longest flowering rose tree for a west-facing front garden?

Hello. Need some advice here please. My west-facing front garden, size 80 cm x 280 cm, under the bay window with an enclosing wall, needs some plants to brighten it up. These are some plants I love to grow here but need your advice:
1. longest flowering rose tree (what can it be if possible?)
2. Lavender bush
3. Rosemary (only thing in here which was just moved from the newly designed back garden)

Love to hear some helpful advice. Thank you.

 

Hi,

Well in my experience Lavender and Rosemary really need to be replaced every few years as its too easy for them to get woody and leggy.

However I have found Bay to be an attractive evergreen bush in a sheltered location, and it tollerates light or heavy pruning to keep in check.

Roses, so many to choose, but first you need to say what height and habit you are after.
Minatures, Hybrid T, Floribunda, Bush, even Climber or Rambler ...?

 

Hi Ricky,

Thanks for the advice. My little front garden has recently been created, the wall is 70 cm tall (not my idea though). I need plants to be 70 - 150 cm high to be able to be seen but not to block the light to the bay window.

I like something scented and colourful to attract the insects. I always like to grow my own roses but it has never happened as I have no knowledge at all about them! A rose tree with long flowering period, which also does not need much sunlight would be ideal. :-)

By the way, location - Leicester

 

Hi,

Sounds like Hybrid T or Floribunda are what you need, but so many to choose from.

If you see this list, 'Bush' section , it gives details and height/fragrance of some popular varieties.
Roses: choosing the best/RHS Gardening


Also a visit to a good garden center and look around and see if anything takes your fancy.
Have noticed that quiet a few centers are selling David Austin roses in pots but at £22 at time !, whereas the standard rose stock are still around £7 at pot.

Bare Root Roses - David Austin roses

If you are planning a boarder of roses then buying Bare Rooted roses is a cheaper way , though they are normally mail order only and you are getting to the end of the season for dispatch/planting, whereas in pot you can do it anytime.

Again, if planting several roses, do you go for a mix of varieties or all the same ....

 

Thanks Ricky. Very useful resources. I would like to fit as many as I can into this small area as a boarder, different colours. But I guess there is a minimum space limit between them. Can you advise on this?

 

Hi,

For HT and Flori roses about 2ft/ 60cm apart is best.

When choosing them , check that you get varieties that are similar height as each group can have small, medium and large types. I would aim for the mediums around 3ft / 1mtr high.

I would say go for just one type, either HT, big single blooms per stem, or Flori with clusters of smaller blooms as mixing types might look a bit strange.

Also if going for different colours in a relatively small space, better to choose complementing colours...?

Both should give you blooms from early June to November, frosts permitting , provided you dead head the faded blooms regularly.

Good info for planting here, - the Fungi is recommended and for Farmyard manure use something like the Growsure Farmyard Manure bags available at most places for £5, enough for several plants.
Roses: planting/RHS Gardening

 

I'm no rose expert but I think you'd need a repeat flowering rose or a perpetual flowering rose. They will have several flushes of flowers from late spring until we get the first frosts. Have a google at "darcey bussell" and "pat austin" or maybe "compte de chambord".

'reine des violettes' is a hybrid perpetual shrub rose and is repeat flowering.

"Will Scarlet" is another repeat flowering shrub and is meant to be long flowering.