude Jekyll, which is pink and beautifully scented, and Glamis Castle, which is white. Oh and climbers - the French love climbing roses!'

Having owned a holiday house near Balleroy for 12 years, the Liddells decided to move permanently to Calvados when Charles was unexpectedly made redundant from his IT job. They liked the idea of launching a business that was typically English and as both the Liddells were keen gardeners, roses were the obvious solution.

They received a huge amount of practical help from David Austin Roses in Wolverhampton, including advice on planting out and matching up different varieties. Within five weeks of launch in 2007, they had sold all their initial order of 500 plants. All the roses are supplied by David Austin in the UK, a real selling point with French buyers who find them more vigorous than French-grown varieties.

Now La Rose Anglaise is a regular at plant fairs throughout Calvados, Orne and Manche, as well as offering a rose garden design service. Charles also has a contract with an agency to provide a variety of horticultural services in the Bayeux area.