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Rose Garden Ideas - How to Design with Roses

Create a beautiful rose garden for your front or back yard, small or large garden, and learn what to plant with roses By Janet Loughrey, Garden Writer & Photographer

At Last® rose. Photo by: Proven Winners

Other Popular Rose Topics:

As one of the world’s most beloved garden plants, roses deserve a prominent spot in the landscape. While these long-lived shrubs have a reputation of being somewhat fussy, newer cultivars bred for disease-resistance and vigor have made growing roses easy for even novice gardeners.

A rose garden can be as simple as a single rose specimen interspersed with a few other plants. It can be as elaborate as a formal landscape embellished with hardscaping, arbors, seating, and statuary. Even smaller spaces can accommodate roses in containers, raised beds, or narrow side yards. Here are the basics of rose garden design, along with some ideas to get you started.

On this page: Planning | Different Spaces | Landscaping Tips | What to Plant With Roses | Design Ideas | More Rose Gardens | Related Reading

On this page:

PLANNING A ROSE GARDEN

Choose your site:

Make sure the site gets at least 6-8 hours of sun a day and has good air circulation to help prevent disease.

Make a plan:

Choose a style:

Decide what kind of rose garden you want. Do you want a clean formal look with structured hardscape, or a more natural appearance with other plants mixed in? Pick a style that will harmonize with your home’s exterior.

Pick a color scheme:

Select colors that you enjoy and that will also help unify the home with the landscape.

Prepare the soil:

Roses like rich, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic pH between 6.0-7.0. Amend the soil with compost or other organic matter. For containers, use a high quality all-purpose potting soil and make sure pots have adequate drainage holes.

Plant selection:

Choose roses that are easy-care and hardy in your region. Select varieties for traits including size, shape, flower color, and form, fragrance and repeat or continual bloom. Many newer varieties such as Oso Easy Roses are bred for disease-resistance, vigor, and long bloom time. Some older types, particularly hybrid teas, can be higher maintenance and more disease-prone.

CREATE A ROSE GARDEN IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPACES

Plant fragrant rose varieties near a deck or patio to enjoy their fragrance up close. Gardener: Diana Gough. Designer: Phil Thornburg. Photo by: Janet Loughrey.

Large rose garden:

Small rose garden:

Front yard rose garden:

Backyard rose garden:

ROSE GARDEN LANDSCAPING TIPS

Create a grand entrance to your home with a rose-covered arbor. Gardener: Mary DeNoyer. Photo by: Janet Loughrey.

Grow vertically:

Include climbing roses to maximize your space. Train other vining plants such as clematis to grow up through shrub or climbing roses to create exciting flower combinations.

Grow horizontally:

Train climbers along a fence to define garden rooms or to soften an unsightly chain link fence.

Plant in containers:

Many roses can be successfully grown in containers, a good solution for small spaces, apartment balconies, patios, and decks. Containers should be at least 15 to 20 inches in diameter and 18 to 24 inches deep. Half whiskey barrels work well. Miniature roses can be grown in smaller pots or hanging baskets. (See more on growing roses in pots.)

Cover a slope:

Mass groundcover varieties such as Flower Carpet® or Drift® roses along a slope for low-maintenance erosion control.

Plant in drifts:

For greater impact, plant in groups of 3-5 specimens of the same variety.

Plant a hedge:

Plant a row of taller shrub roses to create privacy from the street. A row of shorter groundcover roses can be planted along a foundation, in a curbside strip, or used to define garden areas.

Make an entrance:

Create a grand entrance to your home with an inviting entryway complete with a rose arbor and adjacent plantings to soften the landscape.

Create a transition:

Use a rose-covered arbor in a side yard to define the transition between front and back yards.

Use as a background planting:

Place climbers along a tall wooden fence to soften the backdrop and break up the expanse of wood.

Foundation planting:

Combine landscape roses with other shrubs that bloom at different times along the front of your home for a season-long display of color.

Mixed border:

Use low-growing ground cover roses near the front of a mixed border or taller semi-climbers in back to establish height and layers.

WHAT TO PLANT WITH ROSES

A curbside planting of roses underplanted with perennial geraniums offers screening and privacy. Garden and photo by: Janet Loughrey.

A rose garden can be greatly enhanced by incorporating other plants as part of the overall design. Roses go well with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. Choose plants that have the same cultural requirements of full sun, ample water and rich soil.

Also, consider how much maintenance your roses will need:

Flowering companions:

Intersperse plants that flower at different times to extend the bloom season. These can include perennials or annuals such as petunia, verbena, or calibrachoa.

