My Munstead and Darcey look great with Moonstone. White, but with pink edges.

I like combining colors that are opposite on the color wheel, and opposite in terms of light/dark. So for something in the dark purple-red family, something light yellow or light apricot would be something I'd do, which would make both pop. If you also want to contrast flower form, consider that the roses you have make large, full blooms singly or in small clusters. So perhaps a rose with smaller, less-full blooms in larger clusters would go well. Something I was thinking of was 'Perle d'Or', or maybe 'White Cecile Brunner'. Or maybe one of the light yellow Hybrid Musks, like 'Daybreak' or 'Francesca'. If you want something more modern, and "easy", I must say that the 'Limoncello' at my job is rather bullet-proof -- really disease-resistant, almost constantly blooming even without dead-heading, but only (to my nose) lightly fragrant.

That's just something I'd do, not because it's "correct" but because that's what I like.

:-)

~Christopher

I love burgundy or deep wine with cool lavender and silver-leafed foliage. It seems to really make the richness of the wine pop.

I planted Munstead Wood with Poseidon, Violets Pride, and Phenomenal lavender. :-)

Agree with Christopher. Dianela's photos are beautiful too.

My personal preference would be a white.

I have Munstead in my walkway. Beside him I have blue iris and some purple/gold throat day lilies. Across from him are more iris and day lilies and across and down the row is Purple Plum, Candice and the ever lovely Pretty Jessica. Directly across from him and in front is Wedding Cake. I also have Laurentia interplanted inbetween plants. It is an annual but reseeds itself throughout the bed. Unfortunately, all I have are videos of the front this year and no stills.

Thank you all!!! I get a picture. It is hard, at least for me. I am decidedly design challenged but want to really make it work this time. I will plant and wont really know till 2 or 3 years later so want to think it out well. I think from your suggestions mauves, silvery foliage, blues and apricots and creams and gold would work. Just do it right?...and it can be changed.

I totally get what you’re saying, Katya—I’m only a few steps ahead of you, but I have noticed that it’s easy to move things around if plan A doesn’t work.

Generally speaking in design, if you want a focal point, something that draws the eye, create contrast. Colors combinations across the color wheel from each other do that, as does white. Pick a few places in the garden you want to be focal points, and lead the eye on a little tour around the garden. Then blend colors more harmoniously between focal points with analogous combinations, or colors closer to each on the wheel between focal points.

The most important thing is that YOU love it! That’s the best part of having your own private garden.

And you might be surprised by how well they harmonize, even when it sounds like it might not. All those green leaves really do tie things together. :-)

I say yes to everyone’s great suggestions and that white and light roses can really pop. I am so excited for your new garden!

(ETA: It posted after a thousand attempts! LOL But, some of the pictures are missing. I hope it still makes sense.)

I typed out a long response yesterday and when I hit post, it disappeared into the ether. :(
I do agree that light pink and whites look pretty with Ascot. Not in the garden, but here you can see Ascot with pinks, whites, and even the purple of the sweet peas.

As far as perennials to add, I find you can't go wrong with lady's mantle and catmint. I know it's old school, but that's probably because they just seem made for each other.

My other favourite perennials to mix in the border are may night salvia, delphiniums, foxglove, penstemon and daisies. Ascot is just to the left of this picture and plays well with all these colours.

I find when I repeat all these perennials, it pulls the whole border together, makes sense of all the different coloured roses, and makes it look like I know what i'm doing. haha!
With white daisies in front of these, and white scabiosa in front of Ascot...along with tall garden phlox, this mixed border constantly has flowers in bloom.

A bit off topic, but I love putting tall garden phlox amongst everything. When the roses are resting, the phlox does its thing and looks (and smells) fab.You can see it in the picture below. During that drab part of summer in between bloom cycles, it does it's thing. (It's the pinks in the background, behind the hydrangea)

Perma and Stephanie: Thank you so much for your encouragement and reassurance! I am keeping those tips and pointers handy. This is my first time actually working with color. Before it was all foliage (which is truly beautiful to my eyes too) in shade gardens. As you can well imagine I am loving the process, every bit of it! From being outside to working on color on my computer.

