Yes, you can have roses in a small garden
Think roses and compact plots don’t mix? Then think again. Hazel Sillver has space-saving suggestions to plant now for a very rosy outlook this summer
NoT so long ago, roses were always grown in beds on their own, and you needed a sizable plot to enjoy them. That was the case in the town garden of the house I grew up in during the 1980s, where Hybrid Tea roses bloomed en masse in a long border with no other plants. The smell was lovely, but the black spot spread like wildfire and so my mother was required to do her annual spray – wading through the roses with a mask and a backpack of fungicide like someone fighting an ebola outbreak.
We have since learnt that growing roses amongst other plants is the best way to keep them healthy; and contemporary garden design reflects this, eschewing the old mass plantings and, instead, combining roses with perennials, grasses and shrubs. This means these beautiful flowers can now form the core of even a small garden.
of course, older roses can still display signs of sickness; but modern varieties such as ‘Charlotte’ have been bred for health. opt for these – and intersperse them with other plants – and you might never encounter black spot again.
To create a contemporary border in a small garden, combine compact repeatflowering roses such as ‘Marie-Jeanne’ with shrubs and perennials. Many gardeners have found that salvias like ‘Cerro Potosí’ are perfect partners, since they somehow ward off rose sickness.
Another excellent way to get roses into the small garden is to grow them as container plants – a tactic that is becoming increasingly popular. Choose fragrant varieties such as ‘The Poet’s Wife’ for the patio, and stick to thornless ones (‘Reine des Violettes’ is an attractive option) for pots beside the front door. Likewise, try thorn-free climbers for archways – for example, the charming ‘Kathleen Harrop’.
Climbers and ramblers are perfect for rose lovers with less than generous gardens – even those for whom space is particularly tight – as there are varieties that will not get too big. Both ‘open Arms’ and ‘Highgrove’ will only scale 61⁄2-10ft (2-3m).
Roses are the highlight of summer and, these days, there is no reason why you should miss out on their classic beauty. While it’s too late to plant bare-root roses for this summer, containerised roses are readily available. Get them in the ground now, and they will burst into bloom in a few months’ time, filling the air with scent.