complement to a rose

4 May '06 9:24 am

I was re- reading one of Moosey`s articles,where she mentions how she prefers roses to be part of a natural garden setting , rather than mass displays of the same variety as in parks .
What have you found to be successful combinations to show a rose to advantage ? Delphiniums of course are the classic companions . I also have white pentstemons with pink roses .A combination that works for me is the foliage plant ,easily clipped ,helichrysum 'limelight'at the base of 'crepuscle' apricot roses.I have just planted a felicia daisy -blue with a yellow centre with some yellow carex grasses in front of a white rose .I really must take some photos next season !
Dixie.

4 May '06 7:07 pm

Dixie! I fully imagined the colourful combinations you described . I closed my eyes and "saw" your plants blooming in the next good season! Like photos already taken . And I long already, for the real thing in your garden ! And for your photos!

In the mid-time, here are some crazy colour combinations in our garden, where it seems, that the lack of gardening discipline and planning in colours, is the main theme...It seems..

5 May '06 5:33 pm

I love using lighter green foliage anywhere near the roses. I encourage the Pyrethrum daisies (whch are weedy but have lovely ferny foliage) to self seed, as well as that Helichrysum (though it gets frosted here). And I like some of the clumpy low growing perennial geraniums. Some have beautful dark red foliage. They tend to be incredibly well behaved - the perfect friends!

I'm not so sure about Lavender and roses. I know it's a classic 'look', but when I read (some years ago) that Lavenders and roses like totally different conditions, have different water and food needs, I thought again.

Then there are the plant-mistakes I've made. A few months later and the rose is struggling to be seen while the companion has taken over and filled the space! I reckon non-clipped tall-growing Lavenders can be the worst offenders! Another reason to rethink what gets in with your roses!

5 May '06 8:32 pm

Old fashioned Aquilegias 'Grannys bonnets' are my choice as when they are not in flower they have beautiful ferny leaves. The colour combinations are great with White, Yellow and Pink roses. My Grannys Bonnets are basically plain mauve,plain pink pale blue and then there are pink & white, mauve & white but no blue & white (I dont know why). All old fashioned none of these new show offs.Nigella is also another one but I find these short lived.
Goose

10 May '06 1:32 am

My greatest success - quite accidentally - has been Nicotiana alata, self-seeded in shades of pinky mauves that perfectly comlement the old-fashioned roses. Like Moosey and Dixie I love lime-green, though why I have never tried some of my large stock of Helichrysum 'limelight' beats me! (Another SA native!) I have a little lime-green annual euphorbia that I have encouraged over several years which I love, as well as the lime green nicotiana. Then I like to use silver and grey leaved plants, and have had success with a little pelted indigenous plant bought as either geranium glauca or pelargonium glauca, although I find no reference to either. One of my most successful combinations has been a variety of rugosa roses and hydrangea serrata underplanted with Tradescentia virginiana in blues, mauves and white. (see pic, where the euphorbia is also visible - e. palustris I vaguely remember...) I also like to use irises, especially blue, and the various geraniums.

10 May '06 5:30 am

Jack ,I would like to know What is the little blue -flowered plant in your first photo on the left ,with three flat petals ? It wasn`t clear in your letter. I bought some at a sales table ,and now have a lot growing in my garden .The colour of mine is the deepest blue .I have them at the base of 'Uetersen' and with white-flowered Lamium .The snails chew them mercilessly !
Dixie.

10 May '06 7:15 pm

Euphorbia,
Jack I have these growing in other parts of my garden and never thought of putting them with my roses. Some seedlings appeared in my driveway so I potted them up and now I will try them under the roses. Thankyou for showing us how great they look. Laughing

Goose

10 May '06 7:28 pm

The blue flowers are Tradescentia virginiana, Dixie. They are also known as widows' tears because they only last a few hours! THey are fresh and lovely in the morning, wilting by mid day's heat, completely dried up by sunset - and fresh flowers take their place next morning. They are of the richest blue of all flowers!

Fortunately I don't have snails, but I remember the problem with hostas and tradescentias in my Johannesburg garden. I don't know why I am so lucky - I have waited with baited breath for a snail problem for 20 years, and carefully checked new plants coming into my garden. At school, 5 odd km away, we do have snails but they are seldom a real pest. Everyone looks at me askance when I go on a snail-stomping spree after a summer storm, but I believe keeping the population down here can save my garden!

12 May '06 2:00 pm

Jack ,Is 'Baited Breath 'a pun for doing something about snails? ?(just wondering how you do it )
Thank you for the name of the blue -flowered plant.Mine is dormant in Summer ,and has now started to grow again -about 6 inches high. I have never seen it in another garden ,so that is why I didn`t know it .Mine is actually in shade,so they flower well for me .The bluest flower I have seen .
Dixie.

12 May '06 7:26 pm

The secret is out, Dixie, and you realised it...
"Baited breath' is an excellent way of dealing with snails. It has a sort-of double whammy effect.
What you do, is you drink a great deal of something really vile (no, not XXXX beer, the alcohol content isn't nearly highy enough.) Then you go outside and breath heavily on all the possible spots were snails may be lurking.
The double whammy is that after inhaling all that oxygen onto all that alcohol, you quite frankly don't give a * anymore about whether there are snails or not.

complement to a rose

complement to a rose

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Baited Breath

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