Roses for all gardens – why Peter Beales Roses is your one-stop shop for blooms that’ll reward with decades of delight

Fashions come and go in gardening but one flower reigns supreme when it comes to standing the test of time – the rose.

If you are in any doubt as to the enduring appeal of this classic garden bloom, the great British gardening public have voted with their secateurs and declared the rose the nation’s favourite flower time and time again.

Flick through any survey, whether published in a national newspaper or glossy gardening magazine, and you’ll quickly discover that garden stars such as lilies, tulips, sweet peas and dahlias all play second fiddle to the mighty rose, which takes pole position every time pollsters quiz green-fingered folk.

What’s even more remarkable is that roses receive little airtime on TV gardening programmes and seldom make an appearance on quick-fix makeovers. Yet, visit any garden centre on a busy weekend and potted roses will be flying off the shelves.

Why have roses have remained the height of fashion in a market that’s awash with fierce competition from so many gorgeous blooms? First and foremost, it’s the rose’s ability to blend in with any style of garden.

Whether you have a formal rose border, a billowing cottage garden or a tiny terrace, there’s a rose to suit every garden style. Add in the fact that plant breeders have worked their magic on recent introductions, creating varieties that pack a punch for fragrance while boasting superior resistance to disease, and you know that you’re onto a winner!

While roses are adored for their abundance of old-fashioned blooms, their low-maintenance nature ensures that these super-tough shrubs are ideally suited to busy lifestyles. They’re resilient enough to survive summer drought, once established, and the worst winter freeze. Some roses can still be in bloom in October in milder regions of the UK, when everything else in the border has run out of steam.

One company has remained at the forefront of supplying the nation’s gardeners with top quality plants and that’s Peter Beales Roses. Whatever the size or style of your garden, this world-renowned grower has the perfect rose for your plot. Take a look at their varieties and let your dream of a horticultural haven begin to take root!

Classic climbers take displays to new heights

You don’t need a garden designer to tell you that bringing blooms up to eye level – or above – will ramp-up drama in gardens. Peter Beales’ spectacular range of climbing roses offer vigour and beauty in equal measure, ranging in height from two metres to a towering nine metres tall. Many repeat flower, filling the season with colour.

They’re just the job for clothing walls, trellis, obelisks and arches with vibrant hues – and for growing up properties for a classic cottage look. No garden? No problem! Climbing roses can thrive in large containers if you only have a patio or small deck outside the back door.

Looking for a scent-sational modern climber? Try Rosa ‘Clarence House’ which is renowned for its strong citrus fragrance, emitting from a profusion of creamy white blooms that feature hints of soft primrose yellow.

Superb shrub roses for a touch of romance

Peter Beales’ range of old and modern shrub roses tick all the boxes for gardeners, with many combining brilliant blooms, fabulous fragrance and healthy foliage.

Held in high esteem for being easy to grow, these garden staples are easy to settle in, because they tolerate a wide variety of soil types and garden situations.

Shrub roses make a wonderful focal point feature if planted solo in borders but take flower power to the next level when grown en masse in small groups.

Roses to raise the standard!

Standard roses – think lollipop-shaped plants with a tall stem and sphere of foliage and flowers at the top.  These evoke a sense of nostalgia in gardens, bringing back memories of the blooms our grandparents nurtured in gardens of yesteryear.

Their elegance ensures a timeless appeal, with standard roses proving as popular nowadays as they were with previous generations of rose-lovers.

Also known as tree roses, their dramatic shape is ideally suited to framing a doorway or defining straight or winding paths, although they’re just as valuable for adding height to sunny flower beds when underplanted with classic cottage garden plants such as lavender.

Maximum flower power for small spaces

Soaring property prices mean that the average Brit has to wait until the age of 34 before they can get their hands on the keys to their first home, with new-build and starter properties commonly offering little more than a postage stamp-sized garden.

Compact living is driving the trend for top-performing plants that thrive in small spaces, and Peter Beales Roses has something for everyone when it comes to compact bush or patio roses that won’t outgrow their welcome.

Heavenly Hybrid Teas

With showy, often single blooms adorning the end of each stem, Hybrid Teas conjure up the classic image of a rose. There’s a huge choice available, and when the first blooms emerge from pointed buds in early summer, it’s the start of a show that won’t run out of steam until the first frosts of autumn.

Ramblers for a riot of colour

Peter Beales’ range of ramblers represent the very definition of informality combined with classic charm.

Ramblers are the go-to choice if you adore the breath-taking site of a rose clambering up into a tree.  These vigorous growers make light work of establishing on pergolas and walls because their flexible branches are easy to train or tie-in.

By choosing a rambler from Peter Beales Roses, your garden will play host to a spectacular display of flowers in early to mid-summer – and although many rambling roses only flower once – when they bloom they do it with such fanfare that their large clusters of small flowers are a sight to behold.

Wild and wonderful roses to boost biodiversity

If you’re a fan of wildlife gardening and enjoy a natural, informal plot, then wild roses (also known as species roses) are a dream come true.

With a more natural appearance, blooms of wild roses enhance biodiversity, attracting bees and beneficial pollinators. Although many put on their display in one flush, usually in early summer, the colourful hips (ornamental fruits) that follow if spent blooms aren’t removed are an excellent source of food for wild birds.

Enjoy the best of both worlds with modern classics

When plant breeders create a new rose that’s laden with gorgeous blooms and uplifting perfume while displaying robust, healthy growth, a modern classic is born.

That’s what the experts at Peter Beales Roses have accomplished over the past 30 years, thanks to an intricate programme of breeding and hybridising, giving rise to a contemporary collection of beautiful, classic-style blooms.

Gorgeous ground cover roses

Bare soil beneath shrubs and at the front of flower beds is the ultimate gardening missed opportunity. If your borders are a barren shade of brown, don’t worry, Peter Beales Roses has got you (or your soil) covered!

Also known as procumbent roses, gardeners are spoilt for choice in this category, especially when it comes to the brilliant Flower Carpet series. Featuring a choice of shades including scarlet, ruby, gold, pink, amber, cherry and white, and with a height and spread of around 60 x 90cm, these supremely healthy roses pack a floral punch that belies their compact size.

And if pruning fills you with fear, relax, because these roses simply need their growth sheared back by a third in early spring – it’s as easy as that!

And finally, while the name Peter Beales is synonymous with roses, you’ll also find a host of the finest perennials, shrubs, clematis and other climbers at www.peterbealesroses.com.

Find out more

Peter Beales Roses can be found on London Road, Attleborough, Norfolk, where you can view its two-acre rose garden, historic rose collection, garden centre, and an unrivalled programme of workshops and rose events. See more at www.peterbealesroses.com or call 01953 454707.