Complement and contrast:

Pair roses with other plants in complementary hues to create drama and contrast. A gold-colored rose such as Oso Easy Lemon Zest® would pair well with Rapido Blue Carpathian bellflower or ‘Violet Profusion’ salvia.

Trees:

Add different heights to a mixed border or formal rose garden with trees. These can include snowbell (Styrax japonicus), fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), dogwood (Cornus) and crabapple (Malus).

Shrubs:

Enhance the landscape by providing contrasting color, texture, and structure with shrubs. These can include boxwood, spirea, bluebeard, and daphne.

Groundcovers:

Use groundcovers as a living mulch and weed-suppressing carpet. Good rose companions include perennial geraniums, dead nettle, bugleweed, and lady’s mantle.

Perennials:

Provide contrast with perennials of different size, structure, and color. Good rose companions include alliums, lavender, catmint, salvia, phlox, and speedwell.

Vines:

Climbers can be trained up or alongside rose plants for an extra layer of color. These may include clematis, climbing bleeding heart (Dicentra scandens), morning glory and jasmine.

ROSE GARDEN IDEAS

Plant fragrant rose varieties near a deck or patio to enjoy their fragrance up close. Gardener: Diana Gough. Designer: Phil Thornburg. Photo by: Janet Loughrey.

Combine roses with other plants of different heights for a layered tapestry. Gardener: Jeff Clark. Photo: Janet Loughrey.

A formal rose garden is characterized by distinct lines, clipped hedging and structures such as pergolas and arbors. Gardener and designer: Nancy Cutler. Photo: Janet Loughrey.

A rose-covered gate marks the transition between the front and back yards. Gardener: Mary DeNoyer. Photo: Janet Loughrey.

Train roses vertically to add varying layers to the landscape. Gardeners: Darin Simmons and Matthew Greydanus, Laurel Hedge. Photo: Janet Loughrey.

Train climbing roses along a fence to create an attractive screen for privacy. Gardeners: Danny Hills and Wayne Hughes, Lonesomeville Gardens. Photo: Janet Loughrey.

Roses combine well with many perennials, shrubs, trees, and annuals. Photo: Matthewshutter / Shutterstock.

MORE ROSE GARDENS

My Garden: An Affinity for Roses

In this front garden, perennials such as catmint, delphinium, and hollyhocks mingle with roses.

From Parking Lot to Rose Garden

See this backyard that was transformed into a spectacular rose garden featuring David Austin roses.

Portland's Rose Test Garden

Another public rose garden, features over 10,000 rose plants from 550 species.

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30 Beautiful Rose Garden Ideas for Your Backyard

Is there anything more breathtaking than a garden full of roses?

Since time immemorial, roses have played a major role in bringing landscapes to life, beloved for their beautiful, romantic-looking flowers. In this article, I’ll take you through 30 ideas for designing a rose garden of your own, irrespective of whether your space is big or small.  By browsing through our pictures of rose garden design, you’re sure to be struck by inspiration that will have you reaching for your tools and gloves in no time. 

Ready? Let’s jump right in.

On this page

 

Climbing Rose Garden Ideas – Arbors

1. Rose Arbors Over Walkways

Just because walkways are functional doesn’t mean they can’t be an integral part of your landscape. Climbing roses are perfect for adorning trellises and arches, making the journey between destinations all the more enjoyable. A rose arch or trellis, like the one in the example above, can be constructed from simple fencing or built with affordable lumber. Over time, you can train your flowers to climb laterally, forming a beautiful canopy overhead. This look is visually stunning and distracts from an otherwise dull concrete pathway.

 

2. A Rose Vine Trellis

For a beautiful and whimsical rose garden design, consider using the natural vines of your climbing roses as part of your trellis structure. It may take a while to get going, but it will be well worth it when you do. To start, you’ll need to construct a bare-bones arbor structure with fencing poles and overhead metal or wire supports. After that, you can start training the canes of your rose bushes by weaving them through and around the supports. As your roses grow, their stems will become thick and robust, twining around each other to form a natural trellis canopy. This looks like something straight out of a fairytale.

 

3. Wooden Rose Arches

Curved wooden arbors covered with roses are an attractive way to spruce up your garden or walkway.  Trellises support roses wanting to climb and give them space to thrive. Consider building an arch every few feet if you have a long walkway in your garden. Blooming roses add significant pops of color to your landscape and blend well with the natural coloration of the wood. Uniform arbors create a vintage, romantic aesthetic.

