Hello, I don't have a response for you, but I'm interested in the responses you receive. I have a similar situation.

I'm a fan of purslane and moss rose. They tend to re-seed so your bed will get more naturalized without more effort from you. Any seeds that fall over and grow on the side of the bed, you can easily recognize and remove. But you might not like it if you find it growing in other areas, even if they are just as easy to remove.

I also like purple queen or purple jew for its.......purple color! It can grow in the shade of the rose bush or out in full sun for an even stronger purple color. I've had it return as a perennial (at least, I don't think it was a seeded plant growing, since it is just 1, not many, in the same spot), but in case your zone will be different, I also overwintered 2 plants and they have already given me over 50 cuttings to be new plants for this year. The more you cut, the more they grow, and I'm sure I could get another 50 cuttings right now if I needed that many.

I also like nasturtium for the edibleness, but the trailing varieties make a good option for your bed, too.

Some sedums can also have a trailing effect. When they fill in an area, they make a really good groundcover. In my zone, the blue-spruce sedum I grow will not die back in the winter, so it makes a good cover year-round.

All the others I mentioned will die back in the winter.

This post was edited by gardenper on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 13:56

creeping thyme
oregano
culinary sage
other low growing herbs?
silver brocade artemisia
'Prowis Castle' artemisia
creeping phlox
Euphorbia myrsinites
various sedums
Dianthus---Cheddar Pinks

Narrow leaf zinnia, easy low annual for prolific color all season

TexasRanger10,

Thanks for some suggestions, but I think some of those are spreaders, like Oregano. I am hoping for a plant that stays more in one place and grows over the ground. In previous years I used Wave Petunias but I found those are a bit too much of a good thing--TOO many flowers, TOO much color. So I was hoping for something more restrained, and hopefully a perennial.

I'm looking at Rosemary but I'm worried that the type that would trail will also spread.

Contrary to what most think, most herbs do not make great rose companions :-) Most perennial herbs like lean soil and are very drought tolerant - roses like the opposite! Making one plant happy is going to stress the other.

Hardy geraniums are an excellent choice as a rose companion. In addition to Rosanne, I'd look at a couple of the sprawlers (Anne Folkard, Sunrise Blue, Anne Thompson) as well as some of the clumping forms, like Geranium sanguineum or any of the many hybrids.

Helianthemums (Rock Rose - not a real rose....) would do nicely as they look best spilling over an edge.

Helianthemums...that looks very promising! Thanks!

As for the other geraniums, they look fairly similar to the Rozannes I have, but with slightly different leaves/color. I'll give them a good look anyway. Thank-you.

Guess I wasn't listening in class again although I'm not quite sure of the distinction between spreading & trailing. not to mention wanting more color vs not too much color.

About prostrate rosemary, since I assume you are not referring to the upright variety, I doubt it would even survive winter in zone 5b let alone spread, mine croaked this winter in our colder than normal zone 7 after 5 years of spreading nicely & blooming in winter.

What I had in mind was something a bit more decorative along the line of 'Kent Beauty', one of the ornamental oregano types. The ornamental ones are good for spilling over a wall but then I see small leaf plants as looking best for this personally.

You most likely will do better talking to the northern gardeners because its so different down here, I've noticed we tend to visualize differently.

Ornamental oregano....

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 21:43

How high are your walls? Some of the herbaceous clematis would look good spilling over the top of the walls if they are at least a couple of feet tall.

IME trailing rosemary doesn't spread; it has a central growing point that the stems grow from and they just get longer.

nhbabs--- weeping alligator tears here since I lost my rosey-mary in the famously brutal winter of 2014, but mine did root if they made soil contact as it grew, it was about 6 ft wide but I let it do that on purpose. Mostly it is a big center stem(s) though. There are so many types, if you want to keep it smaller, all you have to do is trim it back (yum the smell) or just start a new rooted freebie from the original plant which is now gone. (wah)

My upright Rosemary's wintered fine.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 22:57

Helianthemums would be in the same category as the various Mediterranean herbs insofar as they need lean soil and sharp drainage.

If Petunias were successful how about using just one or two colours? Maybe just white.

Well, for now I have planted a few Iberis (Candytuft) and Arabis Snowfix (Rock/Wall Cress). We'll see how that goes.

Years ago I had a 6-ft cement wall with dianthus cascading over the top and hanging halfway down to the ground. I don't know the specific variety, but it was a gentle pinkish lavender. I would love to find seeds of that variety again. That would be beautiful surrounding roses.

Martha

Years ago I had a 6-ft cement wall with dianthus cascading over the top and hanging halfway down to the ground. I don't know the specific variety, but it was a gentle pinkish lavender. I would love to find seeds of that variety again. That would be beautiful surrounding roses.

Martha

Whatever you do, don't use Geranium sanguineum. It shoots its seeds and sprouts up everywhere--and it isn't easy to pull up, even when it's small. A geranium that would work and trails a lot is G. 'Dilys'. Nice plant.

I have a rain barrel that is about 4 feet tall and it has a sunken in top that is made for planting flowers. It is about 18 inches X 16 Inches X 5 inches deep. I want to plant a pretty flower that will bloom for a long period and cascade a little down the side of the rain barrel. It is in a partially shaded area. Any suggestions?

though it is only marginally perennial in my area (zone 6), I have been using Verbena canadensis as an annual here. They are typically sold at a nominal price....they are perfect for the cascading wall effect.. they bloom heavily but aren't a single blanket of blooms... a single plant can spread nicely within a single year.. blooming continually until the fall... and they don't need to be tended at all.

They will root down where the stems touch the soil, but are very easily to pull up after the fall or in the spring. And they come in a few color varieties.

lacyvail,

A bit late! Last year I planted a couple of Rozannes, which I believe are Geranium Sanguineum. I thought they spread by rhizomes and the seeds were sterile? I didn't expect them to shoot seeds all over. Guess I will have to keep my eyes open for that.

My other geraniums are Biokovo, and I love the fragrance of the leaves!