Best Way to Plant Scented Roses for Garden Walls and Fences

One way to enliven patios and courtyards, as well as boundary walls and fences, is to plant scented rambling roses and other climbers among them. Some can also be trained to cover pergolas. Here are a few unusual yet enlivening fragrances to consider.

Cloves:

‘Blush Noisette’: Climbing rose with semi-double, lilac-pink flowers. It grows well against a wall.

Fruity:

‘Leander’: Climber (English rose): Small, apricot-yellow, double, flowers in large clusters. Ideal for covering a wall.

Musk:

‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’: Rambling rose, with blush-pink flowers that reveal a rich, musk-like fragrance; borne in large, dainty clusters. Very vigorous rose, so train over a large pergola or plant it to climb into a tree.

Myrrh:

‘Constance Spry’: Climber (English rose) bearing exceptionally large, cup-shaped and paeony-like, clear rose-pink flowers. It is ideal for covering a wall. ‘Cressida’: Climber (English rose) with apricot-pink, full-petalled flowers. It is excellent when trained up a wall.

Orange:

‘The Garland’: Rambling rose with small, creamy-salmon flowers with quilted petals and a daisy-like appearance. It is ideal for planting to grow over a small arch or pergola.

Apple:

‘Francois Juranville’: Rambling rose, with glowing pink, double flowers with a tint of gold at their centres. Ideal for covering a large arch or pergola. ‘Paul Transon’: Rambling rose displaying coppery-orange to salmon flowers in small clusters. Plant it to cover a small pergola or arch.

Paeony:

‘Gerbe Rose’: Rambling rose with soft-pink flowers tinted cream. Plant it to cover an arch. Also ideal as a pillar rose.

Primrose:

‘Adelaide’ d’Orleans’: Rambling rose with small, creamy-white, semi-double flowers. It is superb for trailing over arches and pergolas.

Sweet pea:

‘Mme Gregoire Staechelin’: Climbing rose with glowing coral-pink flowers flushed red. Vigorous and hardy, and ideal for a cold or exposed wall.

Sweetly fragrant climbers for walls

The range of scented climbers is wide, and they come in a rainbow of colors to suit all tastes and to contrast with any colored background. For example, yellow-or red-flowered roses are highlighted by white walls, while red brick walls contrast with white, soft blue and lemon flowers.

Here are a few sweetly-scented climbers to choose for a scent-and-color co-ordinated display:

• ‘Etoile de Hollande, Climbing’: Deep crimson and double.
• ‘Guinee’: Dark, velvety-scarlet, double flowers with black shading.
• ‘Lawrence Johnston’: Bright, clear yellow, large, semi-double flowers.
• ‘Mme Alfred Carriere’: White flowers slightly tinted fresh pink.
• ‘Zephirine Drouhin’: Bright, carmine-pink, semi-double flowers. Grows well against cold walls.