Over the years, I have planted many, many roses in my garden, painting it in a rainbow of colors. My rose collection consists of several Climbers, Floribunda’s, Hybrid Tea’s, Noisettes, Polyantha’s, Bourbons, Hybrid Musks and Shrub roses. Most of these roses have been in my garden for several years, while some I’ve just planted recently. My inventory topples well over a hundred roses which is quite a challenge for I live in deer territory. Weekly spraying of deer repellant is a necessity to keep my roses from becoming their smorgasbord! This weekly technique seems to be working, even though the deer repellent does leave an unsightly residue on the foliage of my roses, but at least I have an abundance of blooms.
Since I’ve been growing and tending roses for over 2o years, I have learned a few things regarding the selection of roses for my garden: They must have good disease resistance (I don’t spray chemicals, organic girl here), they must be tolerant of my hot and humid Zone 7b climate, and if possible, they must give me lots of blooms during their growing season (there are a few exceptions of course for the must-have one time bloomers). Sometimes, my roses are selected for their color, as to blend into my existing landscape.
I use only organic fertilizer’s on my roses during their growing season. My favorites are: Mill’s Magic Mix, Fish emulsion and Haven Brand Manure Tea which I brew in 5 gallon containers. I also occasionally use mushroom compost and horse manure .
My rose collection adds an aura of Southern charm to my garden with their endless combination of colors— from the lovely pinks and charming peach and apricots, to the the purest whites and creams, to the brightest reds, oranges and yellows which add an explosion of drama to my landscape.
Here are some of the roses that I grow in my garden that I have categorized by color and in multiple posts:
My ‘Pretty in Pink’ Roses
(Pink, pale pink, deep pink)
‘Queen Elizabeth’– medium pink Grandiflora. Size: 5-10’h x 3’w. Zone: 5-9.
‘Queen Elizabeth’ has won more awards than most modern roses, including, in 1978, the World Federation of Rose Societies ‘World’s Favorite Rose’. I have two of these and they stand majestically in my garden reaching 7 or 8 feet . The flowers are hybrid tea in shape borne in large clusters in a warm pale pink color . Great for the back of the border. Beautiful rose that repeats well.
‘New Dawn’– pale pink Climbing Rose. Size: 10-20h’+ x up to 8’w. Zone: 5-9
‘New Dawn’ is one of the easiest climbers to grow. Few Climbers can surpass ‘New Dawn’ for its hardiness, disease resistance, and profusion of light pink blooms. I love this rose. It conveys such a romantic feel in my garden. ‘New Dawn’ is very vigorous in my Zone 7b garden, even in part sun where mine is planted, so make sure you provide a sturdy structure for ‘New Dawn’ to grow upon and do her gracious climbing. This climbing rose is a one time ‘show-off’ in my garden, but so worth it!
Ideally, ‘New Dawn’ should be planted in full sun, but it will also thrive on as little as four or five hours of sunlight a day that it gets in my garden.
‘Grande Dame’– deep pink Hybrid Tea. Size: 4-5’h. Zone: 5-9
I absolutely adore this rose and its old-fashioned blooms. I even dedicated a post to her- ‘The Old Romance of the Grande Dame’. An exquisite hybrid tea rose.
Two ‘Grande Dames’ grace my garden. This rose has great disease resistance and is a good repeat bloomer.
‘Mystic Beauty’– light pink Bourbon rose. Size: 2-4’h. Zone: 6-9.
I acquired this rose from Roses Unlimited. Having purchased three of these bourbon roses; two are planted in large containers and one in my flower border. The blooms are beautiful and it has a lovely fragrance that teases your nose to smell its blooms. New to my collection and so far a very good performer.
David Austin ‘Huntington Rose’ – deep pink shrub rose. Size: 4’h x 3’w. Zone: 5-10.
The beautiful pink blossoms are quite fragrant and it’s a non-stop bloomer in my garden so far. I love David Austin roses and and this one is a keeper.
David Austin rose link describing this rose : http://www.davidaustinroses.com
‘Distant Drums’ – Brunette buds opening to orchid pink/tan. Hybridized by Griffith Buck. Size: 3-4’h x 3’w. Zone: 5-10.
‘Distant Drums’ is one of my favorite shrub roses because of it’s amazing color. The blossoms start off in a ochre-toned color which then turns into a mauve pink. A real performer in blooms and flowers repeatedly. A beautiful rare and unique rose colorwise. Grows much like a Floribunda in habit. It is rather thorny though and has occasional black-spot which I control by picking off the infected leaves.
‘Chicago Peace’ – pink blend Hybrid Tea. Size: 3-4’h x 3’w. Zone: 6-10.
This Hybrid Tea has lovely huge vibrant pink blooms with lavender overtones in almost perfect form. A sport of the ever popular Hybrid tea “Peace’ rose. Wonderful fragrance and excellent repeat bloomer. Mine is grown in a large container and is very healthy. Gorgeous rose and great for cutting.
‘Pink Double Knockouts‘- Size: 3-4’h x 3-4’w . Zone: 4-10.
My Knockout Roses are a definite blooming factory in my garden. They have great disease resistance, are easy to grow, are low maintenance and bloom from spring until frost. Having planted a few dozen in my front yard landscape, on a difficult hillside , I must admit they provide long-lasting color in that area of my garden.
‘Pierre de Ronsard ‘ (aka Eden) pink large flower climber. Size: up to 8-10′ h x 4-6’w. Zone: 5-10.
Newly planted in my garden, this rose is the epitome of romance with it’s romantic old fashioned pink blossoms. I just planted four climbing ‘Eden’ last spring next to several 8′ Rose Obelisk’s and can’t wait for them to grace these pillars. At the moment, all four climbers are about 6 feet tall and very healthy, one bush actually produced several blossoms.
My new 2013 pink rose additions are:
2- ‘Frances Meilland’– light pink hybrid tea
2- ‘Peter Mayle’– deep pink hybrid tea
‘Perfecta’– pink blend Kordes hybrid Tea
‘Cupcake’- medium pink miniature rose
2- ‘Laguna’– deep pink Kordes climbing rose
‘Jasmina’– violet & pink large flowered Kordes climbing rose
Next Post: Painting my Garden with Beautiful Roses (Part II)…My ‘Sultry Red’ Roses