Tammy: Thank you, thank you for your suggestions. Old school? It will be a first for me. I just looked up catmint and lady's mantle. I am going to love using these two plants. And there are a good few cultivars. I know daisies and I looked up delphiniums, foxglove and penstemons too. All these spire-y flowers in different colors or shades of the same color will look very lovely. You have given me such a good handle. I had seen pictures of these but didnt know their names.

Its such a shame that your photos didnt load (I can't see them). I would have wanted to see them. Phlox, densely planted does look good! If you ever have the time I would love to see them.

(As a note: i am not having trouble posting pictures anymore after I have started reducing there file size. For me, using good old picasa reducing the size to 600 pixels is about the largest I can load easily. Sorry if you know this already. You do post pretty pictures of your roses!)

I'll try again to post the picture I was trying to post.

The chartreuse green in the background is lady's mantle when it's in bloom. When it's not, the foliage is glorious too.

The dark purple is May Night Salvia.

I need to find you a picture of my catmint because I use it everywhere. It is so beautiful with roses.

The pale lavender is foxglove and the one to the right is penstemon.

Although you can only see the yellow rose here, there are all different colored roses in this border. Including Ascot. When I repeat these perennials in the blank spaces it seems to tie it all together.

Kataya, I seem to have some success posting one at a time. LOL

Here's the garden phlox. Like I said, if you fill it in between the roses, it blooms when almost everything else is resting. I couldn't be without it.

It's in the background. I was taking a picture of my hydrangea, but don't really have another picture of the tall phlox. You can see how it stands in for the roses when they're in between flushes.

Here's another view.

The roses in this photo are pomponella, the yellow in the background are also roses and in the top right corner you can kind of see Ascot. There's more roses here as well and I think it's the catmint (The purple at the very front) and the chartreuse lady's mantle that makes it work, for me personally. The floppy lavender plants at the top are my delphiniums.

I'll try and show you a closer pic of the catmint.

Here's walker's low. It's big and floppy and dividable and shareable and a million other good things. haha

It's the purple on the right that sort of looks like lavender.

These are all so beautiful. Tammy... WOW! Love the pictures. My Ascot is currently next to Star of the Republic and Lavender Crush, but I'm moving it in the spring to be a stand alone rose on the other side and replacing it with Flamenco Rosita before either get too large.

I have both my Munstead Woods in mirrored beds surrounded by similar colours. The back rose is New Dawn over a low balustrade with Tessotd'U and Heathcliff. Surrounding roses are Summer Romance and Eglantyne. Nearby are Viking Queen, Dark Desire, Valentine Lindee, Bolero, Yvonne Rabier, Caroline Hunt and Bordeaux. In the continuing bed that forms and L are Darcey Bussell, Marie Pavie, Pretty Jessica, The Tooth Fairy and Gruss an Aachen. My only underplantings are peonies, stachys, sweet William and lavender thus far. I'll look for a pic if you like.

Ohhh please please picture Vaporvac! :) I bet it looks amazing.

Tammy your garden is beautiful and so perfectly maintained I am very jealous. =) Your fairy garden is lovely.

Darcy And the Tooth Fairy, Munstead Wood et al:

Tammy, your garden is so beautiful! I’m so envious that you can grow Lady’s Mantle; I think it’s the perfect compliment to many roses, but I just can’t seem to keep it alive here. Too hot & humid I suppose.

And Vap, that’s a gorgeous bed! Is the silver artemisia? I love silver with wine. :-)

stachys lanata.

Vap. wow wow wow!!

If only it still look like that at the moment, but thank you! :-) I also forgot there is a Molino stuck out there did I didn't have anyplace else to plant. I kind of like it but I may still move it to the front bed. It's amazing what a little pale yellow can do for pink bed. Same thing for the Lilac colored iris.

Tammy thank you for going back and taking time to post those pictures!!! Not only do I see what you you were describing but your garden looks like garden in a fairy tale cottage, really. Perfect. I am going to enjoy seeing your garden grow...I, we all are lucky you decided to post!

Vap, I love your garden! What a majesty of trees and so much open space too! Please post more pictures and close ups too so we can see how the plants look. You are just so blssed to have a gardening space like that. :)

Its going to be years and years before I can show my garden with some growth in it.

Is the dark purple/blue in the front salvia? The short mauvish spires in the middle catmint? The tall wire-y flowers? The yellow/orange is yarrow right? Wouldnt purple, mauve and yellow roses look good in a bed like this? And even a few dark pink roses too?

Roses are not the star in this picture but wouldnt this be a good color/perennial combination for all manner of pink and purple roses? The light chartreuse leaves work well here. The dark purple flowers are penstemons? And the mauve spires? I think phlox would blend nice in here too.

Tammy, see how you got me started!

Houzz just deleted my post but I'll try again.

On the rose photo above I think the mauve/blue spires are nepeta. On the photo with the yarrow I think the blue spires are Russian Sage. Both combinations are beautiful and inspirational!

I tend to use many of the same perrenials with roses as other posters: Alchemilla Mollis, Nepeta, hardy geraniums, digitalis (they come in many colours, I have on in pale yellow that repeats). All are good growers that fill the void between the roses.

Hardy geranium with Aquilegia and Mme Isaac Pereire. And ground elder...

I like your blue Geranium Mettebee… it's not one I recognise...
...yes I also think that's Russian Sage in the picture earlier... Perovskia 'Blue Spire'... it always flopped when I had it... no idea how they keep it so upright..

I don't grow Ascot, but with Munstead Wood, I think white's are best because it's a rose that can change colour with heat, it's liable to get lighter, turning red, pinky or even bits of flame colours...depending on location...

I'm not sure if I can post photos here anymore, so let's see..

Verbascum 'Flush of White' with Desdemona roses..

I like all these with dark purple roses... no idea if suitable for you, or available even but I hope you like the ideas...

Vapor thank you! thank you ! Those pictures are just amazing. Love your brick work around the beds and your veranda is so romantic. I keep telling myself I need to plan better instead of just throwing roses in the first hole I can dig up in my hard clay. Of course I buy too many roses I don’t have space for, so I end up planting them anywhere to keep my pot get to manageable.

I love seeing all the pictures of roses in mixed beds. <3

Katya, try losing yourself in photos or videos of Mottisfont Abbey online. The roses there are grown in mixed beds and you'll get all sorts of ideas. Same with the David Austin gardens. I fell in love with their Rosa Mundi planted beside huechera and had to do the same thing here. Actually, my to-do list for next year is to add more because it did so well.

That yellow does look like yarrow. I have some and it is nice to use in bouquets as well. I found one called Antique Rose and it's a beautiful shade of pink that I ended up liking even more than my yellow!

I found another pic you might like. It's the front of my house so a bit more...restrained? What's the word I'm looking for? haha

Anyhow, I have a repeating pattern of Catmint (the lighter purple), May Night Salvia(darker purple) and Lady's mantle, behind which are pink roses. It's really cool because in the spring, it's filled with tulips. Then in becomes purple, and then turns pink with roses.

More lovely photos! I love the white verbascums, I have yet to grow them myself. Marlorena, I think the blue geranium is Rosemoor. I'm not sure as it is from a collegue's garden.

..oh ok... I should have known then as I grow that one....

Tammy, that looks just like a famous picture on the web with the lady's mantle. What is the Rose in the last picture?

Gorgeous, gorgeous photos, all.

I loved tall purple phlox behind Munstead, but the phlox got too big and had to be moved this fall. I replanted part of the area with purple delphiniums.

Whenever I'm stuck with a pairing problem, I always defer to purple or blue.

Vaporvac, I do know the picture you're talking about. Love it.

The pink roses in the picture are apple blossom carpet roses. I wanted something that stayed small and somewhat neat and tidy.

I have Cinderella Fairy Tale roses behind the picket fence. The catmint/lady's mantle/salvia are in front of the fence, but not really showing in this picture.

Fabulous pictures everyone! Love it!

