So many fabulous gardens! Most of my roses are 3 yrs old now. I love the native fig-eater beetles beautiful green color.

Beautiful!

I hope you all keep the photos coming. 😍

I am in awe of your gardens, all of you that shared. Noseometer, the pairing of pink roses with all those misty blues and lavenders is just what I hope to accomplish eventually in my gardens. I'm collecting and propagating Nepeta, Russian Sage, several blue salvias and agastaches with the same type of pairings in my garden. You have accomplished what I dream of.

Judi

Stephanie - yes, that fig eater beetle (never seen one before) is beautiful! And it's so large! We don't get large bugs here. What's that stunning red rose? Your last picture is my fave!!

Below is probably my favorite picture of my garden, taken in spring. The next shows what it looked like a couple months before.

The following are closeups of a few of my favorite roses (less than a year in these pics

I can't wait till they mature and become as lovely as all of yours.

Bliss

Cloud 10

MIP

Eden

Julia Child

Earth Angel

Now I need summer to hurry up and get here!

I am sitting in my studio keeping an eye on the snow that doesn't want to quit, we have over two feet of the stuff now, way more than usual, and the screensaver on my Mac caught my eye - a shot of Ping Lim's Calypso taken last summer. It helps!

I just ordered a Calypso coming in spring. Glad to see your picture and hope mine can grow as well as yours.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, it's a very good bloomer here.

oh man, I LOVE this thread. The photos are pure eye candy.

Here are some of my favourite garden pictures from 2021:

Tammy, those are amazing!

Great thread, love all photos

Here are mine

Eden

PAOK

Queen of Sweden

Golden Celebration

Ambridge Rose

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw - your Madame Hardy is so beautiful. Makes me want to grow Fair Bianca again, even though she was such a small grower.

@arlene_82 (zone 6 OH) I can see why these are your favorites. Your plants look so happy.

@Top Tread Stairways - that sounds like just what I have, Nepetas, salvias, and Russian Sage, also a number of penstemons. Nepetas are so easy to propagate, that you can easily fill the garden with them after buying one plant. Russian Sage is considered an invasive weed by many here, is spreads so aggressively. But it does make a long season of color. When I planned my garden, I really wanted white roses, but I couldn't find white roses that did well in my climate, didn't have thrips damage, had the bush size I wanted, and the flower form that I wanted. My second option was all dark burgundy roses, but these burned very quickly in our hot sun. So I "settled" for pink.

@lynne CA Zone 9B - your Edens are amazing. You've convinced me to plant another, in a better spot.

Well well!!! so many dreamy gardens!! I’m in heaven!

@Tammy (Southern Ont) Zone 4/5 USDA your garden its always so beautiful!! it has i spired me so much

@Hutchae84 Zone 8b/PNW your garden turned out amazing, its so nice to see it all in bloom

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) I love how the bees cover the Russian Sage in summer, but it spreads too aggressively for me. I see it taking over people's yards here all the time.

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) -yep. here too. i have one that came with the house and the runners go under our concrete driveway and come up in the cracks 8 or even 12 feet away.

What about native desert sage? Have either of you tried that?

My fourth photo is Salvia pachyphylla which is a close relative of Salvia dorrii (desert sage). It’s nice enough but not big enough to be a Russian sage substitute, and not the same color. Salvia dorrii has less impressive bracts as compared to Salvia pachyphylla, at least in the ones I’ve seen. Maybe Caryopteris would work to replace the Perovskia.

Thanks for this information!

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw No i haven't yet, but I'll keep that in mind! I had a huge new bed built over summer, this year I'm filling it with annuals while I figure out what I want to put there permanently, but I definitely want a water-wise pollinator garden.

@lynne CA Zone 9B yout Edem its just fabulous! also, that picture of Queen of sweden its probably one of the best I have seen. how is her rebloom? how big does your ambridge gets? she was still pretty small this year so im thinking of relocating her to front of the bed. thank you! love seeing more of your garden!

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) just amazing what you were able to accomplish in your garden. it has inspired my own color choice and plants in my garden. Do you use catmint at all or just sage? i planted several catmints and feel that they are taking over the beds, looking for a more behaved blue companion for the roses. thanks thanks!

