What I did in my front yard is I planted my roses in a rough circular pattern with an additional rose in the middle of the circle. The circle is probably about 12' across, so there's plenty of room there (this is the main rose area in the front yard) and I think there's .. 8? roses in the circle (I'll get names later, when the snow melts) with Dolly Parton in the center. Between the roses in the circle I have a "Magic Carpet" Spirea.. they're a wonderful low-growing shrub that's a definite 3-season plant! I also planted roses along my driveway & walkway and between the roses there I have a ground cover - "Illumination" periwinkle. It does best in partial/full shade and my front yard has some awfully shady parts to it. Behind some of the rose bushes (behind my two Intrigues, two Charismas, & 1 Picante) I have butterfly bushes. Then, following perpendicular I have 2 Sunshine Bluebeards. Here's a picture of the one of the bluebeards. Along my fence, I have various plants between my roses there.. like between Oranges & Lemons and Mardi Gras I have a concord grape spiderwort, between Mardi Gras and JFK I have a pink phlox, between JFK & George Burns I have another pink phlox, between George Burns and Ginger Snap I have two Magic Carpets spirea, & between Ginger Snap & the last rose (was a Neptune, but that passed away.. I have a Paradise Found there now) I have a Goldmound Spirea.

You're giving me some good ideas. I inherited a bed of roses when we bought this house that run in a narrow bed down the side of our garage. This is the main walk way to our front door. I love the roses. Don't know what they are and they're all different, but I've never liked the barren look at the bottom of them. They are definitely not shrub roses. I've planted a few daylilies, but need a lot more plants. An asparagus fern I planted and thought would be beautiful was way too invasive. Had to take him out.

When spring gets here I'll try some of the ones you've suggested if they grow in zone 9a.

TexasJan - The concord grape 1) is on sale! at Bluestone & 2) is good up to zone 10! You won't be disappointed.. they're SOOO pretty!

http://www.bluestoneperennials...

gah.. I didn't post a picture!

Toni, I'm just checking in. I'm very interested in this forum and will get back to it in a couple of weeks. I have a lot of ideas in my mind and would like to run them by you. We have company coming and a lot of stuff going on here at home so I probably won't be back for awhile. I'm really looking forward to all I'll be learning from the Roses Cubit.

BTW, I love your banner!!

Jan

Isn't it great, Jan? Sue and Evey did all the work. I got to sit back and wait for the wonderful results. I think it's a stunning banner.

I am going to love this thread. I love roses gardens but Why are so many of them naked? I love to dress mine up with whatever I can make fit.

I don't like the naked look either. It's too regimented. I like a riot of color. I'd like to say I like controlled chaos, but there's nothing controlled about the chaos in my garden.

Did someone say Chaos?

I'm debating on what to put between my roses in my rose garden in the back. I want something shorter and not too bushy.. thinking of more spirea perhaps.

I dislike bare earth, too much room for weeds to take hold or neighbor kitties to use as potty stops. I am known to cram though and then end up having to either trim hard or remove things.

And I tuck pots into beds to give height to it. I have Christopher Marlowe planted in this one (not in bloom here) It does these arching stems so they are perfect draped across the other plants. Of course it's already rooted through the bottom of the pot. That's Molineux in bloom in the back.

Here's one a month later (May) and you can see Christopher Marlowe in bloom on the left

Pots are a GREAT idea! And I could plant LOTS of roses there & not have to worry about.. wait.

Roses don't overwinter here in pots.

Damn. :( Another great idea shot in the foot.

Hmm.. Irises are nice, but they're such a one trick pony...

maybe bluebeards? Have to keep them heavily trimmed. Russian sage grows like weeds here, but get REALLY REALLY frickin' tall!

*sigh* decisions decisions. maybe cornflowers?

I got limited spaces so I like to mix everything up. I also ♥ the full effect. ★

☀ Other side of the bed.

☆ Another angle.

That's just the kind of mix I love. Really nice!

Beautiful! A plant crammer after my own heart!

My roses are crammed. The only things I grow between my roses are bulbs. Lily bulbs for the summer, they are tall and thin so I can find spots to plant them. Also spring bulbs, mostly daffodials but some tulips.

I have used low-growing spirea to edge a bed of rose, and gotten good results. That same bed had asparagus growing behind the roses which produced the most remarkable ferny green backdrop for Golden Celebration.

I think iris can really add texture to the rose garden, and foliage color that is missing from roses. I grew Iris pallida near Sally Holmes and Knockout and loved the effect all season long. When they were all out of bloom, the Iris brought interest to the space.

I've planted monarda violet queen in rose beds, but it kinda needs to be behind lower-growing roses. I've also used oriental lilies. And sometimes daylilies. I had iris Edith Wolford and salvia May Night in a rose bed with Savoy Hotel, and that looked pretty good.

I was surprised at how good dame's rocket looked growing with Constance Spry when I tried it. And I've seen rocket larkspur (delphinium ajacis) growing with iceberg on a white picket fence and thought it was one of the most perfect pairings in the world.