What's behind your roses?

I've never understood the concept of formal rose gardens, where a hundred varieties compete for attention in geometric beds. For one thing, it's like being at a Calvin Klein convention: everyone's beautiful, so no one in particular stands out (such a drag). For another, rose blossoms are attractive but the plants themselves tend to be prickly and gawky. So I'm more in favour of interplanting roses with plants that soften and complement the dee-luxury of roses.



Here's the 'Joseph's Coat' climber by my front door, with California lilac (Ceanothus) and Achillea 'Moonshine' below, and a variegated ivy growing up around the post.



In Anne's garden, below, an un-named own-root cultivar unfolds in front of Choisya 'Sundance' and red valerian (Centranthus ruber).




Also in Anne's garden, this 'Graham Thomas' is a stand-out in front of the black-leafed elderberry, Sambucus 'Black Beauty'.

I took the picture below by holding the camera up over my head. Graham's outgrown the six-foot rebar frame Peter constructed last year!





And finally (until the next 'round of blooms anyways), here's a silvery display of a white 'Iceberg' rose in front of billowing Mexican hair grass (Stipa tenuissima) in Rojeanne and Jim's garden.