@CeresMer Zone 7a NJ - Thanks for your kind words! Well, I have a number of blue plants in my yard, some better companions than others for the roses. You live in a moist humid climate and some plants of mine may actually do better for you, and some may just rot in your climate. You could probably find some substitutes. My favorite catmint is ‘Walker’s Low’ and it does get pretty big. Each plant gets about 4 feet across or more. But it’s a great plant in that it blooms when the roses bloom. It blooms later than N. X faasennii. You can see it in the second photo. Let’s see if I can remember at least some of the other blue/purple plants I have in the garden:

Phlox ‘Violet Pinwheels’

Salvia ‘Blue Note’

Lavender ‘Vicenza Blue’

Lavender ‘Ellagance’

Lavender ‘Hidcote’

Salvia ‘May Night’

Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’

Phlox ‘Emerald Blue’

Erigeron ‘Darkest of All’

Agapanthus ‘Blue Yonder’

Agapanthus ‘Blue Galaxy’

Salvia chamedryoides

Salvia farinacea (perennial here)

Aster ‘Purple Dome’

Aster ‘Raydon’s Favorite’

Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’

Penstemon linarioides

Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Margarita BOP’

Penstemon strictus

Salvia daghestanica

Moltkia petrea

Edraianthus tenuifolius

Amsonia jonesii

Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Electric Blue’

Campanula sarmatica

Linum perenne

Perovskia atriplicifolia

Salvia officinalis ‘Minimus’

Various bearded iris and spuria irises.

Many of these bloom too early or too late to bloom with the roses, which is fine for me, since I like something blooming all season. You’ll have to check your local gardens to see what blooms at the right time, but for me, the spuria irises, ‘Walker’s Low’, the penstemons, Salvia chamaedryoides, Salvia daghestanica, Salvia ‘Blue Note’ bloom at the same time. Salvia ‘May Night’ is fading by the time the roses bloom, and the bearded irises are done. I also just got Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ which has turned out to be not a very good grower in my garden. Same with Perovskia ‘Blue Jean Baby’ which is a big surprise. We’ll see how I does next year.

If I were in your climate, I’d start with some ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (or maybe ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ if I wanted something smaller), some ‘Stand By Me’ clematis (or Clematis x durandii), some spuria irises (maybe some Siberians if they bloom at the right time), some blue speedwell (Veronica), and some Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ or ‘Rozanne’...oh, and Campanula persicifolia to bloom with the first flush of the roses, and then of course plan for the rest of the season.

Thank you, @noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)

Thank you, @CeresMer Zone 7a NJ for your kind words. My garden had great year may due to WFH, more time to care for them.

The repeat of Queen of Sweden is not great. It has wonderful spring, then less reblooms later.

Ambridge is about three feet tall, one of the small DA for me, but I love the size of it. It has the most reblooms for me last year, almost every month.

My rose garden is fairly new, most roses only few years old

More eden

More Queen of Sweden

Paul Neyron

Hutchae - I love your before/after shot...you really beautified that spot...amazing! My favorite of your roses is your Cloud 10!!

Mossy - what a gorgeous shot of Calypso and the surrounding area...oh my!

Tammy - you are so good at staging...whether it's a table or setting the design of your yard! I love the picture from your upstairs room!!

Lynn - I'm amazed!! Sooooo many blooms!! You are a master rose grower!!! Oh my....your Paul Neyron is exquisite!!! But, those Edens...!!!!!!

Michluvroses - what a lovely color combination...pink/purple!! Mmmmm :)

@lynne CA Zone 9B -that is just jaw dropping. Truly stunning. I think that Eden is one of the most beautiful roses in existence and yours are the cream of the crop.

Oh Paul Neyron, you handsome devil you !! What a color!

@Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca your Nahema is lovely! It's so peachy!! Mine is limping along up here in 5b but I'll show her your picture and maybe she'll get inspired!!!

I love everyone's photos--so inspiring! @noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) what a great list of blue companion plants. So many of mine are either blue or white and I keep thinking I should branch out a bit but I never do.

This year I really tried to think taking pictures combinations. I have always maintanined that I wanted to have more gardens with roses and less rose gardens, but I realized looking through old files that I needed to work harder taking pictures that reflected that!

These are a few from this year:

Honeymoon and Clematis Durandii at sunset. Durandii is a ground covering non-vining type that's been great and hiding the bare legs of a climber.

