Mini Rose Garden

It takes less than 30 minutes to create a mini rose garden using one patio rose in bloom and two companion plants with equal flower power. This proves that roses are not only for gardeners with large plots and deep pockets but for everyone that loves the queen of flowers. So, if you can’t go big, go small on a sunny patio.

What you Need for your Mini Rose Garden

• A medium pot placed in a spot with bright morning sun and afternoon shade
• 1 or 2 bags of potting soil
• Some coarse gravel chips
• A small bag of bark nuggets

What to Buy

• Any patio or miniature rose
• Bacopa ‘Abunda Colossal White’ (we used 2)
• Brachycome ‘Pacific Reef’ (we used 2)

About the Plants

Patio roses are smaller roses bred for their ability to survive in containers. Different rose growers have different ranges. We chose our strong little rose, with beautiful flowers on tall stems and many buds waiting to open, from the indoor plants section of the nursery. It was simply called ‘patio rose’. Potted roses, such as this one, are available year-round as hothouse-grown gift plants or potted colour, and are stocked by most nurseries and chain stores selling potted plants and flowers.

Bacopa ‘Abunda Colossal White’ is a free-flowering hybrid with large white flowers bred out of the indigenous Sutera cordata=Chaenostoma cordata. It is a heatloving, trailing ground cover and a perfect companion plant for roses. It flowers from spring to autumn.

Brachycome ‘Pacific Reef’ is a new hybrid of the old-fashioned Swan River daisy with dark green, scalloped foliage and bright, musk-pink flowers with yellow centres. Another perfect companion for a rose, this is an evergreen perennial ground cover that is seldom without flowers.

Potting Tips for your Mini Rose Garden

• Always water your plants a few hours before planting.
• Make sure that the pot’s drainage holes are open.
• Use a layer of gravel in the bottom of the pot for extra drainage.
• Use quality potting soil, not garden soil.
• Add some water retention granules to the soil. This inhibits the evaporation of moisture. Never allow the soil in your rose pot to dry out completely.
• After planting, add a layer of bark nuggets as mulch around the plants to keep the soil moist and cool.
• Feed the plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertiliser.
• Deadhead the Brachycome ‘Pacific Reef’ Bacopa ‘Abunda Colossal White’ flowers regularly.