Rambling roses

[notarehearsal]

I'm planning a cottage style garden and have a ( hopefully ) gorgeous clay paver path being put down very soon. Either side of the path are large areas for planting and fencing. Now I've planning on having rambling roses up the fencing
My problem is Ive been looking at the David Austin roses and, as I need about 12 this would just be too pricey. Or can someone assure me the high cost is worth it please?
Has anyone any other ideas for buying this amount of roses from elsewhere?

How long is the fence? Rambling roses do spread a lot, once they are established.
There are cheaper growers, you might find what you are looking for at another grower.
Also it's sell off time at lots of nurseries you might get them cheaper.

The left fence is about 24 ft long and the right is 60 ft I think going by the hazel fence panels. I'd planned one rose per fence panel
Another question is what would you advise as I'm not sure whether to have the same roses along each fence or different ones but in a similar colour. I quite like pale pinks and creams / apricot

Parkers bulbs do some great deals, also check to see how far they ramble. I love Handel and that is a moderate rambler wherewas rambling rector will colonise a fence in no time.

You may be able to pick up some quite cheap pot grown climbers at garden centres right now, reduced because its the end of the season. You can order bare root ones which would be better from a horticultural POV from next month onwards for delivery and planting over the winter.

IIWM I would go for varieties that give you a spread of flowering over the seasons and a mix of types: that is to say some old fashioned e.g. 'Gloire de Dijon, more modern e.g. 'Galway' and a rambler or two such as 'Kiftsgate' which will romp away and cover quite a large area in a few years. All of those should suit your colour requirements too. Don't forget some companion planting of garlic and marigolds to ward off pests.

Some ramblers only flower once a year, so I'd go for a mixture. Felicite Perpetue is a lovely blush pinky white one that flowers in June and rambles far! American pillar is multi flowered candy pink and flowers July/ August, but more compact.
The whole project sounds lovely.

Oh thanks so so much all. I'd really like to start planting soon and get the pot grown ones cheaply as the garden is costing me thousands and I'm running out of money! David Austin seems might expensive so I may well have a look at garden centres to see if they have any left from the summer
Does anyone have any other growers names I could look at please?

The thing about David Austin compared to Parkers is the quality. You will find Parkers ok but they will have a lot thinner root system and so will take longer to cover the fence. David Austin roses provide much stronger plants, will flower really well and are guaranteed for 3 years.

I would buy David Austin and fill the I between with either annual climbers or summer Jasmine until the roses are established.. Banksii Lutea is a beautiful, fast spreading, highly scented rose. It flowers in April so I would plant that closest to the house. The Fairy and Albertine are great if you like pink flowers. Also very fast growing.

I try to avoid the multi headed ramblers. I was once was swayed by Velchenblau, which is blue and grew really quickly. It produced masses of flowers. The problem I found, was that they looked really ugly as the flowers died back while there were still flowers coming out. It was impossible to dead head. So I cut my losses and took it out. Another fast spreader is Ramblimg Rector, but it is rampant so be prepared for lots of pruning unless you are happy for it to take over.

If you want a strong climber to add a bit of height, then Tranquility is very pale cream with a buttercup centre. I have this planted inbetween my ramblers .

I find David Austin customer service excellent. It is worth giving them a call to help you plan a long floweri g season.

Rose growers - I would recommend specialists such as Harkness and Beales as having a good range, and from personal experience.

Austin's breed a lot of their own varieties of a certain type, i.e. new but bred to look old fashioned. I don't have a single one of theirs because they are not to my taste, but that's just personal and if you like them why not go for it.

I just love your ideas, many thanks. Especially love Tranquilty which I'm going to get for an area in the garden near the house. Once the path is complete I'll post a photo here to show what I'm babbling on about!

I would caution against planting 12 ramblers. Most flower only once a year, albeit spectacularly, and they are pretty rampant. The David Austin website gives a reach of 60ft for Kiftsgate. I can imagine a nightmare pruning a huge tangled thorny mass. I would suggest a mixture of ramblers and climbers. Get repeat flowering varieties and more climbers than ramblers