Rainbows can stop traffic as people pause to enjoy the gorgeous colors stretching out across the sky. So just imagine what adding a rainbow of roses could do for your garden! As I think of my rose beds and their many shades and hues, so many rose names rush to my mind. These gorgeous plants work together to create a beautiful blooming rainbow in my own garden. Here are a few of my favorites that can no doubt bring a glowing rainbow of color to your own landscape:

Passionate Reds


Veterans’ Honor rose

Veterans’ Honor®
(hybrid tea)

This beauty’s got velvety red blooms with a form that makes everyone smile – and the flowers last longer on the bush and in the vase than any other rose I’ve ever had! Its fragrance is light and fruity and reminds me of fresh raspberries. The plant easily reaches 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, so give her some room to spread out her canes for a bevy of blooms!
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
Liebeszauber™ rose

Liebeszauber™
(hybrid tea)

This fantastic bush is a Kordes rose from Germany. Her name means “love’s magic,” which truly describes her beauty and form. The wonderfully red blooms are intense against the medium-green foliage. The plant gets to be about 6 feet tall here in my Colorado garden and is very hardy. The only drawback is a lack of fragrance (to my nose it seems to come and go from bloom to bloom and is light at best). Still, this hybrid tea adds rich blooms borne on tall canes that help form the upper arch of our rainbow.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

Wonderful Whites


Queen Mary 2™ rose

Queen Mary 2™
(hybrid tea)

Her glowing white blooms seem sent from heaven as the sunlight dances upon her petals, which stand out clearly against the dark, rich-green foliage. She’s truly a sight to behold! This hardy rose grows 4-5 feet tall and handles the winters here with ease. Her intense rose fragrance with a slight hint of banana matches her unique pure beauty, making her my top white rose.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
Irresistible rose

Irresistible
(miniature rose)

As her name implies, this rose is simply irresistible. Soft-white blooms with a kiss of pink at the center make her a delight. She’s very showy and loads up with blooms that have a hybrid tea form, yet are much smaller – and she only needs about 2 feet of garden space. Irresistible doesn’t have a detectable fragrance, but the blooms more than make up for it.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
White Lightnin’ rose

White Lightnin’
(grandiflora)

Pure-white flowers are set against medium-green foliage, and the sight makes White Lightnin’ a true treat! As the growing season gets underway, this bloomer loads up with beautiful ruffled-edged flowers that give our rose rainbow a breezy feel. (The blooms can take on a faint tint of lavender at the edges as they start to fade). The medium fragrance has a pleasant lemony hint to it, and the plant easily reaches 4 feet tall.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

Pretty Pinks


Mary Rose®

Mary Rose®
(Austin shrub rose)

This sweetheart just captures my heart! Her pillowy, English rose-style blooms; thick, medium-green foliage; and strongly sweet damask rose scent make her a favorite. And she loads up with so many soft-pink flowers, her foliage nearly disappears! (The fantastic bloom clusters bring back childhood memories of pink cotton candy at the county fair.) Mary Rose is a big shrub, reaching 5 feet tall and at least that wide. She can literally make a pink rainbow of her own with her long, arching canes.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
Sexy Rexy rose

Sexy Rexy
(floribunda)

This one’s a “bloom machine,” and medium pink flower clusters make this rose a dandy for providing spectacular bouquets! Her light, sweet, rosy fragrance will convince you she’s been touched by a fairy’s wand. Sexy Rexy does love to spread out and needs a good 3 feet of space unless kept pruned to a smaller area.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

Yellow Lovelies


Honey Bouquet™ rose

Honey Bouquet™
(floribunda)

The bounty and beauty of her yellow blooms make this rose most welcome in my garden! As her name might imply, Honey Bouquet brings a unique fragrance as well, with a scent that reminds me a bit of sweet, warm honey (mmmm…mouthwatering!) The plant grows a little over 2 feet tall, but spreads out a bit more. (I allow her a 3-foot space.) She’s also the hardiest yellow-blooming rose I’ve ever had!
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
Golden Celebration™ rose

Golden Celebration™
(Austin shrub rose)

This deep-yellow beauty features tons of English-form roses. Mine is trained onto a black metal trellis, where she puts on many a striking bloom show! She has no problems with our winters here. Her fragrance is much like that of Mary Rose to my nose and just as intense. Golden Celebration is a good medium size – reaching 3 feet tall in my beds and 3-4 feet wide.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

Outstanding Orange


Hot Cocoa™

Hot Cocoa™
(floribunda)

I couldn’t finish my list of rainbow roses without mentioning Hot Cocoa. Her strikingly beautiful, fiery-orange blooms set against her glossy, dark-green foliage trimmed in a reddish hue really set our rainbow of roses aglow! Her moderately sweet rose fragrance is a true plus. This gorgeous grower gets to be a little over 3 feet tall and spreads out about 2 feet.
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

These are just a few of the countless beauties to use when starting your own rainbow of roses garden. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet at the pot of gold at that rainbow’s end – either in your garden or mine.