It should work.

Whew! Thank you. I was worried.

It's going to depend on the rose. Some will grow large enough to swamp that position while others will stay more compact.

Gardengal- both are own root, Bolero and Bliss Parfuma. I tried to pick smaller varieties. But yeah, that was my other thought.

I think it's too close. And I'd stagger the roses and the hollies, not put one in front of the other.

Hard to see what the green shoots are but if it's nutgrass or a creeping grass it really needs dealing with before planting up the bed.

Bolero should stay relatively small but even in my zone 5/6 Bliss can get 5' or more. It stays relatively narrow as roses go, but you may be better off with something that stays reliably lower there like a Drift rose or Icecap.

Cynthia

floraluk- it’s Kentucky bluegrass shoots. They’ve been dealt with, that’s why they’re turning brown.
Yeah, I could stagger them, that was my initial plan. As for Bliss, that’s why she’s on the end. I know she’ll get larger. I’ve had bolero before and never got past 3-4 ft even on multiflora rootstock.
My only reason for changing my mind on staggering is I’m concerned about the thorns catching people going by. We go in/ out the door many times a day. I’ll have to think about this more apparently lol

Here’s a better view.

The rose hogging the middle space is Sweet Rose of Mine from J& P. I know it’s going to get good sized. It’s grafted.

It'll be fine. You should see how closely mine are planted.

Elena- ooo great idea! 🙂 roses are my favorite! We moved to a new house so I’m starting over. From absolute scratch. It’s a blank 1/2 acre lot. The builders landscaped the front but the back is untouched (evident by the patchy fescue lol) . It’s clay and sand, been tough creating garden areas.

PDXRobert- great to know! I’m so glad to hear it. I asked myself if perhaps I might be a bit insane 😄

I like the idea of staggering roses with pencil holly, or as Elena drew, two roses between the hollies. What are the companion plants? I tend to like more roses, less everything else, too!

Hi Ben- the companion plants are sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, catmint, blue salvia . It’s right out my kitchen door, thought it would be nice to have fresh herbs available and some height/ color variances. Things that will compliment the roses. Hopefully. Haha!

Be careful plating herbs near to roses, at some point you might need to spray them.

Also woody herbs like sage, rosemary and lavender tend to want dry conditions and roses are water hogs so they might not be compatible in your climate. I have lavender on the edge of some beds with roses but they face the hot dry street and tend to have little mulch where the roses are in the cozier parts of the bed with more protection and water.

Cynthia

Elena & Nippstress-
these are great points! I can still place the roses where Elena suggested and move the herbs to the far end where it’s dryer and out of the way incase I need to spray.

It’s been 8 years since I’ve had roses in ground. This has been a great refresher for me! Things I didn’t consider or simply forgot.

Thanks so much to everyone who commented! I truly appreciate it.