Can you guess - I'm still so new. It's all " book learning" - and what I learn here. I love learning here.

I'm in central maryland. Humid, hot. My zip code is a 6b area, but I'm surrounded by zone 7.

MissMary

First let me say, all gardening is a learning experience. Before my gardens got to their present stage, I probably made a number of goofs or poor decisions. I've been gardening for so long now that I don't really remember when I passed the line and the garden evolved into its present stage.

Hmmm--I take that back. This spring I transplanted two roses along the Perfumed Path -- to create better effects. So it is still evolving. : )

To address some of your questions:

First, I try to plant my roses far enough apart so that as they mature, they don't get too crowded. (Sometimes I guessed wrong, however.) That means that the first few years there was a much more "airy" and open feeling to the garden.

Secondly, if you could view some of the beds up close, you would realize that the roses aren't as close together as they look viewed from a greater distance. That has to do with the maturity of the garden. Mature gardens just tend to look fuller and more well-fed, as it were.

Third, I usually plant short plants near the feet of many of my roses--at or outside the drip-line for that rose. Some of my favorite "fillers" are hardy garden geraniums, pansies, mini-roses, daylilies, salvia, and annuals like petunias or vinca or "Million Bells" (usually in pots so I can move them to wherever the garden needs more blooms.

Those lower-down blooming plants often help create the illusion of a well-packed, closely planted garden, but again, there is more space between the roses usually than you might expect if you viewed it up close. I strongly believe that the roses need room to "breathe" and fight off BS--gotta have that air flow. Most of the roses I showed in those pictures do not actually touch.

Maryland, huh? From what I hear, you have lots of BS pressure there--definitely need that air flow to help you. Just remember that only time can give your garden that "mature" look--"full and rich" as you described it. But younger gardens are charming also--and watching them slowly expand and fill up the empty spaces is part of the joy of gardening.

We look forward to seeing some of your first endeavors, Mary. Remember, we were all beginners once upon a time also.

Kate

Kate has given you a great set of principles to judge how closely you can plant. You have to balance how wide/tall a rose grows in your zone when mature (which can vary widely), how vigorously it grows first thing in the spring (so it doesn't get shaded out), how much they're interplanted with other filler plants, and how much you need that air circulation. I can get away with totally cramming roses together much closer than they're "supposed" to be, because my climate is mostly dry and BS isn't as bad a problem as you have in the east. I figure if David Austin can recommend that we plant 3 of the same variety of rose on 18" centers, why can't I do the same with 3 roses of different varieties, if I can get the heights/vigor of the roses to match.

With low growing HTs and floris that get pruned to the ground each winter, I can get away with having the main canes around 18" apart, but this means the roses totally grow into each other when mature. The official wisdom is to leave the main canes a good 3' from each other at least for HT/floris even in our colder zones, and much much wider for any old garden roses even for us. Warm zones can rarely get away with this kind of close planting.

One other thing you need to consider is the ultimate care of the roses. If you have a small bed that you can reach from all sides from a safe distance, you can get away with close plantings and fewer consequences. With my beds at least 12-15' deep and chock full of roses, I tend to live quite dangerously in traveling through the beds for maintenance. Picture the movie "Karate Kid" - each step through my bed is "crane" - no, "lotus blossom" - no, "down dog - quick!" (trying to avoid face planting into a rose). In good years, I pay the price for close planting with intensive scratches on most exposed body parts. Sometimes I'm really glad for strategically placed hardy geraniums or daylilies just so I can pause to catch my breath without risking life and limb. To help you imagine this, I've posted a shot from last year where the photo is accurate - there are only about 3 thorn-free places to put your feet in weaving through this bed, but I love the "rose chaos" look enough to work with it.

Like most things in rose growing, it's a matter of balancing your style and preferences against the reality of your growing conditions, with trial and error learning. It's always better to err on the side of planting too far apart, since new rose purchases can always be fit in between if it's too far over time. In the meantime, you can fill in with annuals until the rose grows to full height.

Cynthia

The Picts you've shared are so helpful - Thanks so much! These full garden and full plant views help me see and plan for how a garden takes shape and matures.
Miss Mary