@Tropical_Willie: Ooh. Pictures. I am mad about rose gardens. The one in Berkeley, CA. is a paradise…sorted by color.
As I said, I am pretty casual…I did have my landscaper do some serious pruning in the early spring. And I try to dead-head. But I do not grow hybrid-teas or even David Austins (zone 5 is too warm) due to being in zone 4b.
I have only tough old warhorses…the Fairy, several wonderful rugosas (Blanc Double de Coubert), Thérese de Bugnet, some Double Knock-outs (fenced because of the deer) and some old wild roses I hauled down from the shores of Lake Placid, that I spotted from a canoe, way past the road access. I see that the deer have discovered it and have eaten all but one of the buds off. (Bugger. That means another metal cage).
All bets are off by July 1, when the Japanese beetles arrive; since I won’t spray, they get to co-habit with the roses for the rest of the summer.
(Peonies are so much easier. And they smell better).
The rose gardens at Duke U. were also phenomenal.