What a coincidence! I had your 'unidentified' flower in a flowerbed when I rented a house 15 years ago in Fort Mill, SC. I saved hundreds of seeds, but lost all of them when I moved to CO. No one was able to tell me the name of the plant! Now I am back in SC and I decided to try some annuals this year that I had never planted before. The package marked 'balsam' caught my eye, so I planted some a few weeks ago. They are up about 4-5 inches now and have tiny buds beginning to form. The plants look exactly like the mystery plant from Fort Mill. Below is a photo of the seed pack, but the flowers don't look anything like the flowers I had yers ago. The difference could be that these new ones are 'doubles' and they are shown in pink, red, rose and white. The flowers I had before were all coral and the plants looked very tropical...like miniature palm trees with flowers instead of coconuts. These are VERY easy to transplant and have those adorable seed pods like the traditional impatiens...the ones that 'pop' open when they are ripe. Watch for the seed pods to swell and begin to turn yellowish. Then 'pop' them into a paper envelope for next year. You can have a whole FIELD of them and even move them around until you find the perfect spot. I also love that they will grow in full sun or part shade! Love the tropical look! Here is a link that might be useful:

I think Pearl D'Azure would work; I have it growing with Zephirine Drouhin, and they seem to get along pretty well. Most of the large-flowered clematis seem to get along with average-size climbing roses. The ones that I'd avoid would be the montanas and the sweet autumn types with most roses (except maybe giant ramblers) because they get pretty huge. If your climbers are pretty big and robust, you also could consider viticellas: for example, I have Etoile Violette growing with John Cabot and they are lovely together. As for perennials, I think a lot of it depends on your soil. Mine is pretty good, so I think there are plenty of nutrients to go around. I plant other things very close to my roses (as in a couple of inches) and it generally works out well. In fact, I think its a good thing if you can get away with it because it helps keep the weeds down, plus that way you have room for more plants (and thus more color!). I grow all kinds of stuff with my roses - campanula, delphinium, dianthus, various annuals (love dark blue Salvia Patens with pink roses!) Dame's violet self-sows like crazy in my garden, and they often show up right next to the roses. One thought might be to experiment, this year, with some annuals pretty close to your roses, and see how they get along. (If they seem to be causing trouble for your roses, its easy enough to dig them up and maybe pop them into a container or something). If it works out, next year try some perennials planted close. The only case where I have had trouble is if I plant small, young own-root roses with other plants - they invariably get swamped by perennials or even annuals. I have found that with my cottage-style garden, I really have to grow own roots on in pots for a while til they are big enough to compete with everybody else. Hope this is of some use to you! Good luck!

How beautiful! My guess is Lavender Pinocchio. Try this link HMF for photos and info. Click 'refresh' to see more photos, or click on 'photos'. L. Pinocchio can have more petals and is usually russet pink. For more help, try the Falling Into Spring thread under Roses. There are knowledgable Aussies there. You've done a wonderful job bringing your rose back to health, and your photos are perfect for good identifying. Lavender Pinocchio from HMF

I'm out early to knock the Japanese beetles into a Mason jar filled with soapy water. I repeat the hunt in late afternoon but at that time of day they seem to have faster reflexes and many escape.. Nothing but the best for my JB's; they get Ivory Liquid. Seems to work best if I just squirt enough to create a good layer on the surface of the water. I don't mix the soap in. Brittanys are SUCH cool dogs. Loved seeing the photos of yours. And you are off to a spectacular start with your roses. Your husband should be very impressed!