Landscape roses are considered groundcover roses. They are low growing shrub roses (typically not exceeding 3') that spread much wider than they grow tall. Drift, Knock Out, Flower Carpet are all readily available landscape groundcover-type roses. It is not a defined category, but the roses are bred specifically for these attributes. They also tend to be very free flowering and low maintenance compared to other rose types. The issue with most groundcover clematis is that they behave exactly as do their vining cousins....except they don't vine :-) So for the most part, they are not tidy little clumping things but large rambling plants that can easily grow several meters a season. Combining the two - the wide, sprawling landscape roses and the long, rambling clematis - may not be as simple as it sounds without very careful cultivar selections.

Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley I dug everything in my difficult front bed out, added a short retaining wall, bags and bags of top soil and compost. I put in one small redbud to supply afternoon shade. Ballerina in the back, the shadiest spot, 2 Sweet Chariot in front, although I wish I had gotten 4, I absolutely love it. Tried to order Sweet Drift last fall, overwintered it in a pot in my compost, it's ended up being a climber, whatever it is. So it's shooting out long canes I wasn't prepared for in this spot and blooming on the ends. It could possibly be Lavender Lassie, or something not terribly dissimilar. I've tried just cutting the canes back to force it to be a shrub, it is not cooperating! I also put in Carolyn Supringer and Angry Juno that I got directly from Paul. I ordered Vinyard Song last year as well, but it didn't survive the winter. I have a band of Princess Anne that was meant to be a bare root for a client, I'm considering putting that in. Also considering reordering Vinyard Song next year. Or maybe Young Lycidas. Something that mingles to tie everything together. I have filled in with a few perennials on sale. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture when everything was in its first flush. The weather went from weirdly cool and much rainier than May usually is to a hundred degrees every day in the span of 2 weeks. Nothing looks fantastic now. I also put in Julia Child for my client on your recommendation, it was from Jackson&Perkins, I am less than impressed with their bare root. It's just a tiny, puny thing. I will not be shocked if it doesn't survive the winter. I lost Penelope over the winter, RV had a big sale in the spring, I impulse bought Aptos to replace it, and Lyda for another part sun spot. Have you gotten anything new?

Just a couple of comments in the 2 previous posts that need clarification :-) The term 'shade' really doesn't mean nothing! In addition to the hours of no direct sunlight to be considered, there is also the quality of the shade to consider. Depending on the source, you can have heavy shade, light shade, dappled shade, filtered shade. And finally, you can have a garden area that receives no direct sunlight or very little, yet enjoys bright indirect light conditions. Many north facing gardens can experience this situation. This is also considered a shade area because it receives no direct sunlight. The creeping thyme will easily tolerate light or partial shade but will not grow as vigorously, spread as well or flower as heavily as they would in more sun. With thyme, good drainage is the more critical factor for success. Yes, you can plant here year round. It is not drought conditions that govern this activity but temperatures. Mild and cool summers and mild, mostly above freezing winters allow new planting when other areas would consider to be planting extremes. The ground doesn't freeze and we receive minimal snow so planting in December and January can be done as easily as in March and April. Or June or September!! I plant all summer long. And we just finished off a major landscape renovation for a client of several hundred plants, from trees and shrubs to perennials and groundcovers. And while the PNW is home to a large temperate rainforest, it occupies only a small and very specific geographical position. Most of the rest of the area receives no more rain than the rest of the country (on average, 36 inches) and a lot less than many areas. And it tends to come outside of any summer months. From mid June through the end of September, rainfall is very sparse, rarely exceeding an inch in total for those 4 months and often much less. This is a recurring summer drought area. Finally, if you have trouble finding plugs, you can make your own :-) The 4 inch pots of thyme - the way most groundcovers are sold here - can be cut/divided into quarters. Since they root as they spread, you are assured each division has a sufficient root system to support it. This method can be done with any similarly rooting-while-spreading GC, like the Corsican sandwort.

Trail mulch if you can find it. I get it from my county compost site for $10 a yard and it consists of much larger wood chips and sticks than will be found at a supply center. The county also uses this on their walking trails through nature preserves, so your application is exactly what these chipped are used for. Because of the sizes trail mulch is less prone to washing away, but It isn't pretty, just functional and economical. I also get wood chips deliver through a place called chipdrop for free. I get more than I want because you get a truck load, or loads, so check to see if chipdrop works in your area and request an order of what you want. My neighbor and I received over 20 cords of free hard wood logs delivered through chipdrop for firewood two years along and about 25 yards of chips. Another free source are tree cutting companies. Last fall I asked a tree company if they wanted to dump there chips on my land and they jumped on it and ended up with 4 truck loads. None of these chip sources are finely shredded chips you'd buy in bags at the store, and not the best for nice landscaping but for walking paths they rock. The last free or low cost option is repurposed decking boards found free on craigslist or where ever. Cut the deck boards into the width of your paths, drill two holes on each side and weave a rot and UV resistant rope through the holes. They can also be rolled up, moved, and finally trashed when they rot out. The last not so great option is old used artificial Turf. It's not so great because I rarely see it for free, but usually can find it for sale for more than I'm willing to pay.