Uncategorized

Planning a Rose Parterre Part 1

The lawn behind the former tack room, now studio, has been dug up a few times. The worst time was when we buried the electricity underground, but we’ve also put plumbing and removed a cedar bed from this area as well. It was such an eyesore as I didn’t know what to do with the space. Then it dawned on me that, with my love of roses, it could be transformed into a beautiful rose parterre.

The first thing that needed to be done was ripping out the weeds/grass and leveling off the ground to form the rectangle shape that will hold the four quadrants of the bed and a path splitting the parterre from north to south and east to west in the middle. Where they intersect, I envision a ten-foot circle for a water feature. Looking straight down the gravel path from the studio porch, I would put a bench with an arch painted a blue gray covered in roses, a welcome respite fom the heat. The other path, heading east, would lead into the existing archway in the Mrs. B.R. Cant rose bed… which would lead to my son’s backyard. I could link that bed and the new parterre with rose arches covered in ramblers!

I know it takes the stretch of a creative imagination, but here are the before photos.

Here is a rough draft I sketched out:

Putting roses inside the boxwood (or alternative low hedging like ilex vomitoria/yaupon holly, pringles podocarpus, or eugenia topiaries) is a no brainer but how to arrange them by size and color, as well as deciding what the focal point would be in the center of each quadrant, if any, has put me in a quandary. I am pretty sure I will color block in soft pastels like pink, white, salmon and potentially a darker magenta. I don’t think I want tuteurs in the centers. Nor planters, as I know they will dry out in the blazing heat and fry the contents. I thought it would be great to put in rose trees but I am considering something taller that will provide more shade for central Florida hot afternoons. Perhaps a standard Chinese snowball viburnum, a standard Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorn, or even a small sized crape myrtle tree? Maybe just very large urns with nothing in them. Or, perhaps small patio citrus, a pineapple guava, or bay leaf trees? I thought about an evergreen like ligustrum or some sort of conical juniper but really want something that flowers. In England they would use Portuguese Laurels but that seems too thick for my purposes. I even looked up standard/tree bushes like gardenias but they seem too short in stature and will get overwhelmed by roses, unless i build them up on a pedestal of some sort. I do like the idea of Chinese snowball viburnum standards as they look the most like hydrangeas and can withstand the hot sun. I do think that will be a good choice.

In the meanwhile, I keep researching color schemes and companion plants. I purchased a boat ton of seeds I am dying to cast out there, but I must be patient and get the ground prepared. We rented a mini skid loader but that was an epic fail and looked more like we were building a pond instead of a garden. I called two landscapers in looking for pricing. One was higher than I want to pay and the other, who has put down bases for sheds here a couple of times already, is tough to reach. I suppose I will call one or two more for bids tomorrow.

Inspiration photos… I even had google gemini create a vision for me as well.

While I have already purchased more than enough roses, and I have a ton of seeds to cast, I need to have someone clear and level the land, stringline the gravel paths in, and fill the parterre’s with compost, manure, and soil. I am also itching to start building the small pergola for my new bench. Here is another inspiration photo I found online… love the box balls in terra cotta pots.

blue bench inspiration with pergola

Meanwhile, some of the roses I have to plant are…

  • bliss parfum
  • bolero
  • abraham darby
  • scepter d’isle 5′ light pink
  • queen of Sweden pink 5′
  • olivia pink 4.5ft,
  • the alnwick rose light pink 4 ft,
  • windermere white/cream 4′
  • Lichfield angel cream 5′
  • Desdemona 4ft white
  • old blush 6ft pink,
  • quietness 4ft light pink,
  • moonlight in paris pink apricot gold 5ft
  • plum perfect lavender 3ft
  • mutabilis
  • crepuscule
  • cornelia
  • ballerina
  • Elizabeth light pink white apricot 4.5 feet,
  • Eustacia 4ft pink and apricot,
  • the lark ascending apricot 5.5 ft,
  • wollerton hall pale apricot 12′ location: with new dawn
  • generous gardener pale pink climber 15 ft location: bench
  • james galway pink climber 12 ft location: bench
  • claire Austin cream climber 12′ location outside porch
  • borderer
  • jubilee celebration
  • kazanlik
  • Mannington mauve rambler
  • heritage
  • vanessa bell pale yellow 4 ft
  • tottering by gently yellow single pollinator 4′
  • princess Charlene de Monaco lt pink apricot 6ft
  • koko loco (soul sister) chocolate lavender 3.5ft
  • mother Dudley light pink 4 ft
  • reve ‘dor climber
  • paul’s himalayan musk rambler

You may also like...