 

4. Unusual Rose Arch Ideas

If you’re hoping to move away from traditional trellis structures, have you thought about erecting rose arbors made from metal? The benefit of this is that simple steel arches are not as obtrusive as large wooden structures, keeping 100% of the focus on your flowers. They’re also incredibly durable, as far as rose arches in gardens go. What better way to define a walkway than with beautiful roses that look like they’re forming natural canopies all by themselves?

 

5. Rose Pergola Ideas

Another clever way to use trellis structures is to create a rose canopy or pergola. This can turn into the perfect spot to have a chair and tables for entertaining, sheltered from the sun beneath a canopy of flowers.  To build a pergola, you first need to construct the base structure in your chosen space, usually from wood or metal. Then, you’ll have to train your roses to climb both vertically and laterally with careful, consistent pruning. As roses are fast-growing, you should have your hideaway ready in no time.

 

 

Roses Adorning Fences

6. Pink Roses Against a White Fence

Amplify a traditional white picket fence with stunning pink roses that peek through and welcome passers-by. This is one of those rose bush garden ideas that is easy to set up and maintain, provided you keep your roses pruned and healthy. All you need is two large rose bushes planted on each side of your entryway or gate. Allow their stems to twine through the fence posts to create a whimsical aesthetic.

 

7. Lavender and Rose Garden Ideas

One of my favorite rose garden ideas for the front yard or backyard is to combine these beautiful blooms with lavender. This is not only a feast for the eyes but for the nose too.  Plant climbing roses alongside a neat white fence where they can push through the posts and show off. Border the fence with neat beds of lavender and other light green shrubs. The color combinations are out of this world. But even better, both roses and lavender are pollinators and attract bees and other beneficial garden visitors.

 

8. A White Fence with White Roses

Whenever I see white roses, I immediately think of Alice in Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts’ poor servants toiling to paint them all red. In popular culture, white roses have long been associated with majesty and splendor. And the reason is that they’re such a sight to behold. White roses bordering a white fence look clean and pure. They’re prolific growers, especially in the spring and summer. So, if you want to spruce up your garden with minimal effort, plant a few large rose bushes along your fence line and let them grow free.

 

 

Individual Rose Bush Ideas

9.

Tall, Neatly Pruned Rose Bushes

This is one of my favorite home rose garden ideas by far. In keeping with the Wonderland theme, there is something so striking about roses grown tall and kept neatly pruned. Naturally, they’ll need to be staked or supported to maintain their shape, as they can become top-heavy when they bloom. You’ll also need to tend to them regularly to train their growth pattern, but it’s very cathartic, keeps your roses healthy, and makes room for new growth.

 

10. Dancing Queen Roses

Your options are endless when it comes to selecting roses for your garden. So many varieties, colors, and shapes are available that even simple ideas can take on new life with the right flowers. This Dancing Queen rose, for example, is a bi-colored beauty like no other. It’s perfect for a mini rose garden if you don’t have large beds to work with.

 

11. Neil Diamond Hybrid Tea Rose

This gorgeous rose looks like it’s been dipped in paint.  The Neil Diamond Hybrid is a small, many-petaled rose that grows abundantly in the right environment and is beloved for its unique appearance. An eye-catching species of flower like this works well in a rose garden for a small yard – where you can spend time tailoring each of your plants to be a focal point. Laying down wood chips around your roses keeps their roots warm and will have them blooming for as long as possible.

 

12. Imperatrice Farah Hybrid Tea Rose

Another visually interesting option is the Imperatrice Farah hybrid rose, which is a smaller, bushier species. Its flowers look like they started changing color but never fully got around to it. This type of rose looks lovely in a more modern landscape but can also work well in a cottage garden. Much of its aesthetic will depend on how you prune it, bearing in mind they don’t get very big.

 

13. Rare and Unusual Roses – Blue

Disbelievers will say it’s Photoshop. However, there are some breathtaking rose varieties out there if you know where and how to find them.  Exotic roses look stunning in smaller gardens and large alike. But they are delicate and require a lot of maintenance. When shopping around for rare and unusual roses for your garden, ensure you find out about their care requirements. That said, you won’t regret adding a beauty like this to your landscape.

 

 

Rose Garden Bed Ideas

14. Rose Border Garden Design

Run-of-the-mill hedges are so last year. Instead, create beautiful rose garden border beds by planting different colored roses along the edge of your lawn. Add a bench or two in between so you can enjoy some time among your flowers.

