I’m not a huge fan of most roses. I find that shrub roses are a bit high maintenance, what with all the dead heading and winter pruning, delving down amongst the thorns to find that elusive inward pointing bud. We inherited a few scraggly specimens with the house, which improved with a bit of TLC, but never really gave an impressive display, and they had to go. However we do enjoy the rambling and climbing roses that frame the archways that separate the formal (well, it’s a loose informal sort of formal) half of the garden close to the house from the more casual lower garden. The varieties are long lasting, with blooms from June to December, wind and frost permitting, and there are still quite a few blooms brightening the autumnal garden, which have, I believe, featured in @shepherdmanswife ‘s 365 portfolio. They really do look good against the clear blue sky of a crisp autumn morning, as I discovered as I pottered down the garden enjoying the bright sunshine of a frosty morning.
Your garden sounds like mine! Inherited the roses but not too many and I enjoy looking after them. The rambling roses over the archway are whitely blooming at the moment!
