I have two Fantin Latour roses and I'd like to turn the area where I planted them into more of a cottage garden. I would also like to add some more roses. There are some white peonies I can move to that area and lavender, of course. What other plants would do well?

Thanks for the input and would appreciate any pics :)

Annette

I save my fully double and cabbage rose styles for the rose garden.

Rain2Fall

On the west side of the house (hot in summer and more exposed in the winter) I'm thinking of putting in some Rugosas and Gallicas. They both seem prone to sucker, so hopefully if I plant them together, with some bee balm and herbs, they can all fight it out and eventually live happily together :)

LL, maybe you could a Nepeta (catmint) next to your roses? There are many colors that you could contrast to your roses. I moved a light blue 'Walker's Low' next to my Graham Thomas. I thought those colors might look nice together. Most Nepetas are pretty hardy I think.

I have others too. I have a few Hybrid Tea roses, which I am not really that fond of. Almost all of the HT's I have are really bright colored, which is too bad since I prefer pastel and dark wine colored. One, 'Tuscan Sun' is such a good grower though. Have quite a few un-named grocery store minis too.

But my favorite will always be my grandmothers rose, passed down the years. Have no clue what it is. Even the good folks on the Name That Rose forum couldn't identify it. She took a real beating from last winter. Now it isn't half the size it is in this pic. I took a cutting of it this year to make sure I will always have it. Here is a pic.

CMK

Annette

-Annette, that is a beauty! Mine looks a bit different; the shape on mine are more cupped. My rose also has repeat blooms and, I think, was grafted. I asked on the Name That Rose forum last year (please excuse the worse than normal spelling, I must have been rushed that day!), here is the thread: Rose Id. Good idea. I may have to try again sometime on the Antique Rose forum.

I moved the pics on my photobucket account, so they don't show up. I still have them in my new My Rose Album. The ones at the bottom of the page, called Unknown Front Rose are them. I took pics of the buds, stems, foliage etc. to help narrow it down.

-LL, thanks! I haven't done that, though someone suggested I take it to the local rose society. Maybe someday I will get around to it. I will always love the rose even if I don't get an id on it, though I shure would like to know what its true name is. Lol, you guys know how uptight I am with the proper names. ;-)
CMK

David Austin Roses for the PNW from Rose Magazine.

And the wonderful site rdrop.com
CMK

Jackie, then you need DA's Jude, The Obscure :-) I grow a few DAs and this one is the best, hands down, at least in my climate. Other DAs tend to languish and look ratty in our hot dry Summers. But of course your climate is quite different, so all I can say is try.

Christin, I find old or old fashioned type roses look better in a cottage type garden. From the ones I grow, Ispahan, a damask, is my favorite. Other ones I have and love are Old Blush (china), the Apothecary's Rose (gallica), Rosa Mundi (gallica), Queen of Denmark (alba), Ballerina (musk) and William Lobb (moss). Once blooming, with the exception of Old Blush. Love them all.

Eduarda

I have found Austin's to be a fitting addition to the cottage style garden since David Austin deliberately bred them for the overall shape of the bush as well as the flower itself. His catalog and website do show Austin's that are very cold hardy. I'm sure someone on the Antique Rose Forum could advise you on that. I remember someone over there who rose gardens successfully in Montana.

Good luck. I couldn't imagine a garden without roses and Austins are just opulent!

Debbie

For fragrance: Gertrude Jeckyll.

For early bloom, ease of care, and autumn leaf color: Theresa Bugnet (no picture available).

For a short, continually blooming fragrant front of porch rose: Harlow Carr.

For home security: Sara Van Fleet (planted in front of all first floor windows. It's like 7 foot tall bales of barb wire, but prettier)

For covering a stone wall in just a few years: Awakening (no picture available).

I do want to put in a few Therese Bugnets and I'm wondering if anyone has Marie Bugnet? I think they might look nice together and I've read Marie Bugnet is more deer resistant, which would be nice!

Here is a picture (not so good) of Awakening. It looks white in this picture, but it's actually a pale pink.

Lois in Pa

The lighter colored roses seem to attract the jap beetle and the rose chafer beetle more than the darker ones. I don't spray(rugosas don't like to be sprayed) so every morning I'd be out there with a coffee can that had a few rocks and and some water in it, collecting all I could find and putting them in the can! The water keeps them from flying away and the rocks..well.. you know! Make sure you dump out the can, because it'll stink if left out. Mashed up bugs make an excellent fertilizer!
-B

Jim

Now that spring is finally on the way, I really want to get out in the garden and start planting. I have roses that will be here in late spring, thanks to many of you for helping me decide what to order. I got some this year (including some Therese Bugnets for me and Gertrude Jeckyll and Heritage for mom). Next year, I'll be able to concentrate on more old-fashioned roses to go in front of the lilac hedge :)

Maureen

Last summer was the first time I've ever seen JB in the garden - they swarmed the Blanc Double de Coubert rose! If they reappear in the garden this year - as they no doubt will - I may have to rethink having roses in the garden...

I love roses in my cottage garden. Especially my continuous bloomers (The Fairy,Sexy Rexy, Marget Merril, Lillian Austin)and my David Austins (Heritage, Graham Thomas).

The Fairy

Sexy Rexy

Margret Merril

Heritage

Lillian Austin

Graham Thomas

Garden Party

Belinda's Dream

And minis are a great inexpensive way to add some roses to your cottage garden. They cost between $5 and $10 and pot and usually have five individual roses in a pot which can be divided.

My husband just surprised me with 'Blue Girl' hybrid Tea this afternoon. Better than five dozen cut roses if you ask me. As my son always teases, nothing says love like sticks in a pot.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience and beautiful pictures.
Sorry for the huge pictures. I don't know how to fix it.

Carrie B.

I'm going to look through your album more carefully this afternoon (it's been slow enough to be on the computer today) but who is that little cutie in the jack-o-lantern costume?

Carrie- Your first two pictures, are those pink roses the minis? I think they're beautiful. What are the white flowered plants with them?

JB = Japanese Beetles. I hard heard people complain vigorously about them but didn't really understand the problem until they appeared last summer. Gross!

The white plant with her is Astilbe 'White Diamond'.

The minis I was talking about are the little potted gift roses 'Kordana' (the burgundy ones in the last picture). You can often find them in the grocery store around holidays like Mother's Day and they come in a rainbow of colours. I was surprised to find out that they are hardy to zone 5.

Lastly the Jack-o-lantern is the youngest of our three children, three year old, Grace.

Carrie B.