The following ought be useful.

At this time in our rose garden we observe the emerging shoots of our anticipated rose blooms. If you have not already done so, mulch heavily the entire area of your rose beds. The intent here is to inhibit weed growth, and to provide the beds with a top cover of material which will inhibit loss of moisture in hotter periods. Much saving of time spent watering can be so achieved, not to mention the saving of water.
If you don't already know, my preferred practice is to use chook poo for this purpose. It is readily available from egg producers, and it doesn't matter whether it is old or new droppings. Just ensure that you leave a couple of inches of clear soil around the crown of the plant to prevent the chance of fresh manure perhaps burning the plant. I have been using this method for years with great success, and am not even too fussy about that last suggestion. I am most concerned with totally limiting weed emergence. By using this practice we are in fact applying a slow release fertiliser for 12 months, and we repeat this task every year. It keeps the soil open through the heightened action of our worm population, and the addition of such active humus means it is incorporated into the soil structure thus assisting aeration, which facilitates easy transport of nutrition down to the root system.

Try to resist the use of chemical fertilisers. In 40 years of successful rose growing, though tempted by well-intentioned people who think they observe this or that chemical deficiency, and who suggest this or that remedy, I have resisted the temptation to apply chemicals. It is my belief that misuse or even the use of such substances heightens the risk of introducing a level of toxicity to the soil which may be difficult to reverse.

Remember KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid, (present company excepted of course).

Lozza my Darling! We must be twins - separated at birth! We must speak to our mums about this.
I garden in exactly the same way!
And am currently hurling chook poo around (husband pays $2.50 for big plastic bags full bless him - the chook farm is down the roadfrom where he works) and Pea straw is sprouting little plants all over the place.
All of the 200 roses here are humming along (except the wretched DA's but then nothing pleases that lot...)
My goodness.. are you tallish? like horses and dogs?
Gosh... they say there's only six degrees of separation between anyone..
But I could have written what you did, word for word...
From now on I will refer to you as Sis... ;-)

Don't know what to say, or where to send you, to speak to my mother that is. She's been gone a while.

npk blue does the trick...a third of the price of black magic and exactly the same stuff!!....slow release for pots.....a waste of money for roses in ground.....i'm a bit different than lozza.....manure (sheep ) once or twice a year...the more the merrier....but ferts start in aug and every 4-6 weeks till about april....for my money ferts and manures are two very seperate things and both are important....try things out for yourself if in doubt