Not everybody have a
huge estate or for that matter what we can consider a big yard. In a typical suburbia, most home lots measure
50 x 100 ft. and some areas have only lots 50 x 50 ft. As a matter of fact, most homes in the United
States now sit on small lots. That
should not deter you from planting roses.
There is one thing to
remember in planting a rose and it’s synonymous to buying real estate. It is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Roses do not like to be near trees because
the trees compete with roses for nourishment.
Also roses need at least six hours of sunlight although I have seen some
roses which do very well in maybe 4 hours.
I have “Bow Bells”, a pink David Austin rose that blooms non-stop all
summer in the shady part of my rose beds and in August when every rose in my
garden takes a breather, this rose is still blooming its head off. “Knockout” is another rose that’s known to
bloom in the shady part of the garden and is very disease resistant.
For starters, if you
have a post mailbox or a lamppost, you can plant one next to it. Plant some roses in your entryway as a great
welcome statement for your visitors.
Roses in your front yard are a sure invitation for people passing your
house to stop by and smell the roses. Try to plant fragrant roses in your front
yard. You’ll be surprised how many
people stop in their track while you’re gardening and telling you that you have
a beautiful garden and doing a fabulous job.
You can also plant
roses in containers. This is a good
alternative if your yard is really small or if you live in an apartment. Containers now come in all sizes and shapes
and you can plant roses in containers as long as there is ample room for the
roots to grow. You can mix and match,
group them in any way you want and if it does not please you, you can move them
around as you would move your furniture.
That’s the fun of container gardening.
There are several varieties of roses that are suitable for
containers. You can have roses in
hanging baskets, containers for patios and terraces, windowsill, pots and urns
for entryways and even standard (tree) roses in containers. There are unlimited options for you with
containers. All you need is a lot of
imagination. I have Caldwell Pink in a
pot and Drift Roses are good candidatesfor hanging baskets.
If you are running out
of space, there is also another route to take.
Try vertical gardening. Climbers
and ramblers are good for this type of gardening. You only need a limited space because the
roses grow up and out. There are several
excellent climbers and ramblers to choose from.
“Fourth of July” is an excellent climber. Its striped blooms remind you of an exuberant
firework display on the fourth of July.
“New Dawn” is a very popular pink climber. “Abraham Darby”, an apricot David Austin
shrub rose which grow so vigorously that you can train it to be a climber. So does “William Baffin”, a red rose in the
Canadian Explorer series. “Sally
Holmes”, another vigorous climber is another excellent choice.
You can also try using
miniature roses or the miniflora roses.
These minis and minifloras are great choice for tight spot. There are thousands of selections to choose
from and every year, more introductions come to the market. The hybridizers have been doing a marvelous
job hybridizing these mini versions of the hybrid teas and other big flowered
roses and they are a great addition to the landscape. My new favorite is Memphis Music by Whit
Wells. It is a striped velvety maroon red and yellow miniflora and
very spectacular in the garden. Minis and minifloras are
generally more winter hardy than the big roses because they come in their own
roots instead of being grafted to a rootstock.
Taking care of small
garden is much easier than big garden.
You would rather garden in a small space and do an excellent job than
garden in a huge garden and do a half baked one. You just have to be discriminating in your choice
of plants. For this, you need the
American Rose Society Guide to Growing Roses which give you the rating of roses
in commerce. You can obtain this by
belonging to the American Rose Society.
Another excellent
design technique for small space is to limit your choice of color to one
color. You’ll create impact in beds with
one color. I saw a bed of “Iceberg”
roses as a foundation planting in a small garden in California and its effect
was dramatic. I bet you at night it’s
even more pleasing since you have the effect of chiaroscuro, a play on light
and shadow, great for a front yard garden bed.
If you don’t like white, then you can experiment with a bed of one color
scheme or a monochromatic display like all shades of pink.
The only thing I must
stress in doing a small garden is to plant roses with strong fragrance. You are planting roses to enjoy them and if
you can not have a big garden, only plant one with strong fragrance. Everyone loves a rose and it is always
associated with the old garden rose fragrance you remember when you are young, not
the scentless rose you buy at the florist.
So plan your rose garden carefully and enjoy your new hobby.
Roses are easy plants to grow contrary to
popular belief. Why do you think Roses have
been around for millions of years? All
they need are food, water and sunlight.
Just like you and me.
Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you
about the Rose - our National
Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states. Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening
or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden,
Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture,
Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place.
We are constantly updating
our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often. We want to help
you grow Beautiful Roses and we
welcome comments. Take time and smell the roses. Happy
Rose Gardening!
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