Ask John Negus
What can I grow underneath my roses?
Q I have several rose bushes, and when they are in flower the ground beneath them looks rather bare. I was thinking of planting Brunnera round the base of the roses for ground cover. Would this be detrimental to the rose bushes?
Mrs Eunice Akid, via email
A I think it is a lovely idea to grow plants under your roses. This is something that gets discussed by gardeners time and time again, and I think that in a domestic garden roses will be enhanced by underplanting. It is only in formal rose gardens that perhaps it may be better to leave the soil bare!
Brunnera is a wonderful groundcover plant and ought to be a great foil for the roses. The only problem is that to get the best from the foliage it needs to be grown in shade or partial shade, whereas roses need full sun. As such, they are not ideal companions.
If you are keen that the ground cover be foliage rather than flowers, then you might consider Ajuga, Cerastium, Lamium, Stachys and Alchemilla. You might also consider low-growing herbs such as marjoram, camomile, thyme and lavender.
Whatever you decide to plant, it is worth noting that it may compete with the roses for water and nutrients. Roses are quite greedy
