If you need some ideas to help you plan your rose garden here are some tips that should be quite helpful.

• Before you go out to buy your new roses it’s important to decide where you want to put them first.  If you only have a small space reserved for roses consider how many rose bushes you can plant within that space. This may seem elementary but believe me when you get to the nursery you’ll be tempted to buy more than you can use.  It’s happened to me many a time.

• It’s also important to think about the colours that you want to have in your garden.  I’m always amazed by gardeners who will plant a row of white icebergs against a white wall.  You’ll be surprised how often something like this happens.

• It’s a good idea to plant a standard rose or any tall growing rose in the center of a bed and then to surround it with a mass of low growing floribundas in a different colour beneath it. For example I planted five Amarula Profusions under a white iceberg and I’m waiting to see what that will look like in a few weeks. It should be stunning.

• Sometimes individual roses can get lost or overlooked. So try to plant a few roses of the same variety next to each other.  This is always effective as it gives a good, solid splash of color to the garden.

• A very important point to consider is the eventual height that the rose bush will reach.  You don’t want to mix low growing roses with tall varieties indiscriminately.  Small bushes can get lost and overshadowed by stronger growing varieties.

• Remember to plant your tall growing roses at the back of the bed and place the shorter bushes towards the front of the bed.

• Underplant your roses with a carpet of white alyssum or candytuft for a stunning effect. If you prefer a cloud of blue, you could use blue lobelia for a striking contrast. These annuals have shallow rooting systems and they won’t disturb your roses.

• Also consider planting some specially fragrant roses near the pathway so that you can enjoy the perfume while you admire your roses

With these few tips in mind you will be ready to tackle that nursery.  Good luck. If you have any other good tips to plan a rose garden feel free to share them in the comments below.