Climbing Roses
My first lists were hilarious - I neatly copied each rose variety, size, pruning requirements and so on into a spreadsheet. Roses which were suitable for tree-climbing had their own special page. Shade-tolerant climbers got special ticks.

I thought it would be really difficult to train a climbing rose. I worried and worried that I'd chose the wrong type of climber.

Now I know better - my climbing roses have done their thing, and I needn't have worried at all! My ramblers have been rampant, my archway roses have survived, and the roses in the trees haven't needed any help at all.

I have made a few mistakes - my Banksia Lutea, grown from a cutting, has recently had to be seriously trimmed out of season (it was completely covering the washing line). My climbing Masquerade gets badly rusted, but it is a personal heritage rose (from my first garden).

Here is my motley collection of climbing roses - with the odd rambler thrown in...

Santana Climbing RoseSantana Climbing Rose...
Sat 28th Feb 2009
One of my best buys in the category of budget rose specials is a healthy climbing red rose called Santana. I've enjoyed it blooming for years in my garden without giving it much thought - or even remembering to say thank you!
Ghislaine de FeligondeGhislaine de Feligonde...
Fri 29th Feb 2008
Oops. When I first wrote about the climbing rose Ghislaine de Feligonde I was rather rude. She was 'too small', with 'budget growth, budget sized blooms'... What an impatient rose gardener!
Wedding Day RoseWedding Day Rose...
Sat 30th Dec 2006
I'm sorry, but in my humble lady gardener's opinion, the climbing rose with the most romantic name of all, Wedding Day, doesn't quite cut the mustard. Not that roses are ever expected to cut mustard...
Clair MatinClair Matin...
Mon 24th Apr 2006
Clair Matin rose - what a delightful, flowery rose you have grown into, now that I've pruned away the greedy, overhanging trees and given you more of the simple things in rose-life - sunshine and water!
CasinoCasino...
Mon 16th May 2005
I bought the roses for the pergola in a bare-root rose sale frenzy. The climber Casino was a last minute grab-and-dash purchase. I knew it was lemon, and I was deep in my yellow-roses phase.
Rosarium UetersenRosarium Uetersen...
Fri 6th May 2005
My Uetersen rose has been growing in the house patio garden for four years now. It is positioned sensibly in sun underneath a sturdy pergola post - because Uetersen is a most beautiful, well-known climbing rose.
Cherry-Red RamblerCherry-Red Rambler...
Sat 22nd Jan 2005
When the first flowering roses are dead-headed (in theory) and resting in the mid-summer sun, this bright cherry coloured rambling rose starts to bloom. I think it's a modern variety - name unknown!
Dublin Bay RedDublin Bay Red...
Tue 21st Dec 2004
Dublin Bay is a tall red shrub rose, usually grown as a small climber. It's a natural choice for a country garden, spreading itself easily on a fence or filling a space in a border.
Bantry BayBantry Bay...
Tue 21st Dec 2004
The rose Bantry Bay has a more subtle pink colour than some of my other pink roses. I grow it over archways and along fences. Bantry Bay is a strong grower with short stubby lateral growth.
Compassion Apricot RoseCompassion Apricot Rose...
Sat 18th Dec 2004
The climbing rose Compassion grows up two of the pergola posts by the house patio. It's a sweet smelling rose with big blooms of salmon-pink shaded with apricot. My rose book claims that each flower has thirty-six petals - I haven't counted.
Phyllis Bide RosePhyllis Bide Rose...
Wed 15th Dec 2004
Phyllis Bide is a restrained (almost shy) small climbing rose with fluffy pinkish flowers. After rain they get beautifully speckled with darker pink spots. They remind me of flowers made of crepe paper.
New Dawn RoseNew Dawn Rose...
Wed 15th Dec 2004
New Dawn - you have been a disaster in my garden, and I feel dreadful - you are such a popular rose, with such strong rose-credentials.
Westerland RoseWesterland Rose...
Tue 14th Dec 2004
Westerland is a very popular moderate climbing rose in New Zealand gardens. The flowers are apricot-orange, and the petals have a satin sheen.
Moonlight RoseMoonlight Rose...
Tue 30th Nov 2004
I bought my first Moonlight rose after a serious bout of rose research. I wanted to grow roses other than the very modern ones, and the Hybrid Musks appealed as roses suited to a country garden.
Climbing Rose MasqueradeClimbing Rose Masquerade...
Tue 23rd Nov 2004
The lovely multi-coloured climber Masquerade is one of the early summer rose delights in the Moosey garden. But I should mention the rust that this rose seems to get - my Masquerade roses need to be sprayed.
Climbing Cecile BrunnerClimbing Cecile Brunner...
Mon 22nd Nov 2004
Every summer the beautiful climbing rose Cecile Brunner covers (or smothers) a fence and two cherry trees in the Driveway Garden with its delicate pale pink flowers.
Pink RamblerPink Rambler...
Sun 21st Nov 2004
This modern pink rambler completely covers the roof of the woodshed. The canes drip down all sides, and are covered in early summer with a mass of crinkly pink flowers.
MermaidMermaid...
Thu 3rd Feb 2000
Mermaid is a renowned country rose, thorny and unforgiving. It's not a pretty pretty rose - it tries to strangle any person foolish enough to weed underneath it or prune it. The single palish lemon flowers usually sit beside scruffy old buds.

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