 

15. Roses Alongside Garden Decor

Roses are as good at playing supporting roles as they are at stealing the show. If you’re trying to highlight a particular feature in your garden, like an artwork or a sundial, planting rose bushes all around will only emphasize it more. This semi-pergola sets the stage for a romantic garden nook, complete with a bench for relaxing and a stunning statue to draw in the viewer.

 

16. English Rose Garden Ideas

Steppingstones always make me think of quiet English cottages in the countryside. Lean into this look by planting mini rose bushes along your garden paths. Interspersing them with other plants and shrubs will give you a slightly unkempt and vintage appearance. Who wouldn’t want to spend time in this space?

 

17. Simple Rose Garden Beds

If you don’t have much time to spend tailoring your rose bushes, you can just plant a handful of trees in a bed and let them grow free. Different sizes and colors look breathtaking together. In this example, the homeowner has set up a space for relaxation alongside their thriving rose bed. This design is simple to execute and requires minimal effort to maintain.

 

 

Training Climbing Roses

18. A Mini Rose Arbor

Roses will happily climb and sprawl if properly trained and pruned. Any rose enthusiast will attest to how pliable these beautiful plants can be with extra love and attention.  If you have a thriving rose garden at home, consider manipulating one of your plants to form a mini rose arbor. This will require teaching it to climb along an arched structure or trellis until it forms a canopy. Here, we see some hybrid tea roses forming a perfect little seating nook for strawberries and soda in the summer.

 

19. Roses Around a Garden Light

Trying to hide a garden feature you don’t find particularly attractive? A clever designer has planted climbing roses around this lamp post in such a manner that you hardly see it. That is, until nightfall when the lamp will cast a beautiful light on this rose tree’s stunning flowers.

 

20. A Rose-Encased Stairway

Some rose species can adhere to surfaces without any assistance or the need for a trellis. Think of this rose garden design like ivy, but better. This dark green and pink rose hybrid looks incredible spread out against an old concrete staircase. A definite must for the ultimate old-English, vintage aesthetic.

 

21. Red Climbing Roses

Jazz up a quiet corner of your home with some stunning red climbing roses. The most classic of the colors, it’s easy to see why they’re so popular, as they immediately draw your attention. Climbing roses bloom in the spring and summer, so be sure to plant them somewhere you plan to spend a lot of time. This way, you can enjoy all they have to offer. When purchasing your red roses, ensure you ask for a climbing variety that can be trained to run along your walls or fences.

 

 

Shaped Rose Garden Beds

22. Flagstone Rose Bed

Make the most of spaces that are more flagstone than garden by planting majestic roses as a focal point. These tallish rose trees, in various colors, completely steal the show, and rightly so. Roses in a relatively constrained environment (like this one) are also easier to care for, as all they need is regular watering, feeding, and maintenance.

 

23. A Rosy Walkway

This is the perfect design for those looking to go all out with their rose garden.  The well-placed beds serve to create a walkway between hundreds of beautiful blooms. Great for a larger landscape, be warned that multiple rose beds are pretty high maintenance. However, they’re worth it, especially with how romantic and aesthetic this garden looks.

 

24. Cottage Rose Garden Ideas

Make the most of a small garden with bordered circular beds. In this design, large stones create an edging that is both practical and aesthetic. Roses of different colors and sizes give depth and perspective to this cottage, brightening the home’s overall appearance.

 

 

More Creative Ideas

25. Roses in Different Colors

If it’s color you’re after, roses are definitely the right choice for your garden. With so many options available, create incredible garden beds by planting a variety of colors together. These long stem roses are bright and vibrant and can be picked at leisure to adorn the inside of your home, too.

 

26.

A Front Door Arbor

A rose climbing trellis arbor is a welcoming way to lead guests right to your front door.

 

27. Corner Climbing Roses

Another excellent idea for decorating your pergola is to plant rose trees along its corners. This way, they’ll grow up along its edges (with the help of a trellis), forming a beautiful, romantic enclosure.

 

28. A Rose Tree Hideaway

An overgrown rose garden is a perfect aesthetic for this little nestled-away cottage. The trees provide privacy and create a lovely view, whether you’re inside or outside the home.

 

29. One Perfect Rose Bush

Sometimes less is more. And if you don’t have a lot of garden space to play in, there’s nothing wrong with planting and caring for one perfectly manicured rose tree. It’ll bring you blooms year after year and provides a stunning viewpoint for guests.

