Happy Summer to all and especially to the garden bloggers who join me in posting under the Saturday leadership of The Propagator! In celebration of the Solstice, I’d like to introduce you to my new Rose Garden, a work in progress and a labor of love.
ONE – The layout.
In October and November of 2018, we removed turf on the full-sun slope beneath the pond. We then added about four inches of compost and topped that with a few inches of arborist chips for mulch. The Rose Garden is a rough oval about 45′ x 20′. I’d drawn up plans for placing 15-20 roses, mainly in trios, mostly brightly-colored English shrub roses, all known for their fragrance and disease resistance. A path down the center of the mulch would reiterate our usual walking path leading from the edge of the pond to the garden shed and veggie garden below. One side of the new garden would feature vivid purples and oranges; the other side would be mainly hot pinks and golds.
TWO – The Planting.
Before winter arrived, we’d planted nine small bushes, three each of Golden Celebration, Munstead Wood, and Gertrude Jekyll. As we are on a mountainside at high elevation (1200 ft.) and zone 7, we planted the crowns about one inch below the soil surface. In December, the new bed really didn’t look too exciting.
In late March, following an exceptionally snowy winter, six David Austin bareroot roses went in: trios of Lady Emma Hamilton and Princess Anne. Patches of snow are still visible in a photo below of Hubby hard at work, but we were ready! In late April we added obelisks and a climbing Iceberg rose. And finally, in early May my roses from a California grower arrived, and in went one each of Pumpkin Patch, Connie’s Sandstorm, Evelyn, and Jude the Obscure. These individual roses are mostly softer tones, intended as accents among the bright colors. All 20 began to leaf out and grow!
THREE – The Supporting Cast.
I knew I wanted the roses to be surrounded by pollinator-friendly perennials that would provide masses of color and contrast. This is a large rose garden with plenty of space! A formal rose garden was never my intention. With that in mind, I seeded varieties of salvia, agastache, and rose campion during the winter, then planted them out in early spring. Additionally, I transplanted penstemon and phlox from other perennial beds. I purchased and added erysimum (wallflower), knautia (field scabiosa), solidago (goldenrod), baptisia (false indigo), and hardy geraniums. These young, companion perennials will take a few years to form the masses I’m hoping for, but all have been thriving and blooming and are visible in some of the photos.
FOUR – The Earliest Roses.
Munstead Wood, which I raved about last Saturday, began revealing her deep magenta glory in late May. She was followed by perfect pink Gertrude Jekyll, who has wowed my socks off. Good thing it’s now sandals weather.
FIVE – The Current Situation.
As of today, all five trios of English roses are blooming and the garden is filled with their powerful perfume. Princess Anne is a deep, saturated pink with gorgeous form. Golden Celebration and Lady Emma Hamilton are just starting to open. The five individual roses we planted later are also in bud. Iceberg may bloom this week and the roses from California will be a couple of weeks yet.
SIX – The Maintenance.
Only a month into bloom time, deadheading has begun in earnest. Each rose was planted with a healthy dose of compost and bone meal, and all have been fed with Espoma’s organic RoseTone. I’ll feed again when their first flush is over, probably with fish emulsion. In the winter I did protect the young bushes that were already planted with a heap of mulch, almost covering them, then dug them out as the snow melted and temps rose. I pruned very lightly in late March. Staying on top of weeding hasn’t been difficult yet, but I’m amazed dandelions survived all the turf removal and soil disruption to poke through layers of compost and mulch! Their fortitude is to be admired. So far there are no signs of blackspot or aphids, but I inspect daily.
Well, I have most definitely caught the rose bug! I appreciate the roses that were planted at Coppertop when we moved here five years ago, from a simple white rugosa to many deep pink climbers, but now have added my own bed of dreamy, fragrant blooms. Stopping short of digging up more lawn, I will absolutely tuck some other beauties into vacant sunny spots in the years to come.
