Is the planting area in full sun, part sun or shade? Roses require 6-8 hours of sun per day.

Roses, in my view, are high maintenance as you need to keep them pruned. As Bathgate has already indicated we need a lot more info light, which way does garden face, is it sheltered or windy?

Thanks for your prompt replies. I have an acre of garden which is open and on high ground. It is mainly laid to lawns but has a few borders which are open to plenty of sun. I do have irises which are magnificent but short-lived each year. I also have a number of Iceberg roses which I brought back via a 'mother plant' from the UK. I can prune at the right time of the year ie: late October after the long-lasting blooms have gone over. My late wife, who died 12 months ago, was keen on gardening so I now find myself in charge of something I don't know a lot about. The garden is in a stand-alone situation with N.S.E.W. aspects. Generally,there is a gentle westerly breeze, but the weather can from time2time be extreme (windy, stormy, strong sun). Thanks again

If irises do well with you I would advise herbaceous perennials as they will be a lot easier to look after. once established they will, possibly, need splitting occasionally and, if you want a very tidy garden, cut back in autumn. Other than that you'll simply need to water if the area you live in is dry.

Hi we have a house in the haute Vienne and our situation is similar to yours, summers can be long and hot and winters can be very harsh, we have just over an acre and in the first few years we lost a lot of plants due to lack of water etc, I have since grown a long maze of beech hedging to create garden rooms which will give much needed shade to our exposed garden, however plants that have done well are perennials, most of the cottage garden types, also I have a large area of mixed cornus which have established well and give great winter colour, in one of the garden rooms I have a small confer garden, thujas, picea, Abies, tsuga, juniper etc, these have done very well, other shrubs, pyhladelphus , Ribes, forsythia,have struggled but are doing fine, I always heavily mulch the beech hedging and other plants in Febuary to suppress the weeds and grass, and in July the whole place is like a hay field, it's tough going , hope these do well in your neck of the woods.

Sounds like central Arizona!
Most of the Meidiland roses should be good, as well as the Floribundas--on 'Dr. Huey' rootstock, where needed. In other shrubs--and small trees--hybrid Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica x faurei) should work well, some Rockroses (Cistus species), Salvia greggii hybrids (in good drainage), Chinese Junipers (Juniperus chinensis and its hybrids), Arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis), Pyracantha, and Euonymus japonica. Tough perennials include Coreopsis grandiflora and C. lanceolata, Gaillardia aristata, Gaura lindheimeri, Penstemon barbatus hybrids, re-blooming Bearded Iris, and long-blooming Daylilies. For bulbs, Daffodils, Jonquils, Narcissus cyclameneus hybrids, some species Tulips, Muscari (can become a thug!), Gladiolus byzantinus, Dutch Iris, and Crocus species and hybrids.