How to create your own rose arbour entry
Many girls dream of the perfect house with a white picket fence.
Romantic girls want all that plus a rose-covered arbour gate. When it’s in bloom, not only is that gate the focal point of your front yard, it is also a fragrant experience for everyone who must pass through to get to your front door. From highbrow dinner guests to the FedEx delivery person, your entry becomes a sensory experience they’ll want to repeat over and over.
These arbours began as a means of showing where to tie one’s horse before entering the ranch or farm home. The yards were originally fenced with pickets to keep farm animals out and kids in. This idea means you can claim all of your front yard space for personal use rather than leaving it open to intruders. The arbour also provides an opportunity to have the bell out at the sidewalk, mounted security cameras and an intercom to keep everyone out of the front yard and away from the house.
Imagine a home site where every plant was once watered by buckets. That’s why these entry arbours are favoured for roses with only one stem to keep watered. This entry, or something similar elsewhere in a large landscape, adds an instant touch of charm. Look to the old stick paling fence for natural designs, or more evolved white pickets with simple points or elaborate Victorian finials.
Today’s everblooming or remontant roses are the best choices for these arbours because they don’t need much care compared to the big arching hybrid tea climbers. For example, Star Roses (Starrosesandplants.com) has developed a nice range of heavy blooming moderately sized climbers with spectacular vigour, adaptability and disease resistance. They offer a rainbow of different coloured varieties.
The single flowered forms are far more countrified, working well with clapboard homes, historic architecture and cottage gardens. Double flowers are more elegant for greater sophistication with Victorian or brick and stone architecture. Climbers with good flowers offer a secondary bonus of cut blossoms for indoors.
Be adventurous with your rose colour choice to suit the overall palette of your home and garden. Consider planting just one colour on your arbour to intensify its presence. Try two analogous or complementary colours to work together. Planted on opposite ends of the arbour, they’ll come together on top as a haze of flower colour each year.
Almost all other vines are too big for this application. Wisteria becomes a monster. Ditto trumpet vines that require continuous pruning, and once established they can be devilishly hard to remove. The beauty of these modern roses is that they are so carefree, and if well selected for your climate, it’s nearly impossible to fail.