Pretty much everyone loves roses. We love their smell. Their vivid colors. Also their ruffled petals and high-rise cups. It’s also a flower that’s just as beautiful as a bud as when it’s in full bloom.
Valentine’s Day Dinner/Red Rose
With Valentine’s Day approaching, most of the focus on roses will be on the “red” rose. Known for symbolizing love and passion, it’s a perfect fit for a day devoted to romantic love.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned at Deck and Patio in our landscaping work — red isn’t the only rose color that people love.
Apparently we’re not alone in noticing it. Bruce Wright, editor of the Los Angles-based floral trade publication, has been quoted as saying, “Studies show that women don’t necessarily prefer red roses. “Indeed, most women prefer another color.”
Orange (apricot-pink) roses
Take for example this stunning apricot-pink rose that one of our designers added to landscaping around a client’s pool.
Such a dramatic hued plant gets attention, and in smaller spaces like this, it helps the landscape to recede behind it — causing the overall area to seem larger.
As for this color: without a doubt “orange” roses have the most attitude in the rose family. These beauties are known for enthusiasm, not to mention passion.
The color also suggests a sense of significance and even urgency — perhaps just the right color to draw your loved ones outside on a warm summer day.
Pink Roses
When it comes to pink roses — like these beautiful ones planted and cared for by Deck and Patio — their color symbolizes gentleness and poetic romance, making them another great choice for Valentine’s Day.
They are extremely delicate and graceful and make an exquisite statement in any garden.
Yellow Roses
Traditionally, yellow roses symbolize friendship but they are so sunny that they spread joy to anyone who stops to smell them.
The very earliest yellow roses discovered by Europeans was in the Middle East. But when they brought them home, they noticed they lacked the red rose’s enticing scent.
Through caring and cultivation the yellow rose soon claimed the same aromatic fragrance as their sister flora. You simply can’t go wrong with a garden blooming with sunny yellow roses.
Red Roses
And last, but by no means least, red roses! We planted red roses (foreground) when landscaping around a pond we installed for two of our clients. They blend beautifully with the variegated hydrangea to the right of them and the variegated hosta to the left.
All the plants pictured will attract birds and butterflies. But the dramatic red rose is the eye-catcher.
Needless to say: red roses symbolize love and romance like no other flower and also suggest perfection and beauty. As a Valentine’s Day gift or as a dramatic element in your garden, it’s a perfect choice.
Mystic Rose – Photo/Sandra Vultaggio
Caring for Roses
Whatever their color, roses need a bit of care in your garden.
Sandra Vultaggio, Horticulture Consultant at Suffolk County’s Cornell Cooperative Extension, says roses should be planted in the sun.
“Also, they need a good amount of air circulation around them,” she says. “Strictly avoid overhead irrigation or sprinkler heads. They will get more disease that way because viruses prefer wet environments. Keep them watered at the roots through a drip system or soaker hose.”
Sandra adds that the best time to plant is really any time throughout the growing season. “An ideal time would be early in the season — April or May.”
Knockout Rose
Deck and Patio gets a lot of requests for knockout roses, partly because they bloom for a long time throughout growing season and are much easier to care for.
They are known to be disease and insect resistant which has made them quite popular.
“Contrary to popular belief,” adds Deck and Patio owner Dave Stockwell, “while knock out roses are extremely hardy and withstand blights, that doesn’t mean they don’t need some care like fertilizer, pruning and water. Also, some knockouts have succumbed to rosette disease. But if you do the basics, and keep an eye out for any strange looking bright red shoots, these are a great choice.”
