If you want to contribute to a better climate and more biodiversity, replace slabs with greenery! Roses are perfectly suited for this purpose. They will brighten up your façade or garden, and even better: you can do your bit for the living environment.

Colour and fragrance

Climbing roses need only a very modest soil area; the space of one or a few slabs is enough. A rose will brighten up your façade or add prestige to the entrance. Another excellent idea: shrub roses in a walled garden, along a fence or near a shed. You could also remove a few slabs along a patio or path to create one or more rose hedges. So, take another look at the possibilities through rose-tinted glasses, as it were. You will be contributing to a better living environment while enjoying colour and fragrance for months on end!

Getting started

Step 1: Out with the slabs.
Step 2: Replace as much sand as you can with garden soil and mix in some compost.
Step 3: Add water to the planting hole.
Step 4: Carefully remove the rose from its container and plant it slightly away from the wall (so that rainwater can reach the plant more easily). Planting depth: If there is a thickening at the bottom of the stem (this is the grafting site) it should be 3 cm below the soil, or otherwise the same as in the pot.
Step 5: Tamp the soil gently.
Step 6: Work some organic fertiliser into the upper level of the soil.
Step 7: Give your rose plenty of water in the first few weeks (especially if under a canopy).

Rose facts

• Most roses like a sunny spot
• A climbing rose will not climb by itself, you will need to train it up.
• Semi-double roses and roses with open hearts contain heaps of pollen, which bees adore.
• They are perfect nesting and hiding places for birds, who love to feast on the rose hips.
• Rose petals trap particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone, so they have a positive effect on air quality.

Visit www.roses4gardens.com for more information and rose inspiration.

To view an excellent range of roses at Harkness Roses click here

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