With roses surrounding an outdoor patio or bench, there will always be an excuse to sit out there, whether it’s for a cup of coffee in the morning or to unwind at the end of the day.

Small and irregular spaces may require more creativity but the effect can be even more interesting than that achieved in a larger garden.

Patio pots roses

What could be more beautiful than rose-filled containers enclosing a patio? One, two or more containers filled with roses make an instant rose garden, and it’s easy to move them around to get the look you want.

Free-blooming compact roses are most showy for containers. These can be hip-high floribunda or hybrid tea roses, low-growing Fairytale roses, as well as upright and cushioning ground cover roses. They can be planted individually in a medium container or three in a large container.

Roses such as ‘Deloitte and Touche’ or any of the ‘Grannies’ are upright ground cover roses that easily fill a container and float over the edges. Do not forget about fragrance, with roses as ‘Duftwolke’, a hip high hybrid tea rose that has an intense sweet and fruity scent and consistently delivers beautifully shaped, pickable flowers.

The best location for patio pots is morning sun and afternoon shade. To keep them looking good, water once a day in the summer and fertilize once a month. Spray with organic Ludwig’s Insect spray twice a month to keep aphids and other pests away.

A private pink corner

Imagine walking out of your bedroom to be greeted by these roses every morning. A bed of tall to medium roses is the perfect way to make the space more intimate and screen it off from the rest of the garden. Consider taller roses such as ‘Linda Ann’, an Antico Moderno rose, as well as deep pink ‘Electron’ and light pink ‘Tourmaline’ roses.

Alternatively, you can use full leaf old fashioned scented roses such as ‘Addictive Lure’, ‘Fragonard’, ‘Free and Loyal’, ‘Kovsie Rose’, ‘Perfume Passion’, ‘Purple Fragrancia’ and ‘Rosemary Ladlau’ – all Antico Moderno roses.

Finish the planting with the tumbling ‘Amarula Profusion’ as a low border.

It is easy to maintain a single bed of densely planted roses that shade each other. Install an automatic irrigation system that provides deep watering for 40 minutes once a week, or more often in high summer. Fertilize monthly and spray with an organic insecticide to control insect infestations.

A sociable bench

There are so many reasons to have a garden bench. It can be a feature or focal point, a restful place to view the garden from, or a place to pause and offer respite from the world.

Heighten the senses by surrounding the bench with scent, texture and color. Pastel colored roses are soothing and peaceful. Factor in fragrance with perfumed pink, cream and apricot hybrid tea roses, such as ‘Garden and Home’, ‘Ann Wrighton’, ‘Garden Princess’ and ‘Graaff Reinet’, or floribundas such as ‘Champagne Pearl’ and ‘Happy Home’.

Catnip (Nepeta mussinii) is a wonderful companion to roses, for the texture of its aromatic foliage and spikes of purple flowers. For height, behind the roses, add white or blue delphiniums. Complete the rosy look with the climbing rose ‘Wedding Garland’ against the wall. A conifer adds a structured, formal element.

A place for potters

Did you know that the old roses were considered herbs because of the vitamin C content of the rosehip. Modern roses do not have the same advantages but they “play well” with other herbs and vegetables. Underplanting this standard bay leaf with ‘My Granny’ and ‘Granny Dearest’ roses adds charm, color and will attract pollinating bees.

The best location for this small pot garden is a sheltered spot that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. The small pots need to be watered every day in the summer and that suits the roses, as long as the container drains well.

Other compact roses that would work well in this combination include ‘My Grandpa’ which produces clusters of red roses, which bees love, the fragrant ‘Happy Home’ (deep apricot and pink), or any of the Sunsation roses.

For more inspiration visit Ludwig’s roses.

Images and article supplied by Alice Coetzee.

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