Nepeta, or cat's mint, would be lovely planted as a mass planting under the standards - it has blue flowers. That would be my choice. It gros easily from cuttings and grows rapidly.

The problem that I see with planting carpet roses underneath standards is access for deadheading and pruning. Those carpet roses have some fairly vicious thorns. I have a wider bed with standards in it and grow Alyssum under them (white and variegated mauve). The alyssum (Sweet Alice) has self seeded and is now a carpet which doesn't mind being stepped on when I need to get near the roses. Whenever an alyssum plant "gets past it" I pull it out, shake the plant over the ground and within weeks new plants are coming up to fill in the space.

Hi Bluebelle Thanks: Yes I thought of that too so I have only planted a few small ones,
I also read the post below on Pesticides someone else said the same thing so I will
be getting a packet of those seeds and spreading them around Cheers....MM

How about some petunas as well they would add colour & perfume to complement the roses MM. & the catmint is also a great idea as it brings lots of bees
Jan.

Misty-

also try dwarf Virginia stocks if you are planting seeds. They are low to the ground and flower in shades of mauve, which would look lovely with or without allysum.
They also reseed, so once you have them you have them for good.(though they are not a menace)

Another plant I like is perennial Nemesia, which comes in lots of soft colours. I also have Nepeta under some of my roses. Bedding salvia is good too and usually lasts a couple of years for me.

The groundcover roses are a nightmare if they get weeds in them.

Good luck
Deryn

White perennial nemesia is amazing in my cold mountain garden. It would be covered in flowers and spreading relentlessly for 12 months a year if I didn't get vicious in winter and cut it right back. Talk about value for money...!

Great ideas everyone and Many Thanks. Gosh so many choices now, those perennial nemesis sound good but they are not in my tropical and sub-tropical book so maybe that dont grow here. The salvia's sound just right as I grow them a lot.

Deryn this is one of the groundcover roses I have bought it grows 50cm high and 1mt wide would it be better if I grew these bigger ones in pots or would they be ok in the ground with heaps of lucene as mulch, do you think that would be enough to suppress the weeds....MM
{{gwi:2113821}}

MM

make sure that the ground is 100percent weed free before you put them in and if you ever see a weed get it at once or else!!
Pink Bassino is gorgeous - I would put her in the ground as I find pots so difficult as you have to really keep the water up to them in summer. If you put lots of mulch around you should be ok.
I would think that perennial Nemesia is available all round the country. Heat does not affect it as we grow it in Perth - not sure about humidity. Ask at a nursery.
Deryn

Thank you so much Deryn, and I will do what you have suggested..Cheers MM.

shee such a fuss, I have stuffed them in everywhere and miniatures and ground covers, now whats a few scratches to a rosarian? Weeds are too scared to show their faces after a while anyway, the roses bite them. I always say try it anyway and you can always move them later again. I dont like standard stems so cover them up. I also dont like alyssyum, its a weed and takes over after a while. ho hum...

Yes thanks Lynne I am certainly leaving the ones in that I have planted
also may take your advice about the alyssyum and just stick to Perennials
And see how they go...MM

Here in southern Vic I have glorious convoluvus groundcover - mauve flower - and it looks lovely with everthing and is easily pulled out or moved if you're not happy with it . It grows out in all directions and though breaks off easily if you stand on it, it just grows back. It's flowers close up at night - much nicer than alyssum, which I too, think looks too much like a weed.

Hi MM,

I agree with the catmint or salvia for a bit of height and the lovely blue color. It will give it a real cottage/romantic look. I have used blue agapanthus and salvia for mine and both love Qld's heat.

Lots of great suggestions above!
Cheers,

Brissy