Hi Sue !
Nothing could be easier than combining the two. I did a similar one for one of my sisters using pink geraniums and cl. Iceberg. She's NOT a gardener at all, but Iceberg is a super easy rose and the geraniums are a no brainer.
I'm experimenting with the sky blue plumbago going up through a cl. Polka rose. That combination may prove to be "over the top" but we'll see. Plumbago here will do well in the partial shade created by the rose and it's evergreen. I hate the barren look of climbers in the winter...but that's just me. Cl. Polka can be stingy with rebloom depending on the weather. I get desperate for Clematis substitutes that will perform here in the summer heat.
