These people must have acres! I've managed to squeeze about 42 into less than a quarter acre. I've fallen off the wagon and recently purchased Pope John Paul II to replace one that died-(Olympiad RIP) Last summer I put some nice annuals in that spot. The one I liked most was a red and white Pentstemmon-In the center of the plonk.
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I have 1/3 acre (supposedly) altho I think it's actually a bit more. My roses are crammed in to the beds like sardines. Most of them are planted about 18" apart. Altho, the first beds are more like 2ft. I always look at say to myself, "dang! I can probably squeeze a couple in here or there." That's what we "obsessed" rose lovers do. We "make" room! Plus we have the pot ghettos too. Aaalllll over the place!

We moved into a new house with 1/2 acre and almost no landscaping 7 years ago. I still have lots of room.....

Technically there is no more room - but like Beth said, you always find room! I took out a few that I was not happy with to make room for some roses in pots - but I have a huge pot ghetto - and I ordered more roses for this year - all going into pots again. Dreaming of someday having more space!

If you want to see what some of our gardens look like check out the Rose Gallery - there's a thread on there with pictures of individual gardens.

Aprille

I just went over to the Gallery, and it looks like there isn't anything newer than '03 on it. Some fixing to be done?

I have 58 roses on .18 acres. I think the key to having a lot of roses is defining what you must have as grass. Some folks on the forums here see no need for grass-ever. I need to keep some as I have kids and a Home Owners Association. Still, I have incorporated the sides of my home as well as the entire back 2/3s of my yard. In my case this back area was too sloped for lawn anyway, but even if it was level I would have likely used it for my roses.

Work on one area at a time with a vision of what you want there. When you have it filled start the next area. This systematic creation allows you to learn about your own soil and microclimate as you go.

I have a low tolerance for roses that have a high need for care. I am willing to prune in spring and fertilize but I am not willing to spray for fungus or spend endless hours watering. Only the toughtest roses make it in my garden so sometimes I will remove a rose. I try to do my research ahead of time so I can avoid this...but its going to happen eventually.

Many of us on the forums have small yards. I was just as surprised as you to discover that so many folks had small yards and TONS of roses!!

Yes, I have 1/3 of an acre and that has our house built on. I have about 300 roses. At last counting I discovered that I have less than 300, so I could order a few more:-). But I will get rid of a few that proved to be underachievers for years.
In addition, a few did me the favor to die off in last year's drought.

We live in a twin with not a big yard and I too am running out of room. Here is my slide show of my back yard so far. We have to keep space for the dog and kids trampoline!!I planted the rose bed with fountain last summer so that is last years project. Hoping for a arbor with a climbing rose back by the gate in our back yard this year. Really running out of room!!

Here is a link that might be useful: slide show of my roses in backyard

Barb, what is the yellow and orange rose called?? Really like it!!

Well you practically named it! Oranges n Lemons.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oranges n Lemons

I looked at your roses in your back yard. Believe me in a couple years they will get huge!

Jess, your roses are so beautiful they almost look artificial!!! They are so perfect.

barb, your arrangement is gorgeous. What talent.

Pots! I live on a suburban subdivision lot that's roughly 100 foot square. It's the biggest single lot in our subdivision actually. I have one tierd rose bed that has about half of my 75 roses in it and the rest live permanently in pots on my patio. I think I have 10 or 12 new ones coming this spring. I keep telling his nibbs we have too much grass and I need more roses but he isn't buying it.

Your garden and roses are really lovely, Jess.

mljan, did you try refreshing the page? I know Beth's garden view thread is there. I posted on it.

If you click on the Rose Galley link above, the posts are from 2003 so they are still working on link issues as stated above in the red text. You have to got to the Rose Galley through the main forums page.

dog and kids trampoline?
Jess, how nice that your dog uses the trampoline.

My old house had a lot 135X65 with about a third covered with the house, driveway, sidewalks and garage. My back yard was completly covered with roses. A 20X30 greenhouse was built over three rose beds and a pond. I grew 550 roses in the ground, a few more in pots on the driveway.
Rhonda says it all with deciding what you must have for grass. I did have a small lawn in front and on the parkway. This took me all of 20 minutes to cut. It took longer to get the mower out than it did to cut it.
I added roses every year although, towards the end, I had to be very selective due to space limitations. Because of my growing zone, I could plant on 18 inch centers. By mid summer the roses were intergrown but the overall effect was stunning.
Each spring I ordered 10 more roses than I had room for. Some years winter kill or poor performance made room for the excess, other years I had to make room for the excess and for any I picked up in my travels. I seldom returned from a vacation with out a slew of cuttings or half a dozen potted roses I'd picked up along the way.
So you see, rosepep, you don't need a massive garden and lots of space. You just need determination and a shoehorn. I must admit though, in your zone, 18 inch centers would be hard to do.
Planting in pots limits root size, resulting in smaller bushes so that's one way to do it.
That would make it easier getting rid of plants you don't want or moving them around to get a different look.

Rose Gallery. You have to remove the '2' from the URL to get to the "real" gallery.

I still have lawn that can be dug up, but there are no hard boundaries on either side of my front yard. Everything goes into pots now.

We live in a townhouse type place but nobody really has a yard to call their own (Subsidized houseing. They are decent but they can't make them TOO nice or nobody would want to leave). I have a cement slab outside the French Door that is about 12ft by 4 ft. Most of it is under the overhang and partition fence on either side so it is mostly shade. There is another building across the 'yard' from us so we get part sun. I have a pot ghetto but not overly large or I run out of sunny space. I put some at my parents and farm some out at friends' places so I get 'visiting rights'. Too many roses I want, not enough room.

....you don't need a massive garden and lots of space. You just need determination and a shoehorn.

Karl,

I just love the way you put things....*smile*

Ronda