Yes, groundcover roses are a thing – and for those of us looking to fill a garden border with fragrance, there’s one particular variety that will reward you with a scented carpet of perennial blooms and manage weeds at the same time.
Learning how to grow roses has a ton of benefits, and there are so many types to choose from, from traditional shrub plants to climbing varieties. Groundcover roses do exactly what they say on the tin: they’re adept at covering bare patches of ground, keeping weeds at bay and making them ideal filler plants for sparse garden borders.
For fragrant border fillers, there’s one variety that the experts recommend in particular: Rose ‘Flower Carpet’. There are a few colour variations to choose from, too…
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Gardening Express
Rose ‘Flower Carpet Pink’
A beautiful ‘Flower Carpet’ variety.
Groundcover roses are a no-brainer for rose enthusiasts with gaps in their garden borders – they deliver fragrance and beauty, with reliable blooms that come back every year.
When I spoke to Fothergill’s senior horticultural content manager, Pim Dickson, there was one series of groundcover roses he recommended in particular: ‘Flower Carpet’.
‘They show good resistance to disease, aren’t particularly fussy about soil, and have an excellent cover of bright, glossy, green leaves, which form an attractive backdrop to the flowers,’ he said.
A low-maintenance rose like Rose ‘Flower Carpet Pink’ from Gardening Express is ideal for filling the gaps in your garden border with minimal aftercare. It’s a fantastic groundcover plant for keeping weeds at bay, as it produces a thick mat of spreading dense foliage that acts like a natural mulch.
‘They produce loads of flowers throughout the summer and are available in a wide range of colours,’ Pim adds.
The broad range of colours is another thing that I love about the ‘Flower Carpet’ series of groundcover roses, actually.
‘If you like pretty pastel flowers with a soft, sweet aroma, then ‘Flower Carpet Amber’ is a great groundcover rose with apricot-amber, semi-double flowers which will decorate your garden from summer through to late autumn,’ says gardening and greenhouse expert Lucie Bradley from Easy Garden Irrigation.
Rose ‘Flower Carpet Amber’ is available to order from Crocus.
Or, if you prefer a monochromatic garden scheme, Lucie recommends Rose ‘Flower Carpet White’, which you can also buy from Crocus, for small, semi-double blooms.
‘Being repeat-flowering from late spring to early autumn, you can appreciate its soft, sweet scent for months,’ Lucie adds.
Groundcover roses are really low-maintenance, but keeping a few care tips up your sleeve will encourage even better flowering.
‘Feeding them in spring and early summer, as well as mulching to retain water and nutrients, always helps them grow stronger and better able to resist disease,’ says Pim from Fothergill’s.
It’s also worth looking out for rose suckers, which can compete with the main plant, and lightly pruning the plants every winter to keep them in shape.
What you’ll need
Vitax Ltd
Vitax Organic Rose Food
Slow-release fertiliser for healthy blooms.
Spear & Jackson
Razorsharp Advantage Bypass Secateurs
Spear & Jackson
Elements Carbon Hand Trowel
A hand trowel is ideal for planting smaller plants.
I think groundcover roses are one of the best solutions for gardeners looking to naturally keep weeds at bay and decorate their garden with pretty, fragrant flowers at the same time.
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