Create an intimate rose corner

With roses surrounding an outdoor seating area or bench, there will always be an excuse to sit out there, whether it is for an early morning cup of coffee or to unwind at the end of the day.

Small and irregular spaces may require more creativity but the effect can be even more interesting than that achieved in a larger garden.

Patio pot roses

What could be more gorgeous than rose-filled containers enclosing a patio? One, two, or more, containers filled with roses produces an instant rose garden, and it is easy to move them around to get the look you want.

Free flowering compact roses are showiest for containers. These can be hip-high floribunda or hybrid tea roses, low growing Fairytale roses, as well as upright and cushion groundcover roses. They can be planted  singly in a medium container or three in a large container.

Roses like ‘Deloitte and Touche’ or any of the ‘Grannies’ are upright groundcover roses that easily fill a container and cascade over the edges. Don’t forget about fragrance, with roses like ‘Duftwolke’ , a hip high hybrid tea rose which has an intense sweet and fruity fragrance and consistently delivers beautifully shaped, pickable blooms.

The best position for patio pot roses is morning sun and afternoon shade. To keep them looking good, water once a day in summer and fertilise once a month. Spray with organic Ludwig’s Insect spray twice a month to keep aphids and other pests away.

A private rosy corner

Imagine stepping out of the bedroom to be greeted by these roses every morning. A bed of tall to medium high roses is the perfect way to make the space more intimate and screen it from the rest of the garden. Consider taller roses like ‘Linda Ann’, an Antico Moderno rose, as well as deep pink ‘Electron’ and light pink ‘Tourmaline’ rose.

Alternatively, use full-petalled old-fashioned fragrant roses such as  ‘Addictive Lure’, ‘Fragonard’, ‘Free and Loyal’, ‘Kovsie Rose’, ‘Perfume Passion’, ‘Purple Fragrancia’ and ‘Rosemary Ladlau’ – all Antico Moderno roses.

Finish off the planting with the tumbling ‘Amarula Profusion’ as a low growing border.

It is easy to maintain a single bed of densely planted roses that shade each other. Install an automatic irrigation system that provides deep watering for 40 minutes once a week, or more frequently at the height of summer. Fertilise monthly and spray with an organic insecticide to control insect infestations.

A companionable bench

There are so many reasons to have a garden bench. It can be a feature or a focal point, a restful place from which to view the garden, or a place to pause, offering respite from the world.

Heighten the senses by surrounding the bench with fragrance, texture and colour. Pastel coloured roses are calming and serene. Factor in fragrance with perfumed pink, cream and apricot hybrid tea roses, like ‘Garden and Home’, ‘Ann Wrighton’, ‘Garden Princess’, and ‘Graaff Reinet’, or floribunda’s like ‘Champagne Pearl’, and ‘Happy Home’.

Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) is a wonderful companion for roses, for the texture of its aromatic foliage and spires of mauve flowers. For height, behind the roses, add white or blue delphiniums. Complete the rosy look with climbing rose ‘Wedding Garland’ against the wall. A conifer adds a structured, formal element.

A place to potter

Did you know that the old roses were regarded as herbs, because of the vitamin C content in their rose hips. Modern roses don’t have the same benefits but their still ‘play well’ with other herbs and veggies. Underplanting this standard Bay leaf with ‘My Granny’ and ‘Granny Dearest’ roses adds charm, colour and will attract pollinating bees.

The best position for this little pot garden is a sheltered spot that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. The small pots need to be watered every day in summer and this suits the roses, as long as the container drains well.

Other compact roses that would work well in this combination include ‘My Grandpa’ that produces clusters of red roses, which bees love, the fragrant ‘Happy Home’ (deep apricot and pink), or any of the Sunsation roses.

For more inspiration visit Ludwig’s Roses.

Images and article supplied by Alice Coetzee. 

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