How to Design a Rose Garden

Over the years, roses have been used in formal, informal and cottage gardens. The elements of design can vary, but roses add beautiful colors and scents to any garden.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Formal Garden

1. Choose your shape - usually a simple square or rectangle for a formal rose garden.
2. Use hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas as the backbone of the design of your formal rose garden.
3. Lay out straight rows of roses, and plant only one type of rose in each row or bed. Use neatly trimmed lawn or paving stones to separate the beds.
4. Find a focal spot for the garden and plant a perfect rose in that spot. Grandifloras and floribundas both bloom vigorously and nearly continuously and serve as an attractive focal point.
5. Surround the garden with latticework to support climbing roses.

Informal Garden

6. Vary the types of roses and their placement for a less formally designed garden. Straight rows of individual rose types are not a feature of the informal garden.
7. Relax the design for an informal rose garden. Use curving lines to soften the edges of the beds and the entire garden.
8. Mix old-fashioned and modern roses together. Shrub roses make a good backdrop for the newer hybrid teas.

Cottage Garden

9. Combine roses with your other favorites and even edible plants to design a cottage garden.
10. Plant taller plants and shrubs at the back of the cottage garden, then gradually decrease the height of the plants as you work toward the front.
11. Avoid straight lines when designing a cottage garden. Draw meandering paths and curved edges in the garden design.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose your site carefully. Roses need at least five hours of sunlight every day and good air circulation. Roses can grow in less perfect sites, but will not bloom as enthusiastically.
• Learn about all the different types of roses and how they can be used. Hybrid teas, floribundas, ground covers, climbers, ramblers and miniatures can all be used in your rose garden.
• Draw before you plant. Designing your work on paper before you plant will save time and energy on planting day.

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