Hi Sandy, I do not know what environment you garden in. Perennials do perform differently depending on where you live. I have always had a love hate relationship with Rozanne. Color wise she goes pretty well with everything, except something that is the same color of her flowers.

Where I garden it is very humid and we easily hit our dew points at night. So the roses are covered in dew in the evening. If I allow a larger perennial to grow to close then the rose leaves can't dry in the mornings. It becomes a fungal nightmare.

Roxanne is pretty well behaved in her first year. In year 2 and after she is large (very large). Of course she can be trimmed any time you choose. I have kept plants of rozanne in spots where I did not allow her to flower until fall. Then when everyone else was slowing down she would shine with flowers lasting till the snow falls.

If wetness is not a problem then place her by your largest roses. She will be pretty with them all. It left untrimmed I have had her send flowers 6 feet in every direction.

Thanks both of you for your answers. Currently I live in Paris suburbs, it's the same climate as in London I believe. It's not too hot or cold in the winter, but can be pretty humid (I'm near a river). The tallest of the roses is Anne Boleyn, I think I will plant Rozanne next to her. I just read about another geranium, Orion, a bit taller and with less white than Rozanne, fairly the same colour, maybe I'll get that one instead. Btw that catmint is sooo pretty.

Beautiful photo!

I wish I had room for that gorgeous rose 'John Davis',... I keep seeing it on this forum.. and I must get that catmint..

Sandraville.... I'm in eastern England, and I agree with Patty, 'Rozanne' for me grows 6 to 8 foot from its 2nd or 3rd year.. and will climb and romp through everything in its wake... I've got 'Anne Boleyn' roses, mine are new, but I would be concerned if I put it next to them. I hope it works for you...

I've also got 'Orion' which I like very much, but if you see one called 'Eureka Blue', I think it's a better variety...

I adore Rozanne, she shines in my borders, grows like a maniac, I'm constantly dividing her &cutting her back & she feeds my compost. I believe my entire back garden would be a sea of blue if I wasn't so vigilant. I'm so tired of prima donnas(yes Fimbriata I mean you for one) who get a lot of attention & reward me with miniscule progress after 6 years. I do love cutting back, one of my favourite garden chores. I've read about Orion, let us know how he does.

Beautiful photo Wirosarian.

'Rozanne' looks good with every color of rose. Blue and purple are neutral colors. They "go" with everything.

I agree with hoovb! It's always a color you can blend with any color.

Smithdale - I know this is off the official topic but it's so refreshing to see another rose gardener totally frustrated with Fimbriata. On the one hand it's rock solid cane hardy and for the fleeting week the rose blooms the fluffy little tufts are kinda cute, though not the "carnation" look it's supposed to have. When it finishes its single week of bloom, though - BLEAH. It's a gangly aggressive lump o' canes and it's totally annoying. I plant other better roses near it that are also aggressive, then trim Fimbriata mostly to the ground since it will never ever rebloom under any conditions. If I were energetic, it might be the third rose I shovel prune, but it redeems itself by being among the first roses to bloom in the spring and holding down a subobtimal spot in the garden.

Back on the OP, I agree that Rozanne geranium can be a thug. It takes up the space of three roses in my tightly packed beds, and while I love the color I don't want to dedicate the space. My go-to blue flower is Salvia farinacia Victoria blue, which for us is an annual and is available in flats everywhere. It's worth doing as an annual since it literally blooms all season and stays mannerly in clumps where you put it. In a warmer zone, it might overwinter.

Cynthia

Sandraville1,

You've gotten excellent advice from knowledgeable gardeners.

May I second the raves about Rozanne. If I could only grow one geranium it would be Rozanne.

Please consider the salvia May Night. It is as dependable as any perennial can be. Here's what makes May Night so good: great winter hardiness, wind proof, does not sprawl with nice orderly growth habit (14" X14"), and one of the few perennials that pushes up fresh basal growth all season long, along with new lateral growth on earlier growth, if dead headeded and watered/fertilized faithfully. May Night is great along with Rozanne in front of roses, hiding the roses's naked knees, which is a big part of the function of your perennials in front of your roses.

The color scheme you may find most harmonious in your perennial selections are: blues, purples, pinks, and whites. These colors will add class, coolness, and elegance to the bed, complementing the roses, the focus plants.

I would avoid: reds, oranges, and yellows. These colors will create activity, heat up the bed (visually), and draw the eye away from the main subject, the roses.

IMHO, you cannot have enough white perennials. They create an atmosphere of refinement and clarity no other color does.

Here are my white flowered perennial recommendations, all top growers, and short in stature for the front of your roses:

Salvia 'Snow Hill' - does sprawl, but sends out new basal growth all summer

Campanula 'White Chips'

Coreopsis alpina 'alba'

Centranthus river 'alba'

Anthemis 'Susannah Mitchell'

Phlox paniculata 'Flame Blue' - strange name for a palest blue, almost white flower

Chrysanthemum superbum: 'Tinkerbelle' 8", 'Lacrosse' 12", and 'Snowcap' 14".

Woah thank you so much for all your answers, I actually really want to grow Rozanne now after all you all said. I never experienced this vegetal exuberance, having too much of foliage and flowers seems like a dream to me, I want my little garden to be full of things growing, and I would prefer i being too much than not enough. I will just cut it back if it grows too much I guess, if it begins swallowing my roses heheh. I might add a salvia too then, I have a nepeta, but it's not a pretty one like yours, wirosarian, so I think I will plant it somewhere else. I will post pictures once everything is in place and starts growing nicely.