Roses are still as popular as ever, with their flowers providing delightful scents and colour for many months of the year. Bush roses, for example, can turn whole areas of the garden into a sea of colour while climbing roses can be used to cover walls and pergolas. Even if you live in a flat or you don't have a garden, miniature roses can be grown in pot and tubs.

The most popular roses, and those with the largest varieties, are Bush Roses and they are divided into two main categories, hybrid teas and floribundas. Hybrid teas are arguably the most beautiful of all roses, bearing large, often scented flowers with a high centre and usually a large number of petals. Hybrid teas come in a wide range of varieties and colours, ranging from pure white through yellow, red, orange and pink. There is also a range of unusual colours on offer from lilac, copper and bronze and also two-tone varieties. Most hybrid teas have relatively straight stems and up-right growth. Most have bushy growth but less bushy than floribunda roses. The delicate beauty of hybrid tea roses means they should be planted in a shelter site and they need more care than other roses. Unlike floribundas, shrub or climbing roses, hybrid teas are best planted in groups of different varieties in a specific rose bed.

Floribundas, on the other hand, flower in clusters rather than individually. The blooms tend to be smaller and less elegant than hybrid teas but they have a big advantage in that they flower continually throughout the summer and autumn and provide a more prominent splash of colour. Their flowers vary enormously in size and colour and some are very fragrant, while others have no fragrance at all. Traditionally, they are regarded as second best to hybrid teas but with new varieties appearing each year, it is sometimes impossible to distinguish them from hybrid teas. Floribundas can provide many different uses in the garden, creating colour between ornamental shrubs that have finished flowering or as a low growing hedge, but they look their best when grown in rows, groups or in different varieties.

Climbing and rambling roses are hardy, vigorous plants, capable of growing stems several metres long. They flower on side shoots rather than the main stems, so the more side shoots a climbing rose has the more flowers it will produce. Climbing and rambling roses are very versatile, as they can be grown around doors, over trellises, fences and planted so that they can grow high into trees. Climbing roses can be grown on a north-facing wall, although they will produce fewer, paler-coloured flowers and are prone to pest attack such as aphids. Climbers need to be tied on to a support of some kind such as an archway, pergola, fence or trellis. They need to be feed more than their non-climbing relatives, as they grow more shoots each year. If you feed them generously, they will reward you with a longer flowering period and more flowers.

Patio roses are quite aptly described as the designer plant of the 21st century. With gardens decreasing in size, patio roses have become increasingly popular. The true patio rose is a plant some 45cms(18ins) tall with correspondingly small flowers and foliage to match. Patio roses are highly suitable for use in modern garden design and are in fact just as happy in small planting areas or where there are a limited number of pots and tubs. Nearly all of them are resistant to disease and particularly hardy, producing large numbers of flowers over a long period. So, whether your garden is big or small, there is a rose to suit everyone.

Next week, looking after your roses.

JOBS OF THE WEEK

* If weather permits feed your lawn with triple action fertilizer, which includes a balanced feed, a weed control and ferrous sulphate to control moss.

* Water, mist and begin to feed indoor plants regularly.

* Remove weeds from bed areas and apply an annual fertiliser around trees and shrubs.

* Start sowing seeds in good quality seed compost.