Laguna that's still only a couple years old--it's going to be a nother monster--with some antique irises I got from my mother a couple decades ago.

Quietness in the front, then Quick Silver and in the background Rosanna. With a little nicotina, penstimon and verbenna as supporting actors.

The Climber Viking Queen with perinnial geranum. Lushious blooms although I'm still waiting for this one to put some more growth on so it lays across the top of the picket fence.

Kordes climber Rosanna with Prince Charles. These two make one of my favorite color combination in my garden, which worked out well since this is by the side door I go in and out of every day!

@rosecanadian Thank you, Carol, you are so.kind as always. You comments "master rose grower" makes me laugh loud! LOL

I am junior level compare) with most of you. I am just lucky live in sunny California. I am sure you will do much better than me if we switch location.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) Thank you for your kind words. Your Bishop's Castle is amazing! I have added to my list. Eden is definitely the best in spring, no competition. I took so many pictures of it

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw Thank you, you are so funny!!!

Sub - Beautiful!!! I'm in love with your Laguna...you did a GREAT job in training it! Roseanna and Viking Queen (what a fantastic picture!!!) are divine!!

@CeresMer What is that gorgeous pink rose in you photo?

@Sharon z8b Texas which one lol 90% of my roses are pink 😆

@subk3 stunning!! uou have the perfect setting with that white fence! when we did our fence i was not into roses yet so my fence is more for privacy. i so wish i had a picket fence to drape my roses 😭

Is there anything more dreamy than a white picket fence ? I think not. It is just such a romatic look.

I wish that I had the type of house where it would look like it fit.

So many incredible roses and pictures.

Sub your combination of Prince Charles and Roseanna is gorgeous. I would love to walk by that everyday too.

I need to get my Quietness out in the front yard so that I can enjoy her more.

lol I'm glad I'm not alone in the "90% of my roses are pink," @CeresMer Zone 7a NJ--I feel like I just keep repeating the same thing over and over: cabbagey pink roses that are usually cupped and pastel pink.

@Aaron Rosarian Zone 5b Well pink cabbage roses are objectively the best, of course, so it's no wonder! Just kidding everyone 😅 they are my favorites, though. I think the white thread has inspired me to add some more white in the garden to play nicely with all my soft pink and apricot roses. When I look at Sally Holmes, my single petalled off-white, I see a lot of potential for romantic pairings with fuller pink roses and other flowers. I hope it's surviving the winter okay, so far.

I have a dainty bess tab open right now. I wish I were joking:

https://roguevalleyroses.com/rose/dainty-bess/

@Aaron Rosarian Zone 5b I've been thinking about Dainty Bess too! I have no more room! 😅

@CeresMer Zone 7a NJ The one by the window in your original post from 20 days ago. It is stunning!

@Sharon z8b Texas I believe that is "Pearly Gates".

@Aaron Rosarian Zone 5b lol we have the same taste in roses!! Im still looking for spirit of freedom! last year i added some non pink: batsheba, moonlight in paris. i also have judge & wollerton coming. but no reds yet 😜

@Sharon z8b Texas yes! pearly gates! amazing spring flush, not so amazing after. does get some black spot

I just love seeing all of your garden photos! I am not a winter person, so they are definitely brightening my cold, monochromatic morning here in western North Carolina.

Here are a few shots from my 2021 garden:

Claire Austin

The Poet's Wife

Lavender Veranda

Highwire Flyer climber, year 1

Joseph's Coat

Jack's Camellia, one of my favorite flowers!

Magic sunrise dahlia

Aaron and Librarian--go ahead and get Dainty Bess. She may be an old hybrid tea, but Dainty is one tough lady in cold for sure (Aaron).

Lots of lovely, creative, and just well done gardening is shown here. I am enjoying seeing it all. Diane

Wow!! So many beautiful pics. Thanks everyone for sharing. I needed this garden pick me up as it's 34 degrees outside and I'm missing my garden.

Ang - such beautiful pictures!! My faves are Claire Austin (that shot is magical!), the butterfly...look at that blue on its wings! and your patio shot....I want your patio in my yard, please. LOL :)

@CeresMer Zone 7a NJ and @Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b): Thank you for the answer. And thank you for the additional information about bloom and black spot.

@lynne CA Zone 9B how old are your Edens?

@Rosiez6a_MA about 8－9 years