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| I had a small three foot bed running against the edge of my fence. I couldn't expand it due to poor drainage and the fact that there was a tree on one side and a tree close by, thus the area got maybe 3 hours of sun. Well after fixing the drainage with some pipework and removing the trees, I now have a good area that gets 5-6 hours of sun that I can plant some roses and more companions in.
Here is the problem I am having trouble visualing the solution to - the area is currently planted with taller things such as large hosta and hydrangea in the back and shorter plants such as Heuchera in the "front" which is now towards the back of the bed. I want to plant some shade tolerant Austin's and a few other things throughout the bed. If you were planting this bed, would you move all of the shorter plants up front? Or do things look okay with varying sizes? I am also unsure of where to plant the roses as they would be the tallest but I do not want them just in the very back against the fence. The roses I have ordered thus far are Lady of Shallott and Tess of the d'Urbervilles and I think I can fit a few more small rose shrubs in. Thoughts and suggestions? I am in clay soil in central Pennsylvania with a slightly acidic ph. Zone is 6b. The area is slightly larger than 11'x14'. Any thoughts on how to plant this odd shaped bed?
It will be edged and curved in the spring. We currently have a four month old golden retriever so we put the bricks down to teach him that he cannot go forward from that point |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by amberroses 10a-Pinellas Co.FL (My Page) on Sat, Nov 24, 12 at 7:31
| I'd put a small semicircle in the middle and fill it with rocks, bricks, mulch, or whatever you like. I'd but a bench in the middle of the circle. I'd put a tall rose(s) behind the circle. And put roses and other companion plants on the sides. Maybe eventually an arbor over the bench with clematis or small climbing roses. This way you can actually sit and relax in the roses. Whatever you do, I'm sure it will be beautiful. |
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| For a smaller Austin rose that can be planted more toward the front I'd suggest Pretty Jessica, which seems to grow well for almost everyone and stays compact. Since it's such a good rose you might even consider spacing out three of them along the front for continuous bloom. I would also suggest a few smaller evergreen shrubs to give some interest in the winter when everything else is bare. I'm not a fan of hostas with roses but that's a personal decision. I would plant irises for spring color and as a contrast in shape of the foliage from the roses. I have repeat-blooming varieties, several of which are blooming now, but I'm not sure that yours would repeat in your shorter growing season. Day lilies in different colors would also be a lovely addition. I sometimes break the rule of shorter plants in the front only since from certain angles you can see shorter plants in the back too, and it adds a little variety. Another Austin that's constantly in bloom and doesn't take a great deal of space is Sophie's rose (I have two). Earth Song, a Buck rose bred for colder climates, would be a lovely addition, and will eventually get large but is shapely. Chamblee's on line has a good selection of other Buck roses that you might want to check out. I hope you'll let us know how your project turns out and what plants you've chosen. |
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- Posted by Karolina11 6a (My Page) on Sat, Nov 24, 12 at 12:00
| Great idea for the bench and the arbor! Is there a good place to order arbors? My HD/Lowes don't have great selections unfortunately. Ingrid, |
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| You've been given some good suggestions. Actually there are so many different ways to arrange a bed that the list might be nearly endless! I'd probably plant several larger rose bushes about 6 ft apart and stick in several short rose buses, somewhat randomly in front/between. Some of the shorter plants could remain where they are--will you be able to see them?--but some of them will need to be replanted towards the front. Reserve a couple spots for some iris, and stick some daylilies in randomly. My only concern is how well some of those plants will go with Lady of Shalott--she is a somewhat unusual color. I can't visualize Pretty Jessica (pink) or Earth Song anywhere near her. Don't know if Sophy would work with her, but if you wanted a dramatic effect, I can imagine a shorter rose like Munstead Wood in her vicinity. Or if you have any purplish or lavenderish roses, they might work well near her. For a softer look, I can imagine the shorter Easter Basket (ivory/blush pink/pale yellow) in her vicinity. Easter Basket is another one of those good disease-resistant roses and, if I remember correctly, tolerates partial shade. If the other plants are going to form dramatic contrasts with your roses, I'd probably make the contrasts between roses less dramatic--unless you are one of those gardeners who adore lively gardens jumping about with bright color contrasts. It's all a matter of personal preference. Good luck. We all look forward to seeing the results. Kate |
