Romanticize Your Garden With The Latest Rose Trend That Will Be Everywhere In 2026

Roses are a classic floral symbol of romance, beauty, and love, cropping up in the poetry of Shakespeare, Yeats, and Robert Burns as a representation of charm and fascination. As such, they are highly sought-after plants to grow at home, particularly with the rise of the cottagecore aesthetic and a newfound emphasis on romanticizing daily life. However, many gardeners, both amateur and experienced alike, can often find it difficult to make these beautiful blooms flourish. But what makes roses such difficult plants to grow in the garden?

For starters, they require quite a lot of maintenance in the form of deadheading and pruning, which is important to do at the right times in order to get more stunning flowers. They can also fall victim to various pests and diseases such as black spot, powdery mildew, and aphids. But fear not! Recent popular rose cultivars and hybrids have made gardening roses easier than ever before, meaning that your romantic cottage garden may not be as hard to achieve as you thought. These untraditional blooms from the Knock Out family of roses or breeder David Austin have been bred to be easier to manage, more fragrant, and more prolific than conventional types. They are gaining in popularity due to the fact that growing them is more accessible for a variety of different experience levels and environments. So, which of these trending new roses should you use to create your own backyard secret garden oasis?

Knock Out roses are a group of blooming varieties that are popular for their easy maintenance, with a key highlight being that they don't need deadheading. If you live in a dry environment, the Pink Double Knock Out (Rosa 'Radtkopink') could be a great option for you. It does well in zones 5 to 11 but is also drought-tolerant once settled and does well in hotter temperatures. On the other hand, the Petite Knock Out (Rosa 'Knock Out' Petite) would be a perfect fit for gardens in hardiness zones 4 to 10 which are low on space, or even in containers on balconies due to its small size. Keep in mind, however, that some reviewers mention that Knock Out Roses don't tend to have much pollen or a strong aroma and so may not be a great option if you're looking to start a pollinator garden because they may not be as attractive to pollinators as a result.

If you are keen to attract pollinators into your yard, you could try the cultivar State of Grace™ (Rosa x 'WEKspodotogi') from Heirloom Roses, which is described as easy-care for zones 6 to 10 and features thick, scented roses — great for adding an air of romance to your yard. And if you're looking for climbing roses to add color and life to your walls, trellises, or sheds, why not try out a David Austin variety? The Generous Gardener® (Ausdrawn), for example, is an English climbing rose that can grow in hardiness zones 4 to 11, does well in full or partial shade, and is tolerant of all soil types, making it both a pleasant garden addition and relatively beginner-friendly.