Are there good companion plants for roses?
Lots. You can pair them with plants that flower at a different time, such as a climbing rose that blooms once a season with daylilies that bloom later. Or you can combine them with ones that flower at the same time. A few of my favorites are clematis, early summer phlox, and the blue spikes of Russian sage. What are your favorite rose gardening tools? I love my Felco pruners and my Spray Doc pump sprayer. We don’t use power tools. Gasoline is the single most poisonous thing you can bring onto your property. Any rose books that you’d recommend? There are so many. Let’s see, a short list of basics would include Climbing Roses by Stephen Scanniello, Classic Roses by Peter Beales, The Ultimate Guide to Roses by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix, and, if you take their emphasis on chemicals with a grain of salt, Ortho’s Complete Guide to Roses. What’s your favorite time in the rose garden? Just as they start to open. It’s like Christmas morning, when the packages are under the tree and you say
