The earliest cottage gardens were peasant constructs. Most of the early peasants lived and worked on a larger landowner’s property, and they had tiny gardens in which they needed to grow many things–most of those things were food and herbs. Gradually, flowers and roses became part of these primitive gardens, and to save valuable space, climbing plants were important,

“One certainty about cottage gardens is that every available square inch of ground was used. Vegetables and flowers crowded happily together….” Cottage Gardener’s Companion pgs. 6-7.

 

Awakening – Climbing Rose
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Moderately Fragrant
Disease Resistant

“Roses“Awakening is a sport of New Dawn that produces fragrant, old fashioned, 3 1/2″, fully quartered blooms of soft, silvery salmon-pink with a fresh, sweet fragrance. She is a continual blooming Climber with glossy, mid-green foliage.” Heirloom Roses

Rebloom	Continual Blooming
Year	1990
Approximate Size	10′ – 11’+ x 7′ – 8′

Claire Austin – Climbing Rose
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Planted in My Garden April 2024
Exceptionally Fragrant
Disease Resistant
Height: 12′
Partial Shade

“Claire Austin is a beautiful, arching bush with gorgeous, very full, globular, cupped, 3.5”, gentle lemon to nearly white blooms with 41+ petals. She is a repeat bloomer with an intense, myrrh fragrance. Expect several flushes through the growing season of stunning blooms and intoxicating scent. Claire Austin loves to climb so give her a trellis, arch, wall, or obelisk and watch her grow up to 12 ft tall. She can handle partial shade, and we recommend her for zones 5-11.

Fragrance	Exceptionally Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	5 (-20° to -10°), 6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°), 10 (30° to 40°), 11 (above 40°)
Rebloom	Repeat Blooming
Year	2007
Approximate Size	11′-12′ x 3′-4′

Kiss Me Kate- Climbing Rose
Arborose®
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Planted in My Garden April 2024
Exceptionally Fragrant
Disease Resistant
Height:7′

“TRENDING ROSE ALERT! Fall In love with the extremely fragrant Climbing Rose, Kiss Me Kate. We can’t get over her delectable fragrance filled with notes of apple, citrus, and raspberry. It’s no wonder she is the “must-have” rose of the year! Her pink, very full, quartered blooms put on a captivating display as she blooms in flushes throughout the season. Kiss Me Kate is a vigorously growing Climber with dark green, disease-resistant foliage. She tops out around 7’ in height and 4’ in width. Cover an arbor, trellis, or fence quickly with this lovely, medium-sized Climber, and don’t forget to bring the fragrance inside as she makes an impressive cut flower!”

Characteristic(s)	Cutting, Fragrance
Color	Pink
Specific Color	Rose-pink, darker reverse
Fragrance	Exceptionally Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	5 (-20° to -10°), 6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°)
Rebloom	Repeat Blooming
Year	2005
Approximate Size	7′ x 4′

Lady Banks – Climbing Rose [Lady Banksia]
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Planted in My Garden April 2024
Moderately Fragrant
Disease Resistant
Height: 15′ -20′
1824

“Lady Banks is the grandest of all Climbing Roses with the potential to grow up to 20′ tall! She can be trained to climb just about anything and does so with a grand display of flowers if you give her good soil drainage and sturdy support. Lady Banks is a rambling and nearly thornless rose that produces hundreds of miniature, yellow blooms and is a recipient of the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. Give her plenty of space and watch this drought-resistant Climber take off! Enjoy her all the way up to zone 9.” Heirloom Roses

Characteristic(s)	Thornless/Nearly Thornless
Color	Yellow
Specific Color	light yellow
Fragrance	Moderately Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°)
Rebloom	Once Blooming
Year	1824
Approximate Size	15′-20′ x 5′

Lady Banks is massive, and it needs a massive amount of support. In the following post, read how I have added used a large metal hoop to support my vigorous climbing roses:

Rustic Touches in My Cottage Gardens

Laguna – Climbing Rose
Arborose®
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Planted in My Garden April 2024
Exceptionally Fragrant
Disease Resistant
Height: 8′

Color	Pink
Specific Color	Dark Pink
Fragrance	Exceptionally Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	5 (-20° to -10°), 6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°)
Rebloom	Continual Blooming
Year	1994
Approximate Size	8′ x 3′

Peggy Martin Rose
Image Credit: Southern Living

The Pilgrim – Climbing Rose
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses
Fragrant
Disease Resistant, but it is susceptible to powdery mildew

“The Pilgrim is an excellent, pure yellow rose that combines extremely strong and healthy growth with 4″ blooms of 60+ delicate petals. His blossoms are quite large and evenly shaped, with many small petals opening to form a flat flower with a soft textured appearance. The Pilgrim makes an excellent cut flower for arrangements and his strong fragrance of tea and myrrh is a delight for the kitchen table. Train this continual bloomer to climb a wall, obelisk, or fence for a big statement piece in the garden as he can top out around 12 ft tall if given the space!”

Color	Yellow
Specific Color	Medium yellow
Fragrance	Exceptionally Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	5 (-20° to -10°), 6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°), 10 (30° to 40°), 11 (above 40°)
Rebloom	Continual Blooming
Year	1991
Approximate Size	8′ – 12′ x 5′

Zéphirine Drouhin – Climbing Rose
Image Credit: Heirloom Roses}
1868
Planted in My Garden April 2024
Fragrant
Disease Resistant
Height: 10′
Partial Shade
Free of Thorns

Rose Type	Bourbons
Bloom Types	Double
Characteristic(s)	Fragrance, Pots, Pollinator Friendly, Thornless/Nearly Thornless, Partial Shade
Color	Pink
Specific Color	Pink
Fragrance	Exceptionally Fragrant
Hardiness Zone	6 (-10° to 0°), 7 (0° to 10°), 8 (10° to 20°), 9 (20° to 30°), 10 (30° to 40°)
Rebloom	Continual Blooming
Year	1868
Approximate Size	10′ x 6′