• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Me
A Cook And Her Books
  • STORIES
    • GARDEN
    • FOOD
    • DIY
    • TRAVEL
    • ART
  • CONTACT
  • Home
  • About Me
A Cook and Her Books logo

A Cook And Her Books

Your SUPER-powered WP Engine Site

  • STORIES
    • GARDEN
    • FOOD
    • DIY
    • TRAVEL
    • ART
  • CONTACT
Red Knockout rose planted in garden

Filed Under: Garden Tagged With: gardening

Growing Roses in My Garden

June 4, 2025 By Lucy Mercer Leave a Comment

I grow roses in my garden, but I don’t have what I think of as a “rose garden.” You know, the formal paths lined with boxwoods surrounding lovingly cared for roses, pruned and pampered to put on their best show. My garden is a “live and let live” kind of space, closer to what many would call a “rustic” or “cottage garden.”

Still, roses find their way into my landscape. I especially like shrub roses, the easy-care types that bloom in spring and keep up the show throughout summer. When I say “shrub roses,” most folks don’t necessarily know what I mean. But if I say “Knockout roses,” they immediately understand what I’m talking about. Alongside “Endless Summer” hydrangeas, “Knockout roses” is one of the most enduring horticultural brands, so much to the point that the product name is shorthand for an entire category of plants.

And you know what? They live up to the hype. In my experience, Knockout roses are easy care blooming machines.

Knockout Roses is celebrating 25 years of beautiful blooms in 2025. It is the most widely sold rose in America and has been for years. These easy care shrub roses are ubiquitous in both public spaces and home landscapes. Is it too much of a good thing, you might ask. I don’t think so. I love Knockout roses and enjoy sprinkling them throughout my landscape.

I’ve had great success growing Knockouts in containers on my deck in full sun. Also in my mailbox garden that gets the full force of the unrelenting summer heat and is far from the garden hose. Knockouts are tough roses that can handle both the insane humidity of Georgia summers and occasional droughty conditions and still pump out beautiful blooms and healthy foliage.

The good folks at Star Roses and Garden Media Group sent me a Knockout rose to try out in my landscape, in celebration of the brand’s birthday. I planted this beauty in my new full sun garden bed between a young Japanese maple and a small serviceberry, backed by arborvitae and pots of rosemary and lavender. Its rosy red blooms can be spotted from many angles and the sweet scent carries on the summer breezes.

Welcome to my garden!

Knockout rose plant in a garden bed
Red Knockout rose planted in full sun garden bed. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Just a note to add that this is not a sponsored post.

More Stories from A Cook and Her Books

My Story in American Gardener Magazine
Adopt-A-Flower in Juneau, Alaska

Join the Conversation

Let’s talk about gardening, food, travel and more on Instagram and Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!

« Previous Post
Let Cilantro Go to Seed

About the Author

Lucy Mercer

Subscribe to A Cook And Her Books Monthly Newsletter!

Privacy Policy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Stories
  • Contact

Read More Stories!

  • Garden
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Travel
  • Art

Contact Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Sign Up Now For More!

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter for fresh tips on gardening, food and books delivered to your inbox.

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Lucy Mercer. All images and words belong to Lucy Mercer unless otherwise attributed and may not be reproduced without written permission.

Privacy Policy · Sitemap