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- Posted by Karolina11 6a (My Page) on Sat, Nov 24, 12 at 16:32
| Kate, I had not even thought of the color scheme! Thank you for the reminder! Looking at it, I might go with your suggestion of going for a softer look because there will be a lot of companion plants. Plus, I have been looking for Munstead Wood all fall and it seems like everyone is sold out! I have not seen Lady of Shalott in person - any thoughts on doing Austin's Crocus Rose and Windermere by it? That way I can do a louder color next to the white? I am terrible with making color work. Thank you for your suggestions! |
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- Posted by ratdogheads 5b NH (My Page) on Sat, Nov 24, 12 at 20:05
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| Karolina, I have reblooming irises that do well with 5-6 hours of sun, and one large bunch that's blooming right now actually gets less than that. I'm glad you like Sophy's Rose. I hope it blooms as well for you as it does for me. As far as a color scheme is concerned, I've learned that fewer colors are much more harmonious together, and in my opinion more beautiful, than many colors in one area. My color scheme is white, cream, and various shades of pink ranging from pale to lavender and fuchsia (except for Mutabilis, Rosette Delizy, Miss Atwood and Cl. Lady Hillingdon, all of which have soft colors) for the roses, and white, fuchsia, pale blue, yellow and gold for companion plants. I don't have yellow, orange or red roses and I think that's kept me out of trouble, although I have had a pale yellow rose in the past and that fits in well. If you're unsure of your color sense, playing it safe will probably yield the most pleasing result. |
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| Karolina11, I wish I had more experience with Windermere. But I just found one in a 5 gallon pot with a handful of blooms on it, and it is quite lovely. The blooms are perfectly round, and the softest white apricot, and very delicate. How fun starting with a clean canvas. Enjoy and share photos! |
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| karolina, I haven't grown the Austins you mention, but I'd think Crocus Rose would work fine. I'd be tempted to put in a William Shakespear 2000--for the rich velvety dark red color, not quite as dramatic as Munstead Wood, but certainly a wonderful shade anyway. Shakespeare 2000 would be a larger rose--wider than tall however. I've posted Shakespeare 2000 and Lady of Shalott below--and added some light colored roses--just so you can actually "see" the shades we are proposing. Here's Shakespeare 2000: This is Lady of Shalott (I do love her!): Here's Pretty Jessica. I'm not sure I like that shade of pink with Lady of Shalott: Here's a bit of the bush of Lady of Shalott--back when she first bloomed last spring. Obviously she will get taller and fuller, but I thought it might help to see what her bush looks like. May a yellow with apricot highlights--like Molineux --might work. Molineux is a bit shorter than Lady of Shalott, but not exactly what I would call a shorter Austin. Perhaps more of a pure red (no purple depths as in Shakespeare 2000) would work for a nice contrast. This is a Clements shrub called Braveheart that has some of Austin's Dark Lady in its ancestry. No purpling on this rose:
Lady of Shalott bloom: I'd be inclined to go for a bit more contrast--if not Shakespeare 2000, then your white or nearly white rose idea might work well. I don't have any white Austins, but for color comparisons, here is a white hybrid tea with some blue larkspur showing. The remnant of a gold colored daylily and in the background a Valencia hybrid tea kinda pick up some of the colors in Lady of Shalott. See how great the blues and purples whites look with those colors? Actually my Lady of Shalott is over in a corner where I had nothing growing but multi-colors of daylilies. There is a dark rust one right next to her. It looks terrific there. And she, the lone rose bush, lords it over all the others --with no one to compete with her! Hope that gives you some ideas. Looking forward to seeing your finished bed. Kate |
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- Posted by Karolina11 6b Central PA (My Page) on Sun, Nov 25, 12 at 22:37
