Since my garden style is cottage gardening, companions play a key role along with “all those roses.” There are some plants in my Zone 5 garden that are wonderful rose companions, but I really have to keep an eye on them. I affectionately call them my over achievers. They can and will take over! However, I have to say that after 2 years of extremely hot and extremely dry conditions, I am very grateful for my over achievers. They perform beautifully–even when other plants are giving up.
I don’t know what this summer will bring, but even if it is H O T and D R Y again, these are some plants I will be able to count on to be companions to my roses.
Top 7 Over Achievers…
#7 Daisies: A determined and prolific bloomer in most any condition. And as we learned in You’ve Got Mail, they are the “friendliest flower”!
#6 Black-eyed Susans: Bright, dependable and beautiful in mass.
#5 Catmint: Low, sprawling and brings in the bees!
#4 Autumn Joy Sedum: Truly low maintenance and they say to hot, dry conditions, “Bring it on. We can take it!”
#3 Yarrow: It comes in pinks, yellows, white, reds, lavender and on and on. Great to hug up to and around other flowers and roses and fill in around the edges of borders. Perfect as filler in rose arrangements.
NOTE: Recently I interviewed Baldo Villegas (leading expert for the ARS on rose insects and diseases — entomologist, gardener, horticulturalist and self professed rose nut) on Rose Chat Radio. One of the many wonderful things he said about companion planting as it pertains to the over all health of roses and other plants, was that he considered Yarrow to be one of the premiere companion plants for roses! Listen to the his entertaining and informative interview HERE.
#2 Moonbeam Coreopsis: Easy, breezy, long blooming and beautiful. Love Love Love! There are so many varieties of coreopsis … check them out!
#1 Feverfew: Tiny little daisy-like flowers that are great fillers in rose arrangements!
Do you have plants in your garden that are over achievers —- one day they are all over the place and you are ready to “shovel-prune.” Then the next day they are glorious and you think you can’t live without them?
Ha! I call garden over achievers “Garden Thugs” and am ruthless when it comes to knocking them back or down altogether. Ornamental grasses were the worst–oh so pretty, yet monsters to manage–so ALL of them whet to unsuspecting homes (;-))! I have merely 5 Muhlenbergia capillaris here and visitors go wild in the fall. Additionally, I have a wild area in the lower border that is both my Monarch Waystation and a place where over achiever perennials can party. After all, gardening is about letting go a bit, when we control so much else in our lives. Yes?
I never get tired o looking at someone’s garden pictures. I found the Autumn Joy Sedum to be really interesting and might have to try that one. Thank you for the new ideas.
You will love the large sedums. Truly no care and that one doesn’t spread around too much! Enjoy.
Thank you Teresa for sharing this information 🙂 I have some roses, but I did not know too much about companion planting. … m.
Loads of luck with planting companions!