After all the time and hard work you’ve invested in your roses, the last thing you want to do is lose them to over-exuberant garden renovations. Follow these four tips, though, and you should get excellent results.

Note what you don’t like
Before you start making plans for redesigning a rose garden, take some time to get clear on exactly what it is about your current rose garden design that you’re not happy with. Are your best roses not presented as well as they could be? Do you want more variety in terms of color, scent, and growth habits? Is there no good seating area?

Choose the right roses
Unfortunately, not every rose can grow in every garden no matter how much you pamper the plant. If you have a few rose bushes that are languishing in your garden, you may be better off giving them away and replacing them with something better suited to your climate and soil. Once you’ve taken this into account, though, spend a little time exploring new options for what to plant.

Take time with your planting design
Re-working your landscaping design is, of course, the most essential step in redesigning a rose garden. At the very least, get a sheet of graph paper, draw a scale sketch of your garden and make some paper cut-outs to represent the rose bushes you want to plant or transplant and other moveable landscape features. In fact, you may want to invest in some landscaping software that will help you quickly and easily create several rose garden designs so you can then select the one you like best.

Don’t take transplanting lightly
Transplanting roses is something of an art and not necessarily an easy one to master. That’s why most rose gardeners prefer not to disturb a rose that’s already thriving in a particular spot. If you must transplant, though, make sure you educate yourself on the proper way to prepare a rose for transplanting, the right way to uproot roses, and the best time of year to transplant the cultivar you’ll be moving.

Redesigning a rose garden can be one of the most enjoyable projects you do with your home landscape as long as you do proper preparation first. Take the time to find solutions for your current garden’s shortcomings by sketching a few different rose garden designs and exploring new rose cultivars that might work well for you. You may be pleasantly surprised by the beautiful new design you’re able to create.

There’s no set formula for designing a peace garden. The main idea is create a space that celebrates peace your way. It can be a whole garden or just a small section. Consider including benches and sculptures like Diana Rhodes to encourage folks to take time out to think about bringing peace to their families or communities.

One place to look for ideas is Google’s Image search. Search for peace garden and you will find many ideas for planning your own garden.

Useful Resources

• Dr. Joyce C. Mills: Creating a Peace Garden – A healing ritual for children
• Kids Garden News: Peace Gardens: Cultivating Understanding

Other Peace Gardens

One of my favorite sites is the International Peace Garden on the border between the US and Canada (North Dakota and Manitoba). It is an inspiring site.

Where to Find Peace Roses

The Peace rose is a favorite of many gardeners.The yellow and pink rose was an early AARS winner. Many garden centers and nurseries carry the Peace rose in the early spring. One source of Peace roses is Nature Hills Nursery.

Color

How will the color of your roses effect your garden? Look at different catalogs, as well as your neighbors’ gardens, to get an idea of the colors you like best.

While the color of your roses might not seem very significant, you should consider the colors of other plants and flowers that your roses will share the garden with. Will the assortment of colors look nice, or will they clash?  For some, color-arrangement is a priority; while for others, it’s no big deal.

Size

In addition to color, the size of the roses you choose is very important. Consider the height of your roses at full-growth. If the roses grow fifteen feet in height, will they look unattractive in your garden? Remember, the size of roses vary. While some roses may grow up until eight feet, other can grow up to twenty feet in height.

Measure the area of your garden prior to choosing the roses you want to plant. Compare your width and height measurements with roses you’re looking to purchase. Your roses should have an ample amount of space to grow as well as plenty of exposure to the air. If you only have a small amount of space to dedicate to roses, you may want to consider growing miniature roses. These roses do not take up a lot of space and are easy to plant and care for.

Climate

Although height is an important factor in your rose garden planning, choosing the right roses for your particular climate zone is just as important. In order for your roses to grow healthy and mature, they have to be adjusted to your climate. For example, if you live in an area where it snows six months out of the year, you’ll want to make sure you purchase roses that can withstand cold temperatures.

Maintenance

How much time are you willing to spend maintaining your roses? Do you live to be in the garden, or are you more of a low-maintenance type? There are several types of roses which are very high-maintenance. Although they will look beautiful in your garden, they will require a lot of your time. The classification known as “Modern Roses” are very beautiful, long blooming, and highly fragrant, however they are very high maintenance and are prone to disease.

The rose classification known as “Old Garden Roses”, on the other hand, have been bred to be very disease-resistant and require less maintenance. “Old Garden Roses” blooms for several months at a time, and have a strong and beautiful scent. The bad news is that people with strong allergies to fragrances will have a terrible time around them. If that seems like it will be a problem for you then consider any of the variety known as “shrub roses”. They are also disease-resistant and long blooming, but do not produce as strong a scent.

If you’re new to gardening and want to try your hand at growing roses, landscape roses may be your best option. These roses are easy to care for and disease-resistant. They’ll look stunning just about anywhere. If your garden has trellises, you can add several climbing roses as well. Although climbing roses look very similar to landscape roses, climbing roses have been trained to grow upward like vines. They’re a beautiful touch to any home.

In a nutshell, if the area gets at least six hours of full sun a day, you can grow roses there. Also, since roses require frequent watering and access to remove dead buds, you’ll want an area that is easily accessible by paths or walkways.

Now that you know that, take a look around you to see where a rose garden design could fit into your landscaping. Some suggestions might be:

Rose Garden Design for Boundaries and Borders
Plant climbing or rambling roses along a chain link or wooden fence. It only takes a few bushes to guarantee you a wall of gorgeous blooms in nearly any color you choose by the third or fourth year.

A Corner Rose Garden Design
Let rambling roses take over a bare, sunny corner of your yard. Hardy and fast-growing, pink, white, red or yellow rambling roses will send out long shoots from the base of each bush, and quickly create a carpet of color.

A Centerpiece Rose Garden Design For Your Front Entrance
For a dramatic entryway, plant roses at the base of a lamp post. Train part of the bush to twine its way up the pole, and allow the rest to sprawl around its base.

The Perfect Rose Garden Design For Your Patio
There are many varieties of roses that grow very happily in containers. You can turn your patio into a haven of serenity with terracotta or wooden planters holding miniature roses in just one color, or a full spectrum of blooms.

A Mixed Rose Garden Design
You needn’t confine your garden to just roses. Roses are wonderful companions to a wide variety of plants. Planting low, thick plants with lush foliage at the base of your rose garden will cover the bare stems and make your plot beautiful from the ground up. For an especially effective companion garden, plant roses with onions and garlic to help keep aphids at bay.

• Color: Color may seem like a trivial matter, but it is usually a factor to those that want to grow roses. Usually it is simply a matter of personal preference.
• Height: The final growth height of a rose should be considered as it would be unattractive to grow roses that are higher than the area of the garden that it grows in. Some types of roses can grow to be as high as 20 feet.
• Climate: If you live in an area that is prone to cold winters, you would certainly want types of roses that could survive during the off season.
• Fragrance: If certain fragrances invoke an allergic reaction, you would want to plant types of roses that have a softer fragrance than the others.
• Pros and Cons: You would certainly want to learn what the advantages and disadvantages would be if you were to choose certain types of roses over others.
• Space: You will want to consider the size of your garden space, so that you can ensure proper exposure to the air and other elements as well.
• Use: If you plan to create rose bouquets, you need know if your roses can be cut. Hybrid teas can, but some roses will fall apart at the petals if they are cut.
• Other Plants: You should also consider what other types of flowers or plants you intend on adding to the rose’s environment. You want to add plants and flowers that will not create a damaging environment to your rose’s ecosystem. Surprisingly, plants in the onion family offer a nice compliment for roses.