Although many rose gardens contain just roses, you can create a more attractive and successful display by combining them with perennials and annuals. This lesson takes you and your class through the process of designing a garden for roses and their green companions.

Objectives: To learn about companion planting, and to design a rose garden

Standards (Microsoft Word document)

Materials: reference materials (including gardening books, Internet), graph paper, and pencils

Background

Planting a garden that includes long-lived plants such as roses involves more than just picking out plants that you find attractive. Although designing for visual beauty is the focus, and you need to mix colors, textures, shapes and sizes in an artful way, choosing plants also involves learning about their preferred growing conditions, growth habits, and beneficial characteristics (such as repelling pests or hiding the bare lower branches of a neighboring plant). Read our Classroom Project on Growing Garden Companions for more background information.

Laying the Groundwork

Ask students:

Exploration: The Design Process

Step 1. Conduct a Site Analysis
In this step you will make an inventory of existing features, summarize the site conditions, and brainstorm a list of needs.

A. Inventory of Existing Features

B. Summarize Site Conditions
Next, take time to observe your space. Answer the following questions to get started.

C. Create a Needs List
Carefully consider how you plan to use the space, and then translate that into landscaping needs. Here are some examples:

Step 2. Create a Base Map
By the time your site analysis is complete, your initial sketch of the area will probably be cluttered! That’s okay, because it’s the “draft” for creating a more orderly base map. On graph paper, use your measurements to create a correctly scaled drawing, including the property lines and existing structures and vegetation you plan to keep.

At the same time, summarize your needs list, observations, and other notes on one piece of paper for easy reference. Keep your original sketch just in case!

Step 3. Brainstorm Using Bubble Diagrams
Once you have a base map, it’s time to brainstorm. Many landscape designers brainstorm by using bubble diagrams. These define open spaces using roughly drawn circles and squares rather than trying to determine specific sizes for the different areas. The advantage is that you can draw bubbles quickly, experimenting with different configurations, and can use different colors for clarity.

Start by placing a piece of tracing paper over your base map, or copy your map onto a transparent overhead sheet and lay another over it for sketching. On the second sheet, draw bubbles representing each component of your garden (beds, sitting areas, pathways). Try different arrangements (such as placing the sitting area in the center versus the side), shapes (circular beds versus rectangular beds), and sizes (i.e., a few large garden beds versus multiple small beds) until you develop a general idea of where you want to place the different components.

Step 4. Define Beds and Hardscapes
Now you can take it to another level of detail. Start by defining beds, walkways, and any other paved areas. Beds can be in ground or raised depending on your needs and soil condition. Decide which type of bed you prefer before deciding the shape, since materials available for raised beds can potentially restrict the shape and size. Next, draw in other hardscape elements and prominent features such as sitting areas, ponds, and patios.

Be sure to draw the plan to scale so that you don’t run into space problems later. Although you’ll need to leave room in the design for flexibility, hardscape items define the underlying structure of the garden and have more permanence than other features.

Step 5. Choose your Roses
Now you can start making a wish list of plant material. Research different types of roses to learn about their qualities, such as hardiness, disease resistance, growth habits, and needs. Will they grow well in our conditions? Are they climbing roses that need a trellis? Do they have large thorns that make them better suited to placement away from paths? All-America Rose Selections (AARS) field tests roses to determine their fitness for growing in a wide range of conditions, so the AARS Web site is a good place to start your research. Also, if there is a chapter of the American Rose Society in your area, contact them for guidance. (Members may also be willing to volunteer their time to help build your garden as well!) Add your rose choices to the map.

Step 6. Choose Rose Companions
Finally, learn about recommended companion plants for roses, and decide which will grow well in your area and fit in your landscape. Here are a two Web sites to help you begin:

Root for Thought
Diane's Flower Seeds

Add the chosen companion plants to your design.

Branching Out