Rose Garden - photos, design ideas, examples of interiors and exteriors

Grade II listed former rectory

Verity & Beverley Ltd

Alterations and refurbishment of a Grade II listed rectory, including the Coach House refurbishment.
In the photo: a huge, three-storey, beige private country house in a classic style with garden path or gate, with pergola, gravel and midday shade - great interior photo

Soundview Manor

Conte & Conte, LLC

Home Inspiration: Sunny regular backyard garden in classic style with good lighting and gravel

Chiltern Estate

Dennis Mayer - Dennis02 Photographer 90 Mayer Photography www.chilternestate.com
Design idea for a large, sunny, regular summer backyard garden in a classic style with good lighting and gravel

Soundview Manor

Conte & Conte, LLC

Pictured: a sunny regular backyard garden in a classic style with good lighting and gravel

Terrace-runway

Bureau GN Burtsev

3

3 photo: pergola in the courtyard of a private house in the fusion backyard with a barbecue area

An Evolution for Land and Family

Mariani Landscape

This project represents the evolution of a 10 acre space over more than three decades. It began with the pool and space around it. As the vegetable garden grew, the orchard was established and the display gardens blossomed. The prairie was restored and a kitchen was added to complete the space. Although, it continues to change with a pond next on the design plan. Photo credit: Linda Oyama Bryan

Beautiful Gardens and Accents

Rosborough Partners Inc.

Stunning English garden invites the visitor to stop and smell the roses. (Photo by Mike Crews)
Pictured: Sunny, Summer Lot and Well-Lit Medium-sized Victorian Garden from

Soundview Manor

Conte & Conte, LLC

classic style with good lighting

The Crosby

Torrey Pines Landscape Co., Inc

Cutting garden
A fresh design idea: a huge sunny, spring regular Mediterranean-style backyard garden with a garden path or gate, good lighting and paving slabs - excellent interior photos

Traditional Landscape

Inspiration for home comfort: the classic yard and garden

Pink plots and gardens - 135 best photos, landscape design of the yard, garden and vegetable garden

Vibrant Surroundings

SURROUNDS Landscape Architecture + Construction

Landscape Architect: Howard Cohen Photography by: Bob Narod, Photographer, LLC
Home Inspiration: Large regular garden with paving slabs and flower beds

Best of Gallery

Pineapple Interiors

midday shade, with wooden fence and fence - the latest trend

Mark's Backyard

Artistic Landscapes

Home Inspiration: Backyard Lot and Garden with Classic Clinker Paving

Sabino Hills Project

Interior Trends Remodel & Design

Interior Trends Remodel & Design

photo: solar playground in a mediterranean courtyard with good lighting and paving slabs with

Barndominium

Bellas Landscaping

Photo of a sunny, regular rustic backyard garden with a retaining wall, good lighting and stone paving from

Parterre Garden

Floren Design Ltd.

Parterre Garden
Original design example of a huge, sunny, summer regular backyard garden in country style with a garden path or gate, good lighting and stone paving

Eclectic Mountain Lyons

High Desert Designs, llc

Fresh Design Idea: Large sunny drought tolerant fusion backyard garden with good lighting, stone paving and stone in the landscaping - great interior photo

Cercis Occidentalis

Photo: Stan Shebs, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Cercis occidentalis in the south fork of Pine Creek Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountains, southern Nevada

Lafayette 2

Envision Landscape Studio

Photo of a large, sunny, drought-tolerant modernist hillside garden with retaining wall, good lighting, and gravel cover with

G A R D E N - Pacific Northwest

Lore Garden03

| Photo: Lore Patterson
Original design example of an Oriental medium-sized backyard regular fall garden with midday shade

Engleman ivy and bamboo rake

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Engleman ivy (Parthenosisis quinquefolia) photo by Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Fresh Design Idea: Contemporary Lot and Garden - Great Interior Photo

Historic Barn Addition

Eisenbrandt Companies

Built in the pre Civil War era (est. 1830's), this historic barn's addition was built to match with its notably beautiful characteristics and to maintain its integrity. It was custom built with rough sawn eastern Hemlock fibers and cladding. The walls were poured concrete walls with a stucco finish to give it a strong, durable, and rustic feel. Each custom door and window was designed to have a specific purpose for the barn's functionality and client's needs. As a full working barn that includes horses, the cutest donkey, chickens, and ducks, a standing seam roof was installed with solar panels to give daily power to these amazing animals. Coinciding with its history, the barn's floor bricks were repurposed from Second Chance in Baltimore, Maryland.

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