Gardens at Coppertop 
Some lovely photo’s there picker….can’t wait to see that border fill in.
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Thank you. I’m eager to see the area mature.
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What beautiful and healthy looking roses, some I’ve heard of, some are new to me. I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite. I bet the fragrance is wonderful. Great under-planting too. It is just going to get better and better and better ……..
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Isn’t it a fun area? Many thanks. I look forward to watching it grow and fill in.
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A collection of beauties MP, and no doubt a great source of pleasure both visual and olfactory. You’re lucky (or is it good management?) to have no black spot. My roses are thick with it, and I’m going to have to embark on a serious management plan to try to avoid it next summer.
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I imagine blackspot will come with time, but I’m enjoying this disease-free era, and yes, the entire garden is a great source of pleasure!
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So many gorgeous roses this week! How lovely.
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Thank you!
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Beautiful roses. Nice to see how the bed has developed. I was planting some seedlings near Gerty yesterday and was hit by the wonderful fragrance. It’ll be a nice place to sit and stare and inhale deeply.
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Many thanks! I don’t think we would have built the bed if it weren’t for the fragrance promised.
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A great job done for a very nice result! The overview is really nice and what more can you say that the roses are gorgeous and so healthy! You and your husband have done a good stuff.
( I also like your climbing columns for roses. )
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Fred, it’s been a labor of love. I do think it isn’t too bad for the first year.
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Such a beautiful addition to your garden. It will be lovely to follow its progress
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Thank you! We have no regrets.
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So lovely to read about the development of your rose bed. I planted up a rose garden 3 years ago with Darcey Bussel, Boscobel, Lady of Shallot, Charlotte and Kew Gardens roses. It is such a lovely place to sit and admire the beautiful flowers but a devil to dead head!. Not many people seem to go for rose beds these days but if you have the space, I think they’re a wonderful thing.
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Oh, it’s good to hear from someone who has done this successfully! Thank you for the encouragement.
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How wonderful to have space for a proper rose garden! I think it will look absolutely fabulous once they grow and the perennials bulk out too. Have you seen Ali’s blog? She has the most delightful herbaceous borders filled with dozens of roses. https://themindfulgardener.blog/2019/06/22/tickled-pink/
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Thank you, Jude. Yes, Ali describes her gorgeous plants in dreamy, beautiful prose. Her garden is delightful.
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Wow I think your rose garden is almost as big as my whole garden! Such a luxury to have all that space, jealous. It is going to look great in a couple of years once they all get properly established. You have reminded me I need to feed mine. I just have climbers as I don’t have room for shrubs (well i could. But choose not to). Love lady Emma though, she might have to be an exception….
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I appreciate the encouragement! Emma is the current favorite.
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This large garden means big beds! I’m always ready and willing to get rid of lawn. Emma is scrumptious, and I’m learning her edges pinken-up here as blooms fade.
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Wait . . . shouldn’t you stick with rhododendrons and leave the roses for us?
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Never! 🙂
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What a dream to have such an extensive rose garden. It looks as if they are all doing well and will give you years of pleasure and good smells.
I just bought a ‘Princess Anne’ for myself, but have been ill and not able to spend much time with her, so it was wonderful to see your photos and know that she is such a beauty.
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So sorry to hear you’ve been ill, Cindy. So far, so good for this first year with the new rose garden. May your Princess Anne’s deep, glorious pink blooms brighten your world.
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I really enjoyed seeing this from start to present day. It was interesting reading what your plan was, then seeing it come about. The thing that struck me the most was what you said about the impact of all those rose scents. For me, that’d be heaven. Love the obelisk pillar as well. Can’t wait to see the perennials next year.
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Thank you, Lora. First summer can look a little spotty or spread apart in a big space, but I’m trying to dwell on all the extra airflow surrounding the plants that will prevent diseases. Ha! Once we get some truly hot weather (80F for us) the aromas may just knock me sideways.
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