[Rose-list] perennials and roses

**e* <e*@europa.com>**

I have several helleborus (h. niger & h orientalis).  They are 
essentially evergreen in my corner of the world and have compact growth. 
lovely glossy fan type leaves and of course the flower which begins 
blooming very late winter, just about when I go to cut back my roses.
h. niger is about 18" high and thats the same level as I cut back to, so 
it is in bloom as the roses are just sticks.  Then as the roses grow and 
leaf out, the helleborus fades away.
I have also had an influx of bleed heart, both common dicentra and native 
d. formosa.  Last year I dug out a sunburned dicentra and put a rose that 
was given to me in July as a memorial for my dad, who had just passed 
away.
I decided the spot was better for a rose than the dicentra because as 
summer got warmer there was quite a bit of sun.
I did repot the dicentra tubers but evidentially left plenty of them in 
the ground for they now overshadow my rose.
I have been cutting them back, bringing the blooms in for little cut 
flower vases and it does not seem to bother them.
I also like Aquilegia with my roses, again I have a. formosa (western 
columbine), McKenna mix and some volunteers.  These are so easy to grow 
from seed and send up volunteers every year.
I think what I like about these 3 perennials in my roses is the lovely 
leafing they have, the fact they bloom before the roses and are not hurt 
by trimming back and when the roses are in bloom these perennials sort of 
fade into the sunset.
Of course, lavenders (I like Hidcote in our area) and traveling rosemary, 
any of the thymes, violas., annual or perennial forget me nots and iberis 
for borders.

 elle/cedar mill OR
 north end of the willamette valley
 USDA Zone 6
 Sunset Zone 8

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