companions for your roses

Roses are the true queens of the garden with their colorul blooms and deep perfume.  The excitement of the first buds and blossoms of your rose bushes are just around the corner.

                                              AARS WINNER 'EASY DOES IT' -WEEKS ROSES

This year, why not plant a court of companion flowers, grown from seed, to set off and compliment your roses? These alluring companion flowers add a hint of grace to the surrounding landscape and are also plants whose blossoms are especially pretty in a rose bouquet. All are easy growing flowers that can be handily started from spring sowing for a long season of enjoyment. Here are just a few favorites

Compact Cosmos
Dwarf Sonata Cosmos are dainty looking but sturdy, reliable, and easy to grow. These compact plants reach just 2 feet tall with fine-cut, lacy, bright green foliage. Mixed colors are available in pretty magenta rose, white, and pink, all with bright yellow centers. The daisy-like blossoms nod gracefully around rose bushes, adding a pretty tapestry background. Sonata Cosmos are carefree and simple flowers to grow from seed. They can be sown directly into the garden each spring in any good soil in full sun.

                              SONATAS SERIES WHITE- COSMOS- THOMPSON AND MORGAN

A Carpet of Alyssum

An easy to-grow groundcover flowers to sow at the feet of rose bushes are "Gulf Winds" alyssum. These low growing spreading plants quickly flower creating lovely patterns in pastel rose, pink, lavender, violet, and white. Their dense, tiny flower clusters have a deliciously honey-scented fragrance that wafts in the air as you walk by on hot summer days. Butterflies love alyssum and visit the plants regularly. The 4-6 inch tall flowers bloom vigorously to mid summer; after this time, cut them back with shears, water well and you will be rewarded with another flush of soft velvety bloom that covers the ground beautifully around your mature roses.

                                         ALYSSUM 'GULF WINDS'- RENEE'S GARDEN

Sweet Nigella
Nigella's common name "Love in a Mist" gives you some sense of this cottage garden flower's alluring qualities.  Nigella blooms effortlessly in early spring and self-sows itself easily. Plants reach about 12 inches tall, and provide a romantic backdrop for roses first full blushes of spring bloom.

                                     ORGANIC 'LOVE IN A MIST' NIGELLA- AMAZON.COM

Perfumed Lavender
Sow lavender seed in early spring in a container of well-drained soil mix kept evenly moistened but not soggy. In a few weeks, seeds will germinate and grow and by the middle of spring, you can plant 2-3 inch seedlings into the rose garden, 2 feet apart and 2 feet from your existing rose bushes. Perennial lavenders get established and will have a few flowers their first season, but will mature nicely so that in their 2nd and 3rd year they form handsome mounds of narrow gray-green foliage. In mid to late June their deep purple, richly flower scented spikes flower gloriously along with summer roses at their peak. Keep your lavender plants handsome by harvesting the spikes just as the florets begin to open. Cut the stems at their bases, just where the dense leaves begin to grow. This way you'll have long flower spikes to tie in bunches and hang up side down to air dry and the plants will retain a compact non-leggy shape season to season. Even after their flowering is finished, the silvery aromatic foliage of lavender is a perfect compliment to roses in the garden. Use these air-dried lavender flowers year round for everlasting bouquets and sachets and to add a tantalizing herbal accent to many savory and sweet dishes in the kitchen.

                                        LAVENDER- PARK SEED LAVENDER COLLECTION

more artiles on roses:

FRAGRANT ROSE BORDERS

Tags

rose companions, Cosmos, lavender, rose bouquets