Roses are the most romantic flower for a good reason, they look sensational, smell divine, are drought-hardy once established and come in a huge number of different varieties – if you don’t already grow roses, it’s about time you start!
Modern roses
The best roses to grow are the ‘Modern rose type’ and there is one for every situation.
The hybrid tea roses are the typical singular blooms on tall erect stems, the ones you see in abundance around Valentine’s Day.
Grow these if you want cut flowers in the house or a formal look in the garden.
Climbing roses
I love the climbing roses for scrambling up a trellis or over an archway in the garden, the Banksia rose is hardy and will take blistering heat. But it’s the romance of Pierre de Ronsard that I love with its big, ruffled flowers that whisk you away to the location of a romantic novel upon sight.
Iceberg rose
One of the easiest roses to grow is the Iceberg rose, it’s a floribunda rose and makes a wonderful standard, which is a ball of foliage and flowers on a single stem.
The flowers are pure white and great for making a formal statement or simply a focal point in the garden.
Ground cover roses
Roses can be used to lower your weeding by planting ground cover roses, they form a dense mat of foliage and blooms that suppress weed growth and give you interest at the lower level of the garden, maximum coverage with minimum maintenance.
Baby boomer roses
If you have a small garden, select a miniature rose and plant it in a pot, pink ‘baby boomer’ roses will continually flower through summer bringing you joy every time you walk past, just make sure they don’t dry out.
Give them some TLC
To get the best out of roses in your garden, improve the soil before planting any type of rose, plenty of compost dug through will help support them as they bloom.
Keep them well-mulched with an organic blend to help them through the dry periods and to keep their roots cool too.
With all the flowering they do, it’s important to feed roses with the right nutrition, a rose fertiliser will do the trick, and I like to liquid-feed every 10 days when I see flower buds forming to get the biggest blooms.
The only drawback of roses is they hate high humidity so prune accordingly to allow maximum airflow through the foliage. Aim for an open vase shape and remove any growth that heads inward to the crown of the plant.
Set the romantic mood for your rose garden
Markham Ceramic Planter
$14.99 at Templeandwebster
Zepeti Rose
$17.05 at Bunnings
Victorian Steel Garden Arch with Gate
$799 at Templeandwebster
Living Fusion Lauren Outdoor Bistro Set
$249.99 at Templeandwebster
