Are you putting in any trees? That will affect rose placement, the 18" beds won't be big enough for roses. Beautiful stonework by the way.

Jane

I think roses would be fabulous in the potager garden with the fountain in the center if they get enough water. It looks so romantic.

My mistake, I grew veggies in raised beds that had bottoms, I get it now. I have a rose bed encircled with 10" stone walls, the water does drain faster there than in open ground but the roses love the extra heat, something in short supply during our summers. I also have 2 fruit trees encircled the same way, same conditions apply.

Beautiful potential here. Love all the stonework. I would put roses in by the fountain you plan on having. If that is the focal point you should have pretty flowers to accompany it!

Thank you for the suggestions and complements everyone.

Yes, the beds all have soil in the bottom so the roots can dig down deep. They are also all lined with gopher wire throughout the yard.

No trees planned in this area. Dwarf citrus are going on the far corner, but that's way far away from both options for roses, on the other side of the yard.

All of the beds are 6 feet wide on the interior. Tons of room.

So... given that, my main concern is with the heights of the raised beds.

The beds in the potager garden around the fountain are 3-4 feet tall (remember, soil bottoms lined with gopher wire). Waist height so I wouldn't have to bend over. Perfect height for a vegetable garden, since that is what I originally planned there.

Roses would be lovely there too. That's my dilemma! :) But isn't a waist height raised bed a little high for roses? What do you think?

I know it's hard to imagine it completed since it's in progress, so just to give another visual... planting the roses in the waist high potager garden would be like planting roses in these beds. Too high right? I think I'm talking myself out of it...

Cori Ann - stunning!!!! Wow!!!!

I'm looking at it from another angle. Bees love vegetables and are integral to a vegetable garden. If you're not afraid of bees, they may like to be near the water that you'll have. Although they may get more peace being out of the way.

Aesthetically I would plant roses in the shorter plots and veggies in the taller ones.

And being in zone 9 - your roses are going to get very big unless you opt only for shorter roses. So if they're in the taller plots, you may not even get to see the roses.

I can't wait to see your yard in bloom - what a masterpiece you've created!!! :)

Carol

Thank you Carol. Wonderful point on the bees. And you're right about roses growing like crazy in my inland area of northern California. I have around 30 in the front yard and they grow so fast... with few problems and very little care even though I don't spray. Although I have to admit that I choose roses that grow well here, will require little care and I do make sure to keep them well ventilated by planting them far apart with just mulch underneath. There is a little planning that goes into it so I guess I can take some credit for that. :)

I will stick with my original plan. Organic homegrown veggies in the potager garden and the roses up towards the house and the main patio. Maybe I will just add a few fragrant rose bushes near the potager garden so I can enjoy their beauty while I'm tending to the veggies.

I can't wait to see my yard in bloom too!!!! Like any remodel, it has been full of ups and downs, but now the dream is materializing and it is just lovely. :)

Yay!!! Sounds awesome!! I'm really excited for you!!

Carol

That does sound beautiful. There are always miniature roses too that could intermingle with the veggies.

I can't wait to see it all planted! Lisa

Well, you would want to steer away from Hybrid teas at least..they can get really tall! praps polyanthas; they might hang over the sides a bit..

My dream garden has always involved a vegie potager and a fountain (when it doesnt extend to a small pond as well) with climbing roses on trellises all around- definately some over an arbour too, of course..

It looks lovely so far- and no bending over for the veggies would make things so much easier. I hope you post more pics when it gets further along!

Your hardscaping is beautiful. I have my roses in high raised beds in more of a cottage garden style. They do fine there and its great because you do not have to bend down to smell the blooms.

Word of advice: or several words of advice. Try to contain your excitement and limit yourself to one rose per bed. Especially in your zone. I did not and my yard is a jungle. It is OK but I'm faced with sp'ing some healthy roses which I can't bear to do. When the roses are not blooming I wish I had something else for interest. If you constrain yourself you can plant veggies and any other sort of things, it will be very appealing. When you put the roses in, they will be small and new but do try to be patient. Wish I could have been.

With the high raised beds you will have to be careful about moisture content, you might want to put in some sort of membrane between the compost and the hardscaping to hold in moisture.

Thank you so much Jasminerose4u, Lisa and Curdle. And Ninkasi that is great advice. I am definitely refining my skills in self restrain! :)

To put limits on myself, I'm trying my best to get just one rose per six feet this year, then wait and see how everything does before I put anything else in near them. I like your advice of containing my excitement. I'm trying! :)

Planting veggies in the potager like I originally planned is a good idea because I can easily harvest them and change it up. I like the ideas of miniature roses in with the veggies! I might try that... just one per bed in the potager. :)

I will definitely post more pics. The hardscaping should all be done by this weekend, so by next weekend I should have my new garden started!