If your city has a public rose garden, this should be an excellent time to visit it. In Portland, we have The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park and it should be at, or near, peak bloom. It is great to visit a large rose garden and marvel at the diversity of color, flower form, fragrance and bloom size. I can never select a favorite but high on my list is the rose ‘Jude the Obscure’. I first saw a large bed of this at Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, Oregon and liked it immediately. It is a David Austin Rose and has the form of an old fashioned rose, a strong fragrance and is a beautiful soft apricot color. It is an excellent bloomer as well.
All roses grow better with the help of alfalfa meal and a good quality rose fertilizer.