Hurray have just finished digging my newest garden

Have spent the last fortnight steadily digging away at a new rose garden ...it is really just an extension of my iceberg rose garden on the front fence line (now down my side fence)..it was a total of 17 metres in length & the ground has been surprisingly soft to dig...if I hadn't had the now dead wisteria roots to contend with it would have been a lot easier..can honestly say I am now looking forward to a long hot soak in the bath to ease my aches away!!!

With a glass of wine and a rose catalogue I hope.

Good suggestion..

What kind of roses are you going to plant

The front garden on fence line is all white icebergs & does look spectacular with the constant flowering..not sure though whether to continue down the side with the same...as I have seen some beautiful roses & wonder if I shouldn't go for "blanket" planting ie 4 red; 4 yellow ; 4 whatever...do you follow me...yesterday I did place my white iceberg cuttings into the new garden...prob won't have 100% with strike rate but thought I might as well put them in there rather than my "hospital/strike garden"...my icebergs seem to always be in flower & basically disease free so am leaning towards just continuing with those.

you could try the other colours of the iceburgs, burg. and the hot pink together would make a great show.

HHmmm have thought that .....I do already have burgundy & the yellow in other araes of garden....have noticed they don't seem to flower as abundantly as the white & this could be because of the area..ie not as sunny...still an option I might take up....thanks

I went to a garage sale yesterday that had the most stunning roses I have ever seen. I was so gob smacked at the beautiful display that I could NOT concentrate on the bargains. 90% of the roses were white Iceberg standards with beautiful big thick heads and the main stems were as thick as small soft drink bottle. They were so healthy, no sign of disease of any type...I asked the owner what is the secret... he said "we neglect them". I don't believe that.... the wife is the gardener...lol.... They also has a wonderful, climbing white Iceberg growing up a support in the front of the house. Coincidentally, they live very close to a park that has wonderful rose gardens. Soil??? They were so amazing that they very near looked artificial.

Karingal...this is not meant to sound boastful..but we live in a small town & do you know I am forever having people comment to me about my white iceberg roses (probably because we are on a main road & they are very obvious)..I guess thats why I keep coming back to planting them in my newest garden...would have to say though as an individual flower they really just do not compare to my Pierre De Ronsard..love that rose

Have you got the new red one yet, she is a real beauty.


K. did you find any good treasures

rose lovers (some) turn up their noses at the good old icebergs....I like them cause I can basically hack at them year around and have great display....definitely not for picking though..... I have a burgundy iceberg and the flowering is pitiful.....

Always think of Iceberg as a great shrub to have in the garden. Always looks great in flower and never gets untidy like many roses do.

Thee didn't know there was a red version - is it just called red Iceberg.

Karingal were the standards you saw expensive?

I think it is a new one out, saw on the telly I think

Fran wrote:
Karingal were the standards you saw expensive?

Sorry Fran, I may have caused confusion.... the roses were growing the garden at the garage sale house, not for sale.
One thing I did notice that amazed me... some of the pruning appeared to have been done no where near a bud, yet the rose had grown a lovely new branch some 2 or 3 inches down from the pruning.... leaving a stump/type piece of the original branch which had no sign of disease etc. Maybe someone can enlighten me how/why etc??

It will eventually die back 'K'

I had to remove a climbing Iceberg here when we moved in. I would have kept it, but it's roots were under the house slab, and couldn't be dug out properly. It was a lovely plant, arching over the cheap and nasty falling down arbour, and i hated getting rid of it. I have never grown iceberg, other than the new climber i planted under the apple tree here last year. It's not the plant - which is clearly beautiful. It's the way it is marketed aggressively at the expense of so many other wonderful roses. BUT - it certainly deserves the popularity.
I am currently most in love with Paul Bocuse. A scrumptious and generous rose. I am seriously thinking of finding a home for several iceberg roses - bush not standard, as i am tired of roses that do not bloom generously and continuously.
Cheers, Jan

You could try freecycle Seri ?? may be someone in your area willing to dig them out and take them, seems ashame my only white one flowers continually for 6 months and usually cut it back when still in flower or near it's end

No - I mean finding a home in MY garden for them LOL
It always means digging a new bed of course.

Oh okies, sorry , well you certainly have the room and mass planting of the same rse type looks great

Several Icebergs would go well in a white/silver bed.

I had a house in Snug that had a white climbing iceberg sharing space with Wisteria - it looked wonderful. I've got white icebergs under my lounge window as we have a veranda over the window so the lounge doesn't get the best light. White seems to help reflect the light. Most of the front of my house ( south facing) is planted with white flowers.

5 weeks on......noticed today that some of the iceberg cuttings that I planted direct into the new garden are actually starting to shoot...basically just put them in to see if I'd get any results...biggest problem is I am leaving tomorrow for 5 -6 weeks & so am not sure that they will survive...have arranged for someone to come in every week & splash some water about so fingers crossed...my intention has always been to purchase more icebergs when I get back so I'm not really all that concerned.

who is going on a big holiday, lucky duck have a great trip etc........