My roses aren't old garden, and they're just getting settled in this year, but I have peonies for spring, before the roses start to bloom. I have lavender for summer, when the rebloomers are taking a couple weeks off. I got that from Cameron's photos. I love the color combination, and apparently, lavender wards off bunnies and other critters that chew. I've just planted coreopsis with mine too. I think the yellow will clash nicely with the pinks and salmons of the unnamed roses I have. The Blue Girl HT is planted in the back and I hope it comes back this year. It was a pity purchase from the clearance rack. I've put in bee balm around the edges too. Another summer breather for when it's too hot for the roses to bloom.

I made a mistake last year of sowing cosmos around my roses. I'm afraid I'll be pulling those seedlings for many moons to come. So I still have some learning to do as well. I've got a rambler in the backyard I expect will take off this year. It's going to be given free reign over the swing back there.

I also dont have old garden roses, but i plan on using catmint, pink primrose, salvias and sweet william near mine. I dont remember if salvia is poisoness or not. I wintersowed all these, sofar theyve all germinated so im excited! I love coreopsis, i think its a great companion if your looking for yellow.
I forgot to look for a moss rose, i have to get one of those too! I love the moss look.
How about snapdragons? theyd be fun for kids too!

this is off topic, but LL, have you thought about adding milkweed for butterflies? You could teach your nieces about caterpillars growing into butterflies, how fun!

Catmint will be especially nice in your area, Lilyfinch. Veronica (the low growing kind), lime green thyme and lime green round leaf oreganos are nice, candytuft, larkspur, yarrow, nigella (especially beautiful with the roses and also the sweet william), small alliums which pop up on and off - they are all nice. I grow a number of things that I also like with the roses but would not be hardy for you in zone 6.

Lilyfinch, if by pink primroses, you mean onenothera speciosa, be aware it spreads like crazy. I have it and love it, but keep it in a front ditch area where the seeds blow across the road and can expand to their heart's content.

I love the idea of catmint with the roses. I need to separate mine and do that.

I will try and find some pictures but plan to really take some this year so I will add some to this post when my roses are blooming. Probably not going to help you now though.
HOwever one of my all time very favorites is nepta catmint like 'walkers low'. I love so many things about this plant. It spreads so nicely under the roses. The beautiful shade of lavender purple blends so nicely with org roses. It has a very long bloom season.
Another favorite is fever few, chives, really most herbs. I also just love shasta daisies. I have Becky here in the south as they really do wonderfully in our hot humid climate and take off in my clay soil. I have along the front of my house pink knockouts with white shasta daisies planted between. Very pretty! I will post some pictures this spring. They really spread too! I also have homestead purple verbeana (sp?) planted under one of mine and that's very pretty too. Hope this helps!:O) ~MEghan

Mom, Lilyfinch can't grow them in your area but also lovely are various types of rainlilies and society garlic. Fall blooming mums that look like daisies are very nice too.

The Walker's Low catmint sounds like a perfect choice. I have barn kitties, so does anyone have trouble with cats in the catmint?

Right now I have lavender, daisies and some coral bells. Also some peonies and alyssum...and I'm planning to get some hollyhocks :)

Does anyone use phlox or perennial geraniums?

My favorite combination is old garden roses in shades of pink with light blue iris and lots of blue larkspur. I used to have a couple of areas like that and would love to recreate it at this house someday. Wish I had a digital image to attach.

Lav. Lass, I have never seen any of our 6 cats roll about the catmints I have.

As for the phlox, I would be hesitant because of how tall and thickly they grow. Mine get almost 30 inches. Also they are very prone to mildew and when they get it, are quite ugly. I have never had a spray that worked completely for that particular problem.

I think someone mentioned nigella. I just have the white but I am going to move some to the roses. It self seeds readily here and stayed green all winter. It is easy, disease and insect free for me. Hope I can remember to move some.

Foxgloves, lady's mantle (alchemillia mollis), and catmint are my absolute favorite ogr companions. I love the spikes of foxglove towering over the rounded blossoms. You could substitute campanula persicifolia instead (unless that's toxic too). Campanulas grow very fast and are easily divided to make lots more. (They also self-seed). Veronicas are also wonderful, but bloom after the once-bloomers here.

I also love feverfew (altho' it self-seeds everywhere) and sweet William and all sorts of perennial geraniums. Nigella is interesting but the bloom period is short and then the plant disappears (only to be replaced ten-fold) But the plant is so insignificant that it can be sprinkled among other things.

I second the milkweed idea (i think I mentioned it on another forum.) Phlox has not worked well for me in a mixed (shrub) border. They need space to look their best and do not like being shaded by other stuff. Also they need frequent division and are a pain to get out of the ground, especially working near roses).

I am adding more species lilies to my garden, as they bloom long after the roses and give me something to look forward to.

I do have rozanne geranium in another part of my garden, i would reccomend that! Always blooming, the blue is very pretty(sometimes it looks purple to me) and its a nice mounded plant. Also good for sun or light shade!

