Learning the art of the mixed rose garden :)

I'm over the formal rose garden look. I love my roses but I am beginning to think that they are but part of the bigger picture and are far more suited to complementary plantings than as formal rows/beds of JUST roses. So I'm playing with things/ideas to create a richer tapestry WITH roses and not OF roses. Using things like penstemon, peony (herbaceous) geraniums, forget-me-nots and thinking of a kniphofia or two... Would love to hear about others that people use to create this kind of effect. I don't do annuals very well... more of a perenial person... the forget-me-nots just come up everywhere and I spend my life pulling them out and eciding to leave a chosen few where they are. I find this type of gardening REALLY hard to visualise because of trying to get that balance of height without blocking the sun from the roses

Entirely agree - roses by themselves are boring no matter how beautiful- they need company. Landscapes aren't meant to be one-dimensional or monocultural. Herbs, perennials and annuals lend grace and dimension to the garden - attract bees and other beneficial insects - add colour, scent and variety - provide an ever-changing backdrop to delight and interest.

I grow roses as a companion to my irises. One bed has 4 DA roses, with Spuria iris at the rear (very tall), siberian iris at the front, and a few bearded irises between the roses.
The rear of the bed is a wet area and faces south, and here I grow low growing louisiana irises, Iris lactea, I. virginica, and I. versicolor. (and the odd blackberry)
Cheers, Jan

I visited a garden last Sunday...the lady had a huge rose garden and had irises intermingling...she said they went well together requirement wise...

Yes - I constantly have people from the iris society telling me that you can't mix bearded irises with roses, because the roses need more water. Well mine don't! They don't get the water because we don't have it, and the roses in the heavy clay soil do very well, and bloom their heads off on about a bucket full of water each a week. I was interested to hear the guy from Kew gardens on a DVD of mine, saying that's about what they get from the sprinklers there.
My irises of course don't get the bucket full of water, because it goes on the rises directly. If some goes deep and the iris roots get it that's fine, but you don't want it on the surface around the rhizomes of the bearded irises.
The siberian irises DO need the water in summer. The Spurias just toss theri heads and say "Huh - don't care!"
I think the MAIN problem with irises and roses together is the need to divide the irises. The bearded ones every few years, and the Spurias when the clump starts to push the roses over. Siberians take a lot longer to form a large clump and at any rate I place mine at the front, well clear of the rose bushes, for best effect.
Interestingly there is nothing close to the roses, so the circulation of air is good for them. Will get photos when the siberian irises are in bloom in Nov.
Cheers, Jan

Yes that's the problem I have with the iris I have - the clumps get very pushy and I have roses nearby.

Hi,
amongst my roses, I have (Jan"s) irises, geraniums, nigella, some miniature daffodils, small growing lavender, penstemon, paeony rose, hyacinth, a couple of snapdragons, and clematis amongst the climbers.
Barbara B