Best rose garden companions

Roses, like people, thrive among good companions

Setting other plants among the roses dates back at least to the Middle Ages, when food was the priority & ornamentals were a luxury. Kitchen gardens had roses more for herbal reasons than just color, so they were often used to complement the vegetables and herbs, unlike our modern gardens.

Roses today are often mixed in the garden with herbs, annuals and perennials that are resistant to foliage diseases – to limit the spread of those diseases onto the roses. Generally, to be on the safe side, avoid companion plants with broad leaves to limit the retention of water which encourages the development of common shared diseases.

Match the vigor of beneficial companion plants with the roses so they will compete for available soil, water and nutrients. That way you can fertilize the area with the same formulas. An example would be growing a vigorous rose among big perennials, shrubs, or grasses in the same soil patch.

Avoid planting too densely – allow plenty of room for good air circulation and for maintenance, such as pruning and mulching.

Soil preparation is the key – add plenty of organics prior to planting, and top up these annually after winter pruning using compost-rich mulch.

Rose fertilizers won’t harm perennials, bulbs or annuals – they’ll enjoy the added nutrients.

Start with lavender

All over Europe, gardeners have combined roses with lavender in sunny herb plots and as window box herbs to freshen up closed-up homes for generations. An extension of this idea is the use of sachets in rooms, closets, or clothes dressers.

Lavender is “English” by way of the Mediterranean and thrives in semiarid conditions, even in Northwest gardens in the US. Like other traditional herbs, the foliage of lavender is fragrant, so the plant remains a delight even when not in bloom. The aroma of the leaves tends to remain locked up unless the stems are rubbed, whereas the fragrant flowers release their scent as long they are open.

If you give these plants a pinch of phosphate about 3 times in their season, you can boost the seasonal flowering. Experts believe that too much nitrogen promotes leafy growth and dilutes the scent. The focus here is on boosting the roots.

Above all, don’t over water lavender, it needs to stay arid, like its soils.

Alyssum for Contrast

Alyssum is a low growing and fragrant ground cover that comes in colors of white, shades of pink and shades of purple. It’s an easy one to grow and really does add some perennial eye-catching appeal to the rose beds.

Russian Sage

Russian sage, with its blue flowers and delicate silver gray leaves, is another good companion choice since it has airy, less dense foliage that won’t hold moisture long near the rose bushes. The scent is a bonus.

Kitchen Herbs

Oregano, dill, mint, and coriander are each dual-duty herbs. They have culinary value, subtle scents, and they even repel aphids.

Low-growing herbs like thyme and catmint can double as a living mulch, keeping down the weeds and insects also. All of these smaller plants work well in small rose patches in any garden.

Zesty Garden Crops

Rose lovers have planted these in their rose beds to attract the beneficial insects, and scare off the rest.

• Garlic has been used as a staple to repel pests that bother roses.
• Garlic chives have interesting foliage, repel some pests and their clusters of white or purple flowers contrast nicely with rose foliage.
• Chives and onions perk up the nose and make the roses more fragrant when they are planted nearby.

Ajuga

Low-growing plants like ajuga can double as a living mulch, filling in around the base of tall roses to reduce weed infiltration. Their color is a welcome contrast to the bright, bold colors of the roses.

Companion Grasses

Ornamental grasses are in a whole category of dynamic plants that can be added to your walkway borders or to define corners. If you arrange flowers you’ll love them for that as well.

The perennial kind of small grasses thrust straight upwards or arches gracefully over, providing a vertical accent or contrast with nearby mound-shaped border plants like lavender or alyssum.

Thoughtfully placed, they produce some stunning colors.

Here are some common ones:

The perennial grasses are easy to grow. Treat them like any other hardy bush, setting them in the open before May. Cut them when their flowers first open up and hang them upside-down in bunches in a shed to dry for arranging indoors with your roses.

Avoid the large ones, like Pampas Grass. They’ll take over your patch.

Some rose companions can pollinate . .

Add plantings to attract butterflies & mason bees

Make your yard butterfly-friendly to bring color and movement to the landscape while aiding the pollination of flowers, fruit, and vegetable plants.

The key to attracting bees and butterflies is to provide them with lots of nectar sources. They also prefer to feed on open flowers. See this article & list on Plants that Attract Butterflies.

Butterfly gardens don’t have to be large. You can grow their plants in containers on a patio or even in hanging pots and window boxes along with your roses.

Butterflies need the sun to maintain body temperature, so place their plantings in the sunniest location possible.

To keep the butterflies returning to your garden you’ll need protective habitat such as shrubs for cover, sources of nectar, and food for caterpillars to eat.

Pay particular attention to planting natives that are host plants for butterflies—what native butterflies lay their eggs on and maturing caterpillars eat during their maturation.

Many of these are native plants—weeds and wildflowers that may already be growing on or near your property. Some convenient good choices include clovers, milkweeds, and violets. You can see this in commercial patches also.

Habitat is more sparse here in the Southwest:

Butterfly numbers are decreasing so it’s nice to include nectar-rich plants. I’ve had good luck with several of the purple sages.

After a rain, you may see butterflies around a puddle in the garden to get a drink and extract minerals from the soil. Maintaining a water source nearby will keep butterflies coming back. A raised water dish with stone landing spots will work.

Add Plantings for Hummingbirds too

Hummingbirds love water if it’s moving. A gentle, continuous spray from a sprinkler is perfect for a bath on the fly, but they will bathe in a shallow dish too.

Hummingbirds do not have a keen sense of smell and rely on bright colors to find their food.

They are particularly fond of red and often investigate red feeders, red plant labels, red thermometers, and even red garden clothes.

Do not use red dye in a hummingbird feeder.

There is growing concern that it may harm the birds. Just use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water). If your feeder does not have red on it, attach a red label or other item to attract them. Brightly-colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds.

Perennials, including columbines, daylily or Bi-annuals like lupines, foxgloves and hollyhocks.

And Roses . . . red roses

Hummingbird favorites usually but not always have long, tubular blossoms that are red, orange, yellow or blue, especially blue Salvia species; the shape limits insect access to the nectar inside.

The Hummingbird Society

Once a hummingbird family discovers your property, the same individuals are likely to return each year at similar times. They are remarkably smart and are creatures of habit.

The number of hummingbirds that frequent your yard is closely linked to the abundance of food, water, nesting sites, and perches.

Roses will grow happily with almost any flowering perennial that fits into the lower part of your design, and your rose beds will look much prettier.

The older I get, the more I dislike naked “rose beds”, with roses growing in splendid isolation with bare base canes. It didn’t bother me when I was young and so in love with tea roses, I filled many spaces with them.

In the last 20 years, I’ve started to look at rose gardens with a clearer eye and realized that roses need company to look their best: not so boisterous that they are dominated, but gentle company so they appear well-dressed.

Sources: Wikipedia, ARS, Almanac, Hummingbird Society,