Mine aren't old garden roses, but I will use sweet alyssum at the base of them. I loved the way it looked last year, and I have a fairy village to nestle in the alyssum.
kay

Verbascum, agastache, rudbeckia, penstemon, centaurea, or helenium might work.

Ooh you are zone 4. Forget about the agastache. The other plants I mentioned might tough it out in zone 4 but definitely not agastache. How about achillea and poppies in front of your roses? I think it looks so nice when poppies are interspersed with achillea and in zone 4 poppies may last a little longer than here.

LL, as you know I don't yet have roses but am planning to rectify that this year so I've been doing some research and here's one list of companion plants I've found.

I'm thinking about using some of the following: forget-me-nots, herbs (chives and lavender and others that are annuals here), Lady's Mantel, lilies, red/yellow yarrow, baby's breath, bachelor's buttons, Sweet William, Delphinium, Shasta daisies, blue flax, nasturtiums, poppies, climbing sweet peas, Lamb's Ears. I have most of these or they are easy to seed and many are plants that deer don't like so I'm hoping that surrounding the roses with such plants will help keep those critters away. Of course it depends on the color/size of roses I get - still a lot of planning and work to do and I know I'll be moving lots of plants this year! I'm less concerned with bloom times this year as will just pop in a few annuals for extra long term color. I only want roses hardy to zones 2 & 3 so am looking at Parkland and Explorer roses, and because my garden is organic also rugosas. I'll also do some mini's in pots if I can find them at my fav discount store this year. One year I had a dozen in pots on my deck - they were really inexpensive so good value for the money, but only annual here. So many choices and decisions! :-)

Luckygal- Thank you for the great list! I'm hoping to surround my roses with deer resistant plants, too.

I've ordered four of the snow pavement roses for the kitchen garden, to go in the corners, with some lavender. The snow pavement roses are white with "lavender overtones" are hardy to zone 3 and are supposed to be "less attractive" to deer. I'm hoping that will be true, and even though I'm putting a fence around the garden, I'm still planning to put some catmint on the outside of the fence, around the roses...just in case :)

Lilyfinch- I love the look of rozanne geraniums. I just have to find some this year. I think the blues and lavenders are so pretty with the roses.

Organic_kitten- Alyssum is one of my favorites! I plant it everywhere in the kitchen garden, between the veggies, to keep the weeds down. It looks great and smells so nice :)

Gldno- Good to know about the cats...and the phlox. I might try a few in the fairy garden and see if they mildew. We have really dry summers, so maybe they won't be so bad. (I hope not, since I ordered a couple from a catalog this winter...but it was such a great deal!)

Maureen- Thanks for the great recommendations. I think with what you and Gldno have said, I'll put my two little phlox in an area that's easy to reach, in case they start causing trouble. LOL

Newbiehavinfun- Penstemon looks like a great plant to add into the garden...especially the fairy garden. I want flowers that will attract lots of butterflies :)

Has anyone tried cleome? It's very pretty and as an annual, might be easier to keep from invading the roses. I've seen it in white and kind of a pink/lavender. Any other colors available? Does anyone grow this? :)

Cleome seeded itself very freely here. From 3 tiny seedlings I had a grove of cleome, and it came back for three years. It is lovely, but plant it where you want it.

And I am going to plant it again.

kay

What about growing clematis through them, either chosing ones that bloom at the same time in pleasing color combinations or ones that bloom when the roses are out of bloom?

I'm planting lavender, salvia, mexican primrose, penstemon, catmint and santa barbara daisies around my roses. :)... and I have some wisteria and clematis in the climbing rose areas. I'm in a different zone than you, though! (zone 9)

Kay- It's good to know cleome can reseed. That was one thing I meant to ask. It sounds like a great plant with the roses!

Woodyoak- Clematis is always beautiful with roses. I have two metal arches in the fairy garden. Purple clematis would be perfect :)

Aimeekitty- Again, your garden is beautiful! I have lavender, but it's Hidcote lavender, which is much hardier here. Catmint and salvia do well here...maybe the penstemon, but I'm not sure about the others. I do envy you your star jasmine. I just love that stuff, so I buy two small bushes at Lowe's every spring (only about $5 each) and put them in big pots, surrounded by white petunias. If I ever get enough money for a sunporch....it will be for star jasmine and an orange tree!!! LOL

I think lavender lass wanted to know,cleome comes in a purple also. It is very pretty.

kay

Purple cleome! That sounds very pretty :)

Lavender- I'm sure an orange tree would look so beautiful with star jasmine! how lovely! Goodluck! :D

I'm more of a lurker than a poster...but...I just remembered my former garden where the pink rose alley (carefree wonder, carefree delite, bonica, etc.) had self sown pink cleome mingled all around. It was beautiful and always in bloom. The cleome probably won't be blooming much until after the first big rose flush of bloom, so they really complemented each other, especially from a distance.

Yogagarden- What a beautiful garden! Cleome sounds like a great plant to put with roses. Do you have any pictures, of your former garden, or your new one? I'd love to see them :)