Most gardening is a process of learning and experimentation, improvement and reward. We learn what grows well and continue experimenting with other plants to compliment our winners. Over the years we have learnt from many professional garden designers basic tips on what works well and looks aesthetically pleasing. If you do want an outstanding garden the envy of the street and to add value to your property, do consider professional designs. For a fee in some cases, only a few hundred dollars a design will give you a starting point to help create your dream.
If you want a successful rose garden make sure that if choosing a designer they are aware of rose varieties available and how they will fit into an overall design. The varieties we stock do very well in the landscape and we can work with any designer to incorporate the appropriate rose variety into their professional design.
For those who just want a little free help in garden design here are a few tips.
Rose plants always look best when placed in odd numbers. A group of 3 or 5 in a group looks more appealing than if in groups of 2 or 4. There is just something that looks right with this number. Roses also are wonderful plants to use as a colourful hedge. Many landscape designs incorporate sweeping rows of varieties such as ‘Rugosa Alba’, ‘Mutabilis’, ‘Gruss an Aachen’ and the popular landscaping varieties ‘Bonica’, ‘Iceberg’ and ‘La Sevillana’. Any viewer of the Melbourne Cup would see the extraordinary display of ‘Crepuscule’ along the main straight covered in masses of apricot blooms.
In a smaller garden careful consideration must be undertaken as space is limited to what varieties to choose. When advising customers I try to encourage using roses with complimentary colours or contrasting colours. In this way the garden may have the flexibility of varieties yet not look like a confetti mix. Wonderful effects can be made with yellow roses and using lavender roses as a contrast. Colour blends of pink work well, as do red to orange colours.
Another factor of design is plant structure and texture. In the rose world there is an enormous range of varieties to cover virtually any height wanted, in any colour to place on a fence, an archway or veranda, along a path, or amongst other plants. Roses have wonderful foliage also. ‘Virginiana’ has green, brown and purple foliage and ‘Rugosa Alba’ and other Rugosa varieties have deep green leathery foliage contrasting against their simple single flowers.
We are in a unique position to know that once contacted gardeners will not be disappointed with the varieties we offer for sale. Our list has been developed over several decades through trialling in our garden and advice from other keen gardeners. Every gardener has their own personal style. They know what they want to achieve and it is up to our company to help advice on what rose varieties will fulfil their dream