In what general part of the country do you live? For example, Buck roses do better in the midwest than in the northeast. Here is what midwestgardetips says about Easy Elegance roses: "The Easy Elegance Series of roses are as easy to care for as flowering shrubs. Follow standard planting practices for shrub roses and feed once a year in very early spring with a slow release fertilizer. There is no need for a chemical regimen to control pests and disease. The collection was bred by Bailey Nurseries and is a perfect northern rose with blooms that rival grafted tea roses." http://www.midwestgardentips.com/hardy_roses_for_midwest_garden.html My rugosas get blackspot, especially Hansa. You can't spray them because they drop their leaves. Cane borers can wipe out most of the canes, and pulling out suckers is work. Rose de Rescht is another possibility. It is probably the best repeating of the Old Garden Roses and is very hardy. Country Dancer is another Buck rose to consider.

Paso, I would say don't be too concerned. Whenever designing either you either stick with masses of standard colors for strong statement in simplicity or you mix in a haromony other colors. There are so many ways to design its limitless. Personal taste will be different among anyone as well. Masses of reds are done all the time with roses around my area and done quite effectively. The trick is to use other plants in the areas you have left that will compliment in color the house and roses but will not replicate either of them. Use blue foliage or dark foliage plants. Ornamental grasses can help well because there are many blue colored ones that will also add a relaxed textural beauty to the rigid mass of red. A Russian sage has bluish foliage and blue flowers and mixes well with red rose masses. I don't know your zone but you could even plant white variegated miscanthus such as Rigoletto to offet the colors. You need bold to go with the bold, don't mix too many colors in remaining areas you have left or they will be lost and clash against the roses. good luck!

Thanks Henry. I think Flower Carpet Roses are under appreciated. The name is a bit deceiving because they are not exactly a carpet or ground cover. I planted two about 5 years ago. They get no fertilizer or spray. They do get a little black spot, the least of any rose I grow, including KO. The plant is bushy and stays wider than tall, maxing out at 5' high. The foliage is very shiny and healthy looking. The blooms repeat quickly and continuously. Flower Carpet Red: Flower Carpet Coral:

Your parterre sounds so lovely! I have a suggestion for the roses that you can find in Europe but not so well here any more. They are the Poulsen groundcover series that was called Towne & Country roses. I have grown two of them for years (Pebble Beach and Natchez), and they are very special groundcovers, imho. You can definitely cut them shorter and they will still bloom profusely. The foliage is miniature and perfect! They bloom in a ton of shade for anyone who needs that, which I do. The flowers aren't as big as the ones you are considering, though. They are very charming and just great roses, so I thought I'd mention them. The effect is like a miniature version of The Fairy. The names used vary, so check them out on Help Me Find. I'd probably check for Poulsen groundcover roses at any nursery you are considering and look them up to see if they are part of this series, because the marketing on these seems all over the map. More in the series whose names I remember: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3840.4 http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.24749.3 They spread sideways but no so much up. Groundcovers like to get very tall here, so the low growth is nice. They are just the best roses! Here is a link that might be useful: Pebble Beach (Poulen Towne & Country series)