Landscaping with roses is all about intent. What is the gardener attempting to do with the roses? Is a specific color needed? Or does it need to fit a theme? Or is it merely a plant needed to fill a blank space? Landscaping is the most creative part of gardening.

Roses are a very flexible perennial and can fit into almost any space, regardless of shape. For the smallest of corners, growing a few roses in containers might fit. For a space in the hedge which needs to be filled, an English Rose, allowed to grow large, might answer.

There are many books on the market with landscaping ideas, some of which are entirely devoted to landscaping with roses. Unless you are entering a competition or have very specific needs, a bit of research on your own can usually determine what kind of rose you want and where.

Here are the questions you should ask yourself:

1. Where will the rose plant go? If it’s against a wall, a climbing or pillar rose might be best. If it forms a border or a wall, a rose shrub might work best.
2. What do I want the roses for? If the roses are to end up as cut fresh flowers on your table, it’s best to choose a rose with a long cane and repeated blooming. This allows for spring, summer, and fall flower gathering from your own garden. Especially if you have a mild climate which even allows winter gardening.
3. What color rose do I want? Many online stores have roses set up in a database, so you can search for roses by color. Once you’ve chosen a color, you choose from amongst many types of roses.
4. What is the climate like where I live? Taking care of rose bushes is a lot of work, and you don’t want them to die just because they are too delicate to handle the weather. Taking care of roses in Florida is very different from taking care of roses in Minnesota.
5. What is my garden for? If it’s a showpiece for competitions, you may want to look at gardens that have one in the past, to see what types of roses have won in the past, and choose something similar. If your garden is just for you, choose your favorite rose.
6. How much care do I want to do for my garden? If you don’t know how to care for carpet roses, it may seem easier to choose a rose bush, but flowers you’ve never used before can enliven your garden, if you’re willing to do a bit more gardening.

Once you’ve answered the questions, you should have narrowed your choices down a bit. From here, you can choose your rose bush based on foliage, scent, compatibility with other plants in your garden, and size. In landscaping with roses, you may want to consider container gardening with roses as well. A container with roses surrounded by small lobelia can be vibrant and attractive.

Roses are a varied species, with many options, and some of them will work perfectly for your garden. Use your space available to create a variety of heights with different rose plants and complementary plants.