Sue,

Strangely, I had some similar thoughts recently, just because I'm relocating (to Victoria). I have some 70 roses at the moment, some nice and rare gems among them, and although I'm moving, I still care what will happen to them.

Therefore, I'm installing fully automatic watering system -- without that, you can say goodbye to your roses. Especially if you want to buy new roses, and they need LOTS of water while they establish properly during the first year. So with good watering system, you save yourself lots of trouble.

Second is controlling the growth. As you said, HTs need lots of care, bigger English roses too. They need constant pruning too. Old roses grow tall as well and are fragile. Climbers and standards need extra care and almost constant feeding. For a regular tenant, with no interest in roses, that's already too much.

So I believe that smaller varieties, namely Floribundas, smaller English roses and Polyanthas are perfect for you. Hybrid musks (say, Iceberg) will be ok too. Feed them well with slow reelease fertiliser mixed with manure and seaweed and they'll be fine for several months. They only need occasional pruning.

If there's one rose I'd recommend warmly for such purpose, that will be Mary Magdalene, a small but absolutely gorgeous English rose. It has compact growth, dense foilage always covered with showers of beautiful ivory white flowers that have magnificient fruity + myrrh scent. I havent's seen such a great little rose in a while.

- Tom

Renae resisted dying despite my worst efforts during the hot summer that I moved here, dug it up and potted it and forgot about it. It lives in the semi shade of the big gum tree that sucks the life out of the soil around it. Nice lush leaf growth despite it's conditions.
The ground cover roses that I planted on the bank at the front don't get watered, and have continued to bloom right through Summer. They are mostly reasonably modern named varieties from treloars.
I wish I knew the name of an upright growing rose that has small pink flowers and cute buds, that grew on the edge of the driveway here without water, blooming happily every year, and coping with the rough handling it got when I dug it up and potted it during the renovations. It is still doing well in it's new home, again in rough gravelly soil.
Cheers, Jan

Just a note about the colour of Mary Magdalene, which I find really beautiful rose; in the catalogue, it's said it has soft apricot-pink colouring, with Tea + Myrrh fragrance, but I find that colour fades quickly in Oz and it becomes ivory white tinged with apricot in less than a day. And for me it has sweet fruity fragrance base, not usual Tea, but fragrance is very individual experience anyway.
- Tom

Mutabilis - takes some shade, poor soil, no fuss pruning and, if you live in an area with a reasonable rainfall, needs no extra water after the first year. It has single flowers which are apricot on the first day, pale pink on the second and deep pink on the third. If you haven't seen this rose in a garden, I should warn you it doesn't look much in photos, which is probably why it isn't more common.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I just love Iceberg (I know that's politically incorrect) it's the backbone of my garden, so it's sure to get a gig in the new beds. Mutabilis I have too and I'm delighted to hear it does better when established. Everything in my garden is 14 months or less in the ground and Mutabilis is glorious but demanding care. Renae I will have to try, everyone speaks so well of it. Is it better than New Dawn? ND has stunned me with its vigour and number of blooms.
My absolute favourite is Mermaid, but tenants might be tempted to experiment with Roundup, if they have children.

Sue