Boxwood As an Edging Plant with Roses

Boxwood

• Nearly 150 boxwood (Buxus) cultivars or species are commercially available. The plants vary in growth habit, cold-tolerance, foliage characteristics and size at maturity. Boxwood varieties suited to local conditions thrive with minimal care since the plants are not especially susceptible to pests or disease. They prefer neutral, well-drained soil, and shrubs protected from drying winter winds fare best. Groom to maintain boxwoods by cutting out dead, diseased or awkwardly positioned branches between growing seasons. Shear to shape anytime except during the last six weeks of the growth season.

Roses

• Roses are naturally suited to conditions similar to boxwood, preferring a neutral to slightly acid, well-drained soil, organic mulch and regular, deep irrigation. Both roses and boxwoods require maintenance grooming. Roses need a spacious, sunny location. Each mature plant requires thorough air circulation all around it, in an area not subject to high, drying winds. Gardeners choose from among climbing, shrub-type rose standards and miniature roses, taking into consideration color, fragrance and local climate adaptability.

The Formal Garden

• A formal rose garden traditionally expresses leisure and prosperity. The cost of maintaining an extensive array of roses surrounded by clipped, formal boxwood hedges and topiary is largely out of reach for the average home gardener. One or two rose standards or shrubs contained within a clipped boxwood frame, however, is reasonable for the hobbyist to maintain and delivers a formal accent to the grounds. Dwarf boxwood varieties remain compact. Common English boxwood attains a height of up to 20 feet to become a deep-green foil for a formal arrangement of roses.

The Informal Garden

• Boxwood grows into a billowy green shrub without pruning. Dwarf varieties remain suitably sized for edging the roses in an informally shaped bed. Larger types provide a casual background for the rose bed. Mix dwarf and standard-sized boxwood varieties for edging in front, around and behind the roses. Lightly shearing boxwood through the growing season encourages dense growth. Access to all the plants is essential; design spaces to accommodate the performance of routine maintenance chores as you plan formal or informal rose beds on paper.