Create Impact and Privacy with English Rose Hedges: Ideal for Gardens of All Sizes

Container Gardening with English Roses: Transform Any Space into a Floral Haven

Cottage gardens have a special place in the heart of English horticulture. With their relaxed, informal style, they conjure up images of quaint countryside homes brimming with flowers and fragrance. But a cottage garden is not just about looks. It is about creating a space that feels inviting, timeless and easy to care for.

Companion Plants for English Roses - Planting for Continuous Colour

For a successful garden, getting planting distances right is important. Plant shrub roses too closely together and the border becomes overcrowded. Plant too far apart and you will see areas of bare earth between each rose. When planting you want to take into account the grown size of the rose, this means to begin with, while your roses establish themselves, you may see gaps between them.

Training a climbing or rambling rose allows you to direct the growth of your roses for even coverage. However you decide to grow and train your climber or rambler, it will need tying-in to secure it to the support structure. Training climbers or ramblers up structures, such as arches or fences, brings blooms up to eye level, creating a splendid floral feature.

The instructions in this article cover the pruning of English Shrub Roses, as well as other repeat flowering shrub roses.

It’s time to prepare your roses for the year ahead and give them a prune. Ideally, complete this task while the roses are still dormant, usually between January and February. If your roses have leafed and you still have not pruned it is still better to prune, but this may push back the flowering period until later in the season. 

Mulching is the addition of a protective layer around the base of your roses. This process helps your roses to retain moisture, suppresses weeds and provides valuable nutrients for your roses as they grow.