oh ok Jackie...thanks for that...I didn't realise it was Jackmanii... ..regarding putting two colours together...I always think I can get away with it if I introduce a third which complements both, and that third is usually something white... although I wouldn't deliberately put pink next to orange, but unfortunately it sometimes happens and I have one of those '''oh what have I done'' moments... I expect we've all been there.... ..just noticed Jackie has done something like this with Buff Beauty and Summer Wine, which some might think clash, but has introduced a purple Clematis to tone it all down... beautifully... This post was edited by Marlorena on Wed, Dec 10, 14 at 15:59

I think they work together. I had to look a second time, so perhaps the location in your home will sway one way or the other, but it would be a nice tough to change one set of sleeves so they are both ivory or white. I feel compelled to let you know that tibbrix will not approve of the bronze 4-light. And that Hubbardton Forge fixture is probably available in a complimentary finish. ;-)

HI Sophia Glad to be helpful, and you did indeed do a great job of picking roses that have a good reputation for relatively easy care. They'll still need occasional pruning and deadheading like any rose, but the mix of Kordes and Austin and other shrub roses should work well for you. Incidentally, there's no need to move those two free roses to another area unless you prefer the look of those blooms separate from the ones you have above. I have Garden Delight near Tuscan Sun in the "modern" section of my yard (hot colors), and they make quite a combined statement together. Most of us freely mix hybrid teas, floribundas, and shrub roses together, and a more important consideration for how you place them is their growth habit. For instance, many of your Austin roses (like The Alnwick Rose, Pomponella, Princess Alexandra of Kent, and Munstead Wood) are technically also shrub roses, and they're already in the mix you planned. However, these roses grow differently and need that considered mostly in how you plant. For instance, Munstead Wood tends to be shorter even in warm climates, so it would be toward the front of the bed, while the other larger Austins could go toward the back of the bed. Beyond the height and spread of the roses, everyone's advise to not worry too much about the rose placement is right on- as jjpeace says, the roses tend to decide when they want to bloom and even carefully planned placements end up looking like a mixture in most cases, so just put them where you want them. Since you mention being new at roses, here are some other tips for planting and enjoying them: - Do what you can to prepare the soil ahead of planting in your front bed. This could be mixing in some organic material (like leaves, grass clippings, compost) into the soil bed before planting if you're ambitious, or putting layers of organic material in the 1 meter area around the roses as mulch (maybe putting some wood chips on top if you like that look) if you're lazy like me. The worms will gradually mix that organic material into the soil and improve the overall quality of the soil over time. If you have a humid climate, you want to make sure to keep that organic material away from the canes at the base of the rose at least a few centimeters, to avoid some diseases at the base. Keeping that mulch down on top of the soil also cuts down on your work because you won't have to weed around the roses. - Be sure to water them deeply when you water - particularly when first planted - (until you can feel moisture half-way up your finger, an average of 2 cm per week) but don't drown them in water. Spacing out watering helps to build up toughness and make them send down deep roots, but in sandy soil or very dry climates you have to water more often than I do with my loamy clay soil. - Be PATIENT with them. These roses will mostly settle in for this year and much of next year, and that's a good thing. You may see some blooms, but the main color you want to see is green - that means they're putting out leaves and hopefully putting out roots to grow from. You expect new roses to sleep the first year, creep the second year, then leap (start blooming more) the third year. - Don't fuss over them too much. There will be occasional bugs that chew on them, making lacy holes in the leaves or clustering on buds in early spring (like aphids), but the best defense is to spray them off with water and not try to kill them off. Keeping a few "bad" bugs encourages the good bugs to come and keep the balance in your garden (and also make less work for you). Same thing about blackspot on the leaves - unless it keeps your rose stunted and not putting out new leaves, many of us don't do anything about blackspots on the leaves. If you don't like the look and some turn out to have too spotty leaves to be acceptable to you, you can always change out that rose for another one that will stay cleaner down the road. - Don't fertilize your new roses when planting, particularly not with any solid fertilizers. I make the exception that I plant new roses with a handful of alfalfa hay (from the feed store) mixed in the planting hole soil, since it breaks down very gradually and the roses like the nitrogen, but it's not needed. You can give them some half-strength diluted liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks (see the directions on the bottle) once they're putting out leaves for you throughout the growing season, but you don't have to do even that. Good soil is more important than fertilizer, particularly in the first year. - Enjoy your roses and your family, and we would indeed love seeing what your garden looks like as you get it pulled together. This is all meant to be fun, so have fun with it and don't worry too much. Cynthia

I don't have any Austins actually together--instead they are scattered all over my backyard in beds with other kinds of roses and other flowers and bushes. However, I do have Munstead Wood not too far from the climbing Austin The Wedgewood--its light pink looks very nice in contrast to MW's dark velvet red-purple. And on the other side of MW, not too far away, are a couple Molineux bushes--another excellent contrast (golden/yellow/apricot vs dark velvet red-purple). I also have Lady of Shalott planted about 10 feet behind the rose bed in front of it. Since the Lady grows 6ft tall (or taller), I can usually easily see her above the bright reds like Double Delight and Braveheart in the bed in front of her. It surprises me sometimes how wonderfully well that combination shines out from afar when I come out of my back door. My various pink Austins (medium to very light pink) all blend in well with whatever combination of flowers I plant them among. Hope that helps. Kate