| Kate, Thank you SO much for the photos! I have the worst trouble visualing things so photos help a ton! After researching today, the list for roses stands as such: I am going to be attempting to go from strong reds/pinks on one side to yellow, creams, lady of shalot, and white. The roses around Lady of Shalot will be Crocus Rose (white/yellow), Windemere (white), Molineaux (apricot) and Golden Celebration (golden yellow) Seems like the bed is pretty full but established beds are on either side of it so I will have to move things around and make room. I have Irises I can move, daylilies on order, and will definitely be dividing some delphiniums for that lovely blue! The only two roses I am having trouble finding are Jubilee Celebration and Wedgewood Rose. Regan, Roses Unlimited, Chambless, Pickering, Palatine, nor Heirloom have them and from what I have heard I should attempt to avoid ordering from David Austin as a lot of their roses have been sold with RMV. Is that still a fair assumption? Anyone have any idea where I could find them online and/or could recommend a substitute? By the way, after seeing the photos, Munstead Wood, WS 2000, and Earth Song are on my list of roses to buy for other beds. Thank you for making that long list longer! |
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| Karolina, those are all wonderful choices--you will love them. But are you going to be planting them too close? A number of those get about 3-3.5 ft wide and some like Braveheart get 4 ft wide. I would guess you need to plant a lot of those about 3-4 ft apart. Wedgewood is lovely, but it is a climber. Did you meant to get one? Check and see if Jackson and Perkins still sells Jubilee Celebration. They had exclusive rights on it -- don't know if they still do--but if they do, that is still the only place you can buy it--unless you can get it directly from David Austin's place. Myself, I order from David Austin a lot and have had no problems. I know some people complain about them, but in this day and age, you are likely to get roses with rmv from almost every nursery you order from. I've been growing Earth Song with rmv for about 7 years--can't see that it has harmed the plant and most of the time you wouldn't know it has it. Only occasionally do the leaves get "white lightning" marks on them and even those are not very noticeable. It's up to you, of course, but I ordered 3 roses from Austin last spring--they all look fine--and I'm ordering 2 more from them (one of them is Wedgewood Rose)for spring 2013. Can't wait to see what your new bed will look like. Remember the one cardinal rule for gardeners: if it pleases you, that is the right choice. Kate |
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- Posted by Karolina11 6a (My Page) on Mon, Nov 26, 12 at 7:05
| Kate, yeah I will have to move things around in the two beds next to this area in order to make everything fit. Will probably end up dropping one or two once I can fully measure everything again (out of town). Thanks for the information on Jubilee - JP doesn't have it so I guess I will have to order from Austin. Glad to know you've had a good experience. As for Wedgewood, no I did not read that description correctly. I saw there was a wedgewood and a wedgewood climber entry on Austin's website and HMF lists it as a "climber, shrub" and assumed it could be grown as a shrub easily too. That might be the one that gets left out then unless someone knows of a shrub with similar coloring. I have been looking through the arbor website and like the look of a few so might have to move some things around as well. Will measure everything this weekend and hopefully make final plans. Thank you tons! |
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| Trying my hand at Austins is new. I now have Mary Rose, Teasing Georgia, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Crown Princess Margareta, Young Lycidas, Munstead Wood, Windermere, Glamis Castle and Sharifa Asma. Some I haven't even had blooms from, but all (but Mary Rose who I had to save from gophers (my almost every post-line now) are new within this year. Munstead Wood started blooming immediately after being put in the ground (probably smaller than 1'x1' with 3 beautiful blooms). PAK bloomed a few of the most beautiful, large dark pink blooms that were truly lovely. But Young Lycidas (again, in my dry heat) has exploded in both size and bloom quantity.) I have two YL's now. Of all my Austins at this moment, YL is the only one covered in blooms, and they are stunning with stellar fragrance. So hard not to recommend him. Color to me looks quite purple (similar color to Heirloom) although categorized as dark pink. |
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| YL bloom today on plant in ground 1 month:
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