For the rose connoisseurs amongst you, the simple beauty of “Single” (generally five-petalled) and Species roses can bring added interest to a garden filled with the more popular and full-bodied Modern or Historic roses. If your garden normally caters for Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, why not try growing Altissimo, Erfurt, Sparrieshoop, Golden Wings, Jenny Brown or Mrs Oakley Fisher, or with Historic roses, you may choose to have a hedge or bed made up entirely of Species roses, but have a few Single roses growing amongst your old favourites to avoid the possible monotony of similar forms or colours or to compensate for once-flowering cultivars. Examples of Single roses which would look most attractive in a garden of Historic roses are: Dainty Bess, Ellen Willmott, Frau Dagmar Hartopp, Mermaid, R. gigantea, Rugspin, Scabrosa, R. rugosa alba, or White Wings. Many of the roses mentioned wouldn’t look out of place in either type of garden but perhaps colour will be the determining factor when making a choice.

Should the design of your garden be colour-based then you may be interested in obtaining roses of a particular colour group. Here are just a few examples:

White roses: Blanc Double de Coubert, Boule de Neige, Botzaris, Cyril Fletcher, Donna Marie, Honour, Iceberg, Margaret Merril, Memoire, Mme Hardy, Mount Shasta, Pascali, Prosperity, Pristine, Sombreuil, Tineke, Virgo, White Cockade.

Yellow roses - Cl. Arthur Bell, Friesia, Gold Bunny, Gold Marie, Golden Holstein, Helmut Schmidt, Parador, Royal Gold.

Pink roses - Aotearoa, Baronne Prevost, Bewitched, Charlotte Armstrong, Comte de Chambord, Eiffel Tower, English Elegance, Fantin Latour, Felicia, First Love, Irish Elegance, Ispahan, Louise Odier, Madam President, Maria Callas, Omar Khayyam, Peter Frankenfeld, Pink Kardinal, Tiffany.

Mauve/Lilac roses - Anais Segales, Blue Moon, Cardinal de Richelieu, Charles de Gaulle, Erfurt, Lady X, Lagerfeld, Lavender Lassie, Magenta, Reine des Violettes, Tutu Mauve, Veilchenblau.

Orange/Apricot/buff shades - Apricot Nectar, Buff Beauty, Brandy, Cannes Festival, “China Sunrise”, Chromatella, Courvoissier, Crepuscule, Cubana, Helen Traubel, Iced Ginger, Just Joey, Lady Hillingdon, Mrs Oakley Fisher, Norwich Castle, Valencia, Vesper, Westerland, William Allen Richardson.

Red roses - Big Chief, Camp David, Charles Mallerin, Chrysler Imperial, Crimson Glory, Dublin Bay, Ena Harkness, Ferry Porsche, Francis Dubreuil, Imperator, John Waterer, Kardinal, La Passionata, Mary Delahunty, Mr. Lincoln, Oklahoma, Papa Meilland, Samourai, Shadow, Souv du Docteur Jamain, Tatjana.

Striped/Unusual colourings: Anvil Sparks, Café, Eyepaint, Ferdinand Pichard, Julia’s Rose, Maestro, Mascotte, Matangi, Picasso, Priscilla Burton, Relax, Tequila Sunrise, Variegata di Bologna, Village Maid.