The bed may abut the fence but the roses do not need to be exactly on the edge of the lot line. They can be IN the bed. The soil cannot be so horrible because there are trees, grass and weeds growing everywhere. You could improve the soil. A raised bed invites troubles.

It’s near impossible to dig a hole. We need a pick axe. We have a lawn service that is excellent and this is as good as it gets. If we plant roses just in the ground as it is, what type of edging would look nice? We are new to all of this and want to add color and a bit of decor to the yard.

I agree with tozmo. Set the raised bed far enough from the fence so you can walk around it to care for the roses and optionally mow the lawn ( I think a gravel or mulch path is easier to maintain.)

I have a question that might save you a lot of heartache as you start your rose bed. Have you had experience with roses? When I got started with roses, I had a vision that had many fits and starts that finally after five years I've gotten right. If you've never had roses, I'd be happy to share some things to watch out for before you begin but if you're experienced with roses, I'll just sit back down. :-)

"... near impossible," is not the same as all the way impossible. The fine line makes a difference. Have you tried soaking the area with a sprinkler the day before, for two or three hours, and then tried digging? Using a fork instead of a shovel? That usually helps a lot. And then you can remove some soil and replace it with compost/organic matter/peat moss .... anything that will help lighten and make it friable, while still retaining some moisture. Even some sand can go in as one of the components.

Thanks everyone! Tozmo1, I’d love your rose help

I think we will make a level bed not on the perimeter as suggested. We will mix manure, our soil and potting mix together. Any less expensive edging ideas?

Trench edging. The only cost is your labor and it's extremely handsome

Rent a motorized post hole digger with a 10 inch bit. Shouldn’t take that long to have the soil broken up. Like Yardvaark says, replace some of the soil with compost/organic matter/peat moss etc. Totoro’s suggestion of a gravel path would be great as you won’t see it once the roses grow up. If you want to keep the grass behind the bed just plan on mowing or weed waching….. have fun

My tips: (from central North Carolina)

Roses need watering often. You need to do drip irrigation on a timer or be prepared to manually water a lot. If you do drip irrigation, make sure there is an alternative water source for thirsty squirrels who will dig down to the dripping water and take a big bite of your waterline, causing water to shoot in the air, wasting money and water. I put out pans of water for the critters around the bed so it's "drinks on the house, no work involved!" to keep them from my lines. I've gotten very good at repairing drip lines but the water pans seem to satiate them for now.

Roses will catch every fungus and attract every bug, so you have to spray religiously for both at the right time of year for each, about 10 times a year at least from early spring to late fall. Learn the right times of year to do things and do it with quality chemicals.

You must be a lot more brutal than you want to be to cut the roses back in the fall to get good blooms in the spring/summer. You also have to dead head correctly (lots of youtubes on that) to keep them blooming all summer if that is the habit of the variety you have chosen.

If you or your next door neighbor have knockout roses, be aware that they get a rosette virus that will spread to your roses and cause red stems to pop out of the plants. This is the kiss of death and you must pull out the entire plant, dispose of it in a plastic bag and ask your neighbor to do the same for their knockout roses. In other words, if you have a choice, don't plant knockout roses anywhere near your roses.

Finally after killing several roses, I decided to hire a service from a local rose garden to do my spraying, mulching and fall cut back. Money well spent and it's really not that much for the pleasure the roses bring me.

Good luck!

You can grow roses without spraying. Just buy disease resistant varieties like Kordes and the newer Austins. Also don’t expect perfection all the time especially late fall.

I bought heirloom roses that are David Austin shrub and hybrid tea varieties .
I do have knock out roses in the front of my house and did notice I had the red growth growing from a few branches. I wouldn’t have ever guessed that was a virus. I sprayed the plant today because it’s leaves had holes on them but no beetles seen. Garden shop near me gave me a spray.
Should I still toss out that rose?
It’s not close to where my new roses will be, but I am doing other plantings of shrubs etc near the rose.

Could you please post a picture of the foliage. Many roses' new growth is red. It's perfectly normal for certain roses.

Good advice on rosette virus with photo

The leaves aren’t red. It’s a stem coming from the bottom that was red and I cut it off. I’ll see if I can find another and take a photo.

A single red stem with leaves that eventually turn the normal color is not this virus. As Vaporvac says below, that is very normal on certain roses. The virus will look like the photos in the link and you will have many of the growths.

Ok, that’s a relief!

Do I need to do drip irrigation if I have a sprinkler system?

Here's an article on various watering systems for roses. A good summary of all options. It mentions controlling fungus and disease. Overhead sprinkling encourages it but there are options to use certain kinds of sprinkler heads with a sprinkler system that will work.

Just to address all possible issues beforehand..... are there deer around your property? I see a little spot of woods there behind you. I live just north of you, with woods all around me, and the deer have been the kiss of death for my roses.

Is this it?

Is this the virus? My Mom’s roses

I don't think so, that looks like new growth that can often be reddish. Rosette virus leaves are a lot more "feathery" looking and bushier.