August is the month to plan ahead for summer, so why not include roses in your planning?
They bring colour, fragrance and charm into the garden. Most new roses are vigorous and disease resistant, so there is no need to fuss over them.
Roses fit into large or small spaces, into pots, bordering a pathway, up against a wall, around a patio or over an archway. Today’s specimen roses even stand on their own as features or focal points.
As with any garden plant, you just need to get the basics right.
- Find a position that receives at least six hours of sun a day and with good air circulation.
- Browse the internet for novel ways to display the roses. Making a rough sketch can help you visual the finished effect.
- Don’t skimp on soil preparation. Add plenty of compost and other organics as well as slow release fertiliser like Vigolonger when preparing the soil. For container roses use potting soil specially prepared for roses from a rose outlet.
- For ease of watering install an automatic or manual sprinkler system. In spring and summer water deeply and regularly.
- Decide on a colour scheme that will harmonise with the rest of the garden and the house.
- Choose easy to care for roses. Eco Chic roses with the ladybird logo on their labels are highly resistant to fungus diseases.
Using roses in large gardens
In a large garden use roses in sumptuous mixed borders in keeping with the scale of the property. Choose larger shrubby roses or standard roses that stand out and plant them in groups of three or five so that they make an impact. Panarosa, Antico Moderno and Fairy Tale roses are suitable.
Make a grand entrance with a rose-filled pot that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. The pot should be in scale with the entrance. Large pots can feature two or three roses, like this pot that has ‘Granny’s Delight’ planted on the edge so that it can spill over. Use a potting mix for roses and water daily in summer and fertilise once a month from August to April.
Pool areas can be stark and hot. A northfacing bed of roses alongside the pool turns this area into an attractive entertainment area. If space is limited plant a single row of low growing floribunda, mini shrub or groundcover roses. With more space (picture) create a layered look by planting taller roses (hip height) at the back (‘Karoo rose’) with knee high roses in the middle, and low, spreading groundcover roses like ‘My Granny’ or ‘Granny’s Delight’ as a border.
Line a pathway with bushy yet compact floribunda roses like ‘Rooibos rose’, ‘Not Simply Pink’ or any of the ‘Ayeye’ roses. Planted close together, about 30cm apart, they will grow together to create the effect of a flowering hedge.
A beautiful way to display roses is to train them over an archway or pergola. Placing a bench under the archway creates a serene retreat. Archways can also act as an invitation to another section of the garden. Plant a climbing rose on either side of the archway and train them upwards. Roses are not natural climbers and need to be tied to their support.
Train roses vertically onto trellis to soften the bare walls between windows and to add extra interest to the view from the bedroom windows. ‘Climbing Iceberg’ is a strong performer but the climber ‘Nahema’ exudes a strong fragrance that will waft into the rooms.
Clipped hedges act as a backdrop to standard ‘Iceberg’ roses and the paving gives this section of the garden a formal structure. Without a doubt the ‘Iceberg’ standard is the star of the show. The sparkling white blooms brighten and lighten the various shades of green.
A north facing bed is ideal for roses especially as a feature in front of rooms with ceiling to floor windows. A close planting (30cm apart) of knee high and hip high floribunda and Fairytale roses results in an abundance of blooms. The bed is narrow enough to reach into it from either side making it easy to maintain.
Where space is really short groundcover roses like ‘Fiery Sunsation’ can be planted in loffel stone walls and allowed to cascade down. Fill the cavity with good soil and set up an automatic watering system to water daily, saving you the effort. Find more on www.ludwigsroses.co.za
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