Marlorena, you of course are right! I do see that Munstead Wood looks spectacular next to white in various textures. You have inspired me even further. First I didn't really know MW was of such rich darkness. How do you get colors like that? You transfer your peaceful energy to your planets and they get strong and beautiful? What plant is the tall white spire in the first picture and the low growing fluffy white in the second picture? I have ordered a white rose, Sugar Moon but it is a HT and grows tall and straight (6 ft-ish). I should order a more lax shrub like white or cream. Anything fragrant comes to mind? Thank you so much sharing these pictures from your garden. I cannot tell you how grateful I am..please share any number of pictures from your garden to show how your flowers are growing and how you designed your space. I am loving the tall white spire-y flowers too.

here are two I found pictures of..

have to find out what they are!

They look like Veronica to me.

Tammy your front garden is CHARMING! I too have a seen a picture like that before. You have done a superb job. Hey, I would never leave home. My gardens are a mess and still in there all the time!

Where are you getting the flower carpet roses? Specially the apple blossom carpet? I cant seem to find them anywhere.

I found a rose bed with the flowers you suggest but yours are so much lovelier. Here in the picture there is too much structure, too linear. In yours the flowers mingle and tumble and overlap, thats so much more beautiful to my eyes.

I wonder why I often see the flowers all lean over? Are these purposely planted on a slope?

I havent gotten to checkout the abbey but I will.

Thank you so much Tammy!

Vap, I love your brick bordered beds too! They look classic in your very classic garden. I love the vista and the open space. I have so much old tall growth in my garden.. I like it a lot. It creates an atmosphere of seclusion and rest that I love but not great for growing roses. I cleared and carved out some space for sun and roses, hopefully it will be a small success.

In other parts I hope to create or recreate something like this where I can grow climbing roses (and other flowering vines) over trees and walls where there is not much sun on the ground and the flowers below can take some shade:

Thank you flowers for that tip. I will keep in mind the blue and the purple!

MetteBee thank you! I am going to plant one, maybe two MIP in the spring. I think a purplish blue near it would look awesome!

Katya, the first white flower is Physostegia. I remember them in pink from my great-grandmother's garden.

This thread is perfect for this time of year - time to dream and plan for next summer!

Not Physostegia but snapdragons in this bed. In the background the rambler Lykkefund, I think. Not my garden though - it's from Egeskov Castle. Baby IS mine ;-)

^a new gardener in the making ^...

Katyajini...thank you... it's all very modest here... no room to space things out... the tall white spires are Verbascum's and the white fluffy creation is a Linum [white flax].. which I first saw oddly enough in a garden in Nebraska, but I don't know if it's an annual there or not..

...I like white shrub roses for a mixed border... I'm looking forward to growing 'Souvenir de St. Anne's' which I shall be receiving shortly... it should get to 6 foot here.. and it has a zone 5b on HMF... perhaps not to everyone's taste but I like this type of semi-single rose... and it's a Bourbon, one of my favourite classes of roses...

Aww, so sweet, MetteBee. We love babies here.

Katyajini, check with local gardeners before you plant Gooseneck Loosestrife, second pic. Purple Loosestrife can not be sold in some states. White Gooseneck Loosestrife is a little more mannerly, but if you're going to plant either one, plant them in a pot sunk into the ground to control the rhizomes. It's a shame such pretty plants can be invasive. Veronica is much safer. Sheila is right, they look almost identical. Physostegia, first pic, is less aggressive than loosestrife and easier to pull out. Or, maybe where you live, they're both easier to control. You can get a spiky white look with foxglove, delphinium, snapdragons, veronica, penstemon and verbascum.

Here's a photo that has long inspired me that you might like. (Found on the web with no credit.)

I believe the tall white spires are delphinium.

I've had both Physostegia and Loosestrife in my garden. They spread like wildfire, especially the Loosestrife, and took years to get out. I learn the hard way, but you're being wise to do the research first.

MetteBee, this has become a thread where we, (I) can dream of the beds we are going to plant in a few months. I am staying up nights already. I miss pushing my baby days, it is a blessed time :)

Sheila that is veronica. that pict is from annies annuals. Such great shop but so much is out of stock!

I am finding out loosestrife is very invasive. Thanks, flowers, I don't need that. There are many similar flowers.

You guys are awesome!