Here's a rough layout of the front plant bed, had a lot of fun making this in MS Paint. :)

So that's the general layout for the front bed I'm working on. I prefer lower/shorter plants and flowers so the roses can be the focus point. I'd also like to have the companion plants bloom/look nice during the rose's "off season".

Would it work to plant spring flowers/bulbs such as tulips/ranunculus/anemones on the side next to the lawn, with herbs like Kent Beauty oregano, lemon thyme, red geraniums close by to cover the ground once the spring blooms are done? It's hard to visualize this without seeing the actual colors..

One of the most dramatic combinations I accidentally had in the old garden was the orange floribunda Orangeade with Raven penstemon (dark, violet purple) and violet columbines. I'd not deliberately put the colors together, though I like that combination. They helped themselves to each others