Rose Garden

Plant a bare-rooted rose bush now, then count down to summer, when the sunshine will bring out its glorious blooms

1 The range of modern rose colours is breathtaking. And just one bush of lush blooms can turn your patch into a place of unrivalled grandeur! For yellow to apricot beauties like these, try Rosa ‘Naturali Giallo’ or ‘Grace’.

2 BORDER FORCE Dress up your cottagey split-rail fence with beautiful red and yellow floribunda rose bushes that will grow up and around the bottom rail and embrace the top rail.

3 MAKE IT GLOW GROW Rosa ‘Westerland’ up a pillar to appreciate the large gold to copper orange blooms and its spicy clove fragrance.

4 POTS OF GOLD Put low-growing floribunda bushes in pots or grow as a low hedge.

5 GLORY GALORE Team a salmon pink ‘Lady of Shalott’ bush with a pale pink rambler over a pergola.

Just one rose bush can make magic in your garden. But why stop there? You’ve got a whole box of tricks up your sleeve if you decide to plant more. It just depends on where in the garden is the best place for your bushes to thrive. It could be the front or back yard, a side passage, or a balcony, deck or terrace – just so long as it’s a sunny spot. Here is a guide to how your roses can be the standout in your street.

FRONT YARD

This is where you show off!

• Go formal with box hedging if your house is modern, or informal with soft lines if it’s cottagey.

• Plant drifts of three bushes – about 45cm apart – of the same variety for greater visual impact.

• Flatter your rose bushes with borders of plants that have grey or silver foliage as they work with all rose colours. Try French lavender, lamb’s ear, wormwood, dusty miller, catmint or germander.