Spring is the perfect time to tackle those garden projects that set the stage for the entire growing season. Recently, we spent a glorious sunny day in our Zone 6A garden in upstate New York focusing on pruning our stunning smoke bushes and creating a spectacular container planting featuring a climbing rose and clematis. We also want to share our top picks for easy-care roses that deliver maximum impact with minimal fuss.

Understanding Smoke Bushes: The Garden Chameleons

Smoke bushes (Cotinus) are some of the most dramatic and colorful shrubs you can grow, offering spectacular foliage that changes throughout the seasons. We have two standout varieties in our garden that couldn't be more different despite being closely related.

Wine Craft Black: Dramatic Dark Foliage

Our Wine Craft Black smoke bush is an absolute showstopper with its rich, deep purple-black foliage that creates a striking contrast against brighter garden elements. This variety is theoretically supposed to reach 4-6 feet tall and wide, though like many garden plants, it has its own ideas about size!

Last year, we tried the coppicing technique (cutting it nearly to the ground), which resulted in vigorous new growth but left the plant a bit too tall and spindly for our liking. This spring, we opted for a more moderate approach:

1. Identify the framework branches: We kept the strongest, thickest stems to form the structure of the shrub
2. Create a dome shape: We pruned higher in the center and shorter on the sides to create a pleasing rounded form
3. Remove spindly growth: Any branches thinner than a pencil were removed entirely
4. Clear the interior: Crossing branches and inward-facing growth were removed for better airflow

When pruning smoke bushes, you're always embarking on a bit of an adventure, as they can respond unpredictably. Sometimes they branch out where pruned, and other times they send up "firework" clusters of new growth.

An interesting observation: when we crushed a leaf, we noticed a delightful herbal fragrance - a pleasant surprise from this ornamental shrub!

Wine Craft Gold: A Beacon of Brightness

Our second smoke bush, Wine Craft Gold, has taken a completely different trajectory in the garden. Though also rated for 4-6 feet, it's easily twice that size! Its brilliant chartreuse-gold foliage creates a luminous focal point visible from every angle of our garden.

For this specimen, we decided on a minimalist approach:

• Only branches pointing directly at the house were removed
• The overall size and shape were preserved
• We treated it more like a small tree than a shrub, maintaining its natural form

Unlike the Wine Craft Black which we grow primarily for foliage, we left this one unpruned enough to develop its signature "smoke" blooms (the feathery, hazy flower panicles that give the plant its common name).

Creating a Spectacular Container: Rose and Clematis Pairing

One of our favorite garden design techniques is pairing climbing roses with clematis vines. The combination allows you to enjoy two different flower forms and colors on the same structure, creating a display that's greater than the sum of its parts.

The Perfect Plants for Pot Partners

For our largest container (a massive Karima planter from Campania International), we selected plants with similar growing requirements and heights:

• Rise Up Lilac Days Rose: A compact climber (5-8 feet tall, 2-4 feet wide) with lovely lavender-blue scented blooms, hardy in zones 4-9
• Jolly Good Clematis: A purple-magenta flowering clematis with similar stats (6-7 feet tall, zone 4-9)

Both plants have proven themselves in our garden—the roses thriving in containers through winter, and the clematis performing well but needing more sun than its previous location provided.

Transplanting Tips

Moving established plants can be stressful for both plants and gardeners! Here's our approach for success:

1. Prepare the destination first: We calculated the necessary soil volume (7 cubic feet for our container) and had Coast of Maine Annual Soil ready
2. Careful extraction: We gently removed the plants from their original locations, working to preserve as much of the root system as possible
3. Customized soil mix: We used annual soil for most of the pot but added rose and flower soil in the immediate planting area for the perennials
4. Proper placement: We positioned both plants at the same soil level they were previously growing at, with a slight adjustment upward to account for settling
5. Support system: We installed a sturdy obelisk for climbing, positioning it securely in the pot before the soil settled
6. Immediate watering: A thorough watering helped settle the soil and eliminate air pockets

A Seasonal Surprise

To celebrate our spring project, we added a ring of violas (Sorbet Pink Wing and True Blue) around the container's edge. These cool-season bloomers will provide immediate color while the rose and clematis establish themselves, buying us several weeks of beauty before our summer annuals take their place.

The violas also set the stage for our garden's color theme this year—purple and pink combinations throughout the landscape.

Our Top 6 Easy-Care Roses

Not all roses require intensive maintenance! Here are our top picks for roses that deliver beautiful blooms without demanding constant attention:

1. Oso Easy Peasy

This aptly named landscape rose lives up to its moniker with carefree performance. Its vibrant dragon-fruit pink blooms don't require deadheading, and pruning is completely optional. Hardy in zones 4-9, it forms a compact 2.5-3.5 foot mound that's perfect for creating colorful drifts. We've planted seven in front of our Tromner blue spruce, where the saturated pink plays beautifully against the blue-green needles.

2. Ringo Double Pink

Perfect for the front of borders at just 1.5-2 feet tall and wide, this zone 4-8 rose produces masses of pink blossoms with rich ruby centers. Already showing swelling buds in early spring, it's a low-maintenance option that delivers big impact in a small package.

3. Reminiscent Crema

This newer introduction features blooms in a unique color that's neither quite white nor yellow. Staying under 3 feet tall and wide (zones 4-9), it works beautifully in the front of mixed borders. We're currently reimagining where to place ours as the garden evolves.

4. At Last

As its name suggests, At Last finally delivers what rose lovers have long sought—a fragrant rose with excellent disease resistance. Its gorgeous orange blooms appear on a 3-4 foot shrub that's hardy in zones 4-9, combining old-fashioned rose qualities with modern ease of care.

5. Flavor At Honey Apricot

Possibly our favorite Proven Winners rose, this short climber (5-8 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide) produces gorgeous cup-shaped blooms in a delectable apricot hue. The fragrant petals are actually edible, adding a culinary dimension to this zones 4-8 beauty.

6. Reminiscent Pink

Currently claiming the title of healthiest rose in our garden, Reminiscent Pink shows virtually no dieback even on recently transplanted canes. Its large, fluffy pink blooms appear on a robust 5-foot shrub that's protected by serious thorns! Hardy in zones 4-9, we've planted seven in a drift that promises to become a fragrant focal point.

Timing Your Care

While we tackled our pruning and transplanting projects in spring, we're holding off on fertilizing our roses until later in the season. In our climate, heavy April rains would likely wash away fertilizer before plants could benefit. Timing garden tasks to your specific conditions is always the wisest approach.

The joy of these spring projects goes beyond just checking tasks off a list. There's something magical about working with plants as they emerge from dormancy—whether shaping a dramatic smoke bush or nestling violas into fresh soil. These hands-on moments reconnect us with our gardens after the long winter pause and set the stage for the beautiful season ahead.

What spring garden projects are you tackling this year? Are you adding any easy-care roses to your landscape? We'd love to hear about your garden adventures!

Thanks for growing with us!

‍