In this post, I’m sharing my top 5 roses for a cottage garden. If you are looking for cottage garden roses to add romance and beauty to your front or back yard, this is for you.
All the roses on this list are from my personal collection, so I have a fairly good understanding of them, given I’ve been growing them for a few years.
Most of the roses I have are purchased online, some are through local nurseries. My favorite online source is Heirloom Roses. In fact, I have purchased several rose plants from them.
All of my roses in the list are repeat bloomers. I’m in a warm region, zone 9-10, so they bloom from spring all the way to fall.
I’m a big fan of repeat blooming varieties as I get to enjoy the beautiful flowers for a longer time in my small cottage garden.
Ready to learn some beautiful cottage garden rose varieties? Let’s start 🙂
Rose garden tour video
Here’s a video tour for my cottage garden roses from my Youtube channel
1. Eden Rose
I first saw this rose in a spring garden tour, and I was astonished by the beauty immediately. Later I learned it is Eden rose.
It is a climber rose, with large, old fashioned blooms. The petals are densely packed and the flower has a light fragrance
What’s unique about it is the color. The blooms are a blend of pastel pinks in the center, and cream and even greenish petals on the outside which I think is quite unique.
So as the flower blooms, the center gets unfolded, and the flower will become more pink.
It is a repeat blooming variety meaning it will bloom throughout the year, except for winter.
I have two plants on the two ends of my arch and. I’m hoping one day it will take over and put on a big show during the seasons.
Another variety in the Eden family is White Eden.
It has a very similar look, but maybe more cottage garden style as the color is lighter and more pastel which I really love!
I’m trying to train it to grow on my exterior wall. But right now it is still small bush.
2. Earth Angel Rose
Unlike Rose Eden that has a strong appearance, Earth Angel is more quiet but beautiful.
The flowers have a very soft, romantic look, and the color is more pink than apricot. As the flower ages, the pink will become lighter and lighter.
One thing that really stands out for this rose is the bloom shape. The bloom is shaped like a peony, but smaller, and the petals are packed in a very interesting way.
If you love the look of a peony but are disappointed that it is hard to grow and only blooms for a short amount of time, this rose is for you.
The plant itself doesn’t get too large, but over time it will produce more flowers.
In fact, during its first year, it produced only a few flowers. This year is its third, and this plant really put on a big show with tons of blooms.
There’s one thing to keep in mind: this plant has thin stems around the flowers, so sometimes when the bloom gets bigger, it tends to droop over.
By the way, the scent is spectacular – it has a fresh fruity note, definitely a crowd pleaser.
3- Princess Charlene De Monaco Rose
So what’s interesting about this rose is the petals are very ruffled creating a very interesting texture.
The flower itself is more of an apricot color than pink. The flower is shaped like a cup when open and I do think the bloom itself is quite large compared to other roses in my garden.
What really made princess charlene stand out is the strong fragrance. It is probably the most fragrant rose I have ever had.
When I clip some flowers and put them next to my bed, that small region will smell like roses, which doesn’t happen with a lot of other roses.
Also this rose has a very long vase life, so it is great to use as a cut flower. Most of my roses will wilt after a few days in a vase, but this one can last almost a week, sometimes more, so I’m very impressed.
You can see a rose vase life comparison at the end of this post.
4. New Dawn Rose
New Dawn rose is a prolific climber, and that’s why I chose it for my garden pergola. I have had it for around 3 years.
In the summer it produces so many blooms on top of my backyard pergola. It grows pretty fast, probably faster than Rose Eden.
In the summer it produces tons of light pink flowers. The flower itself is a medium size, not as big as Eden, but with so many flowers blooming at the same time, it is really impressive to look at.
I’m also a big fan of the light blush pink color and delicate petals. I think this rose makes a great climbing rose for cottage gardens.
5. Moonlight In Paris Rose
Moonlight In Paris rose is not as famous as some other roses, but it is for sure a gem.
I have to admit I originally bought this rose for its romantic name, but it remains one of my favorite cottage garden roses.
First of all, it is a very productive bloomer, as it forms clusters of blooms and grows really fast. Plus, it has a nice fragrance.
Flower is pretty large, dense, and in an apricot color. It has a large yellow center when open, and that’s just like the moonlight.
Interestingly, the yellow centers sometimes are in a heart shape. So heart plus moon color – maybe that’s where the name is coming from?
If you are looking to build a romantic cottage garden rose collection, this rose is a must.
Rose vase life comparison
So for this post, I’m doing an experiment comparing three of my roses to test their vase life. What I have are Eden, Princess Charlene and Earth Angel.
Here’s a video of the rose vase time lapse. You can see princess Charlene last for a long time, and Eden lasts even slightly longer!
My tips for a long lasting rose bouquet:
- Choose varieties that last longer, such as Eden and Princess Charlene De Monaco.
- Clip the the stems when blooms are semi open.
- Cut the stem at an angle to maximize surface to absorb water, and take off any foliage that goes below water line.
- Optional: plunge half of the stems in boiling water for 10s – I’m guilty of this as I usually get lazy and skip this step 😛
How I maintain and care for my roses
I would like to simply touch on how I care for my roses.
Because both my husband and I are busy with our day job and various hobbies, we don’t have a lot of time to care for or fertilize them. So I thought I’d share some tips on what are the essential tasks for growing roses in my opinion.
So here’s are a few things we try to do per season.
Spring.
For us, spring is all about aphid control.
Aphids are very attracted by young rose shoots and buds. To cope with that, we add worm casting to the soil in late winter. Worm casting has some ingredients that will kill or deter the aphid population.
So that helps a lot, but of course it doesn’t remove all the aphids especially when the population is strong.
So in the spring I also hand remove aphids whenever I see them. You can also hose them off with water.
Summer through Fall
Summer is about fertilization. We use organic liquid fertilizer a few times, basically every month or every two months. Our favorite liquid fertilizer is Alaska Morbloom Fertilizer.
You can do it more often if you are able to. Liquid works faster and this will ensure rose plants get enough nutrients to keep putting out blooms until fall.
During this period, I also keep deadheading the spent blooms, this is because you want the plant to reserve energy for more blooms instead of producing rose hips.
Winter.
Winter is pretty simple, I prune my rose bushes to a manageable size, generally 2-3 feet tall and trim off all the weak stems. I also feed them compost and worm castings.
So this is a snapshot of how I maintain my cottage rose garden, and I hope it is helpful. I have a lot of plants but very limited time, so I hope these tips are helpful if you are in a similar boat.
I hope you enjoy my recommendations of best cottage garden roses – my personal take!
And let me know what are your favorite cottage roses? As I’m always interested in getting more roses for my backyard cottage garden 🙂
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