Its important that when you design a rose garden, you should select a plot in your garden (where you would like to be able see and enjoy the fruits of your labor) that has copious amounts of daily sunlight. Ideally around 7 hours of direct sun per day (during the summer) should suffice.
There a quite a variety of roses available, from bush roses, climbing roses, and miniature roses. Depending on the look you want for your garden area, the good old bush rose is always a good choice. Make sure you select the rose color you want for your garden because once they bloom, you will have an absolute sea of beauty if you’ve planned it correctly.
During your rose type selection process, give some consideration to the flowering frequency, as some rose varieties will bloom only once, whilst others can bloom for a much longer time over the summer. We always feel that its best to use the longer bloomers in your garden if you want to enjoy the sight of a long season of rose beauty.
Also decide early on in your decision process whether you want perfumed or scented roses. Most roses have a scent and some are highly scented although its unlikely you’ll be overwhelmed by the scent of a field of roses from a distance. They tend to be more subtle in the scent expressiveness.
When you first plant your young rose bushes, you need to ensure there is an adequate source of water available nearby as they tend to be very thirsty when first planted and also when placing them into their position, ensure you fill the hole with a mix of organic compost and/or ‘matured manure’ and also make sure it is well dug in and dispersed when you ill the hole as roses tend to prefer a nutrient rich soil.
During late fall, and the winter months, the roses will become ‘dormant’ and if left unpruned will form seeds from the dead rose heads.
These are known as rose-hips, which you should see as small, berry-sized, reddish seed balls, left on tips of the stems and they are often used in the food industry as well as sometimes even within floral decorations.
Its during the winter months that you need to chop them back (prune them) considerably, which gives the opportunity to have an input into the shape and the way they will grow in the spring months. If the roses are likely to be your main front garden display, you’ll need to accept that there will be nothing of interest to see during the winter months.
Make sure you do some research before you choose your rose plants. You can achieve this by taking a visit to your local garden centers, or a tour around the older, more established suburbs of your City (where rose bushes may be plentiful) and even wander through your local botanical gardens as these usually always have an area set aside just for roses.
Perhaps even take a look at online resources, or even your local bookstore, that will possibly also have books that cover the whole rose care process from start to finish. This can help you to get a feel for what you like and provide some real inspiration for you to copy or recreate a similar look in your own garden.