Companion Planting for Continuous Colour

Summer companions

During the summer, consider classic pairings like Phlox and Geranium. These perennials complement English roses beautifully and require minimal maintenance. Available in a variety of colours, Phlox and Geranium can be chosen to harmonise perfectly with the shades of your roses. Adding height and diversity, Delphiniums create a striking backdrop with their tall spikes and blue, purple, and white hues.

Nepeta (catmint) is an excellent choice for attracting beneficial insects. It is low-maintenance and can be planted with all roses, but its soft blue flowers pair wonderfully with yellow and orange roses, such as Tottering-by-Gently (Auscartoon), Vanessa Bell (Auseasel), Golden Celebration (Ausgold) and Lady of Shalott (Ausnyson)adding variety and visual appeal to your garden.

Transitioning to Autumn

The Colour of Foliage

The colour of foliage is also worth considering when planning a mixed border. Choose both darker and lighter greens, as well as red-toned foliage, to add both depth and colour, or grey-leaved cotton lavender and artemisia to act as a natural backdrop to vivid colours.

Combine with purple

Height Variation

Create height variation in a mixed border by planting taller shrub roses and companion plants towards the back of the bed. Towards the front, place shorter, preferably fragrant roses and accompanying plants. Punctuate the middle of the border with tall flowering annuals or perennials, such as foxgloves, alliums, verbascum and delphiniums.

Edge with box

As a finishing touch, edge mixed beds and borders with a low box hedge. It will also hide any bare stems. Creating year-round interest in a mixed border Repeat flowering roses have a long flowering season but it's still worth planning your mixed border so that other plants can provide interest and fill the space when your roses are dormant.

 Winter and early spring

In winter and early spring, small evergreen shrubs and perennials are vital for adding colour with foliage. Hellebores, pulmonarias and primulas all work well. You can also incorporate bulbs, such as snowdrops, crocuses and dwarf daffodils.

late spring

For late spring colour in a mixed border, before the roses come into full bloom, try tulips, aquilegia, viburnum and dicentras.

Autumn

From early autumn until the first frosts, use sedums, salvias, verbenas and compact forms of bedding dahlias to inject colour.

Mix it up with rustic apricots

Combine varying tones of apricot with copper-toned foliage and golden grasses.

Allow space for the mature size of the plants

When planning your mixed border, it is important to allow enough space for the mature space of the plant. Immediately after planting it may look a bit sparse, but this will change as the plants mature. It can be helpful to place the plants out in their pots to ensure you have allowed enough space. Also consider the height of the mature plants, taller plants placed towards the back, getting gradually shorter towards the front of the border. Placing the smaller sedum at the front will help to obscure the lower part of the rose stems which can look bare once mature, giving a finished appearance to your border.

Combine a variety of apricot and copper colours and textures

It is important to consider foliage colour as well as bloom colour. The three different apricot rose varieties give a gentle variance of warm blooms which are lifted further by the golden grasses and topped off with the dark copper-toned sedums. The addition of the lighter green grasses at the back compliment the darker green foliage of the roses. The thin, airy grasses offset the larger more dense rose shrubs creating a combination of textures. The three rose varieties feature slightly different bloom shapes which add a subtle variety with the compact shape of the sedum at the front adding further interest.

Creating a cool pink mixed border

A cool pink scheme is bold but calming with the strong pink blooms toned down with the addition of silvery elements. The dark foliage and purple companion plants add further depth to this sophisticated take on pink planting. Combine light and bright pink roses with blue tones such as lavender and nepeta, silvery grasses and dark foliage.
Keep a pink border cool with touches of dark purple and silver. Adding purple salvia and the dark foliage of the heuchera gives depth to a border. The silver touches from the stachys and grass keeps the overall effect from being too sombre. Combine different plant textures The thin, pointy salvias sit interestingly against the full blooms of the roses. Towards the front of the bed, the combination of the silver soft, wide leaf stachys and the spikey silvery grass provides interest and a sharp contrast to the larger, dark leaf of the heuchera.

Combine different plant textures

The thin, pointy salvias sit interestingly against the full blooms of the roses. Towards the front of the bed, the combination of the silver soft, wide leaf stachys and the spikey silvery grass provides interest and a sharp contrast to the larger, dark leaf of the heuchera.