It is a very small bed, I would just add some low-growing plant to the edges, to trail around them. You say it is in shade, which limits the options, but it also means that the roses won't do well there... how many hours of sun does it get?
It is a very small bed, I would just add some low-growing plant to the edges, to trail around them. You say it is in shade, which limits the options, but it also means that the roses won't do well there... how many hours of sun does it get?
I did also suggest to my husband it wasn’t the best place for roses. Maybe I will suggest moving it to the front of the house and putting something else in those beds.
Some low growing hardy geraniums would be nice, e.g. Geranium x cantabrigiense. Good move doing an underplanting, I can't stand seeing the bare ankles of roses.
So thanks for all the advice. I put some bark around them, which looks a lot neater! I also planted some pansies, not sure if they will grow or not but I can try.
I did look at geraniums but decided against them because of having cats.
We have cats and hardy geraniums. Don't see why they'd be a problem.
I suggest that, come autumn, you scrape off that bark and set it aside safely then plant some spring bulbs such as small, multi-headed daffs and later alliums at suitable depths then give it a good layer of manure which you can buy, well-rotted, in bags at the DIY or GC. Then put back the bark mulch.
The bulbs will extend the season of interest and the mulch feed the roses and improve the mud too.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
We have cats and hardy geraniums. Don't see why they'd be a problem.
I suggest that, come autumn, you scrape off that bark and set it aside safely then plant some spring bulbs such as small, multi-headed daffs and later alliums at suitable depths then give it a good layer of manure which you can buy, well-rotted, in bags at the DIY or GC. Then put back the bark mulch.
The bulbs will extend the season of interest and the mulch feed the roses and improve the mud too.
Geraniums (like many plants it seems) are poisonous to cats. I am a worrier so just want to ensure I feel ok with what I plant in terms of the cats.
Thanks for the tip about the autumn, would that be like early October? I am unlikely to plant bulbs because of the cats. Maybe I worry too much... my husband says I do.
You are confusing pelargoniums - not hardy and from South Africa - with native hardy geraniums. 2 different species with a similar seed pod and flower form so when they first arrived in the UK people thought they were also geraniums.
Hardy geraniums will provide ground cover. If you go for macrorhizum forms they will be in flower - white, pale pink or deeper pink forms available - before the roses and the foliage will be scented and go red in winter for added interest. Other forms such as Rozanne will grow taller and flower later and longer and give you blue flowers to contrast with your roses. Hundreds of geraniums out there so go see what's good for you.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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You say it is in shade, which limits the options, but it also means that the roses won't do well there... how many hours of sun does it get?
I suggest that, come autumn, you scrape off that bark and set it aside safely then plant some spring bulbs such as small, multi-headed daffs and later alliums at suitable depths then give it a good layer of manure which you can buy, well-rotted, in bags at the DIY or GC. Then put back the bark mulch.
The bulbs will extend the season of interest and the mulch feed the roses and improve the mud too.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Hardy geraniums will provide ground cover. If you go for macrorhizum forms they will be in flower - white, pale pink or deeper pink forms available - before the roses and the foliage will be scented and go red in winter for added interest. Other forms such as Rozanne will grow taller and flower later and longer and give you blue flowers to contrast with your roses. Hundreds of geraniums out there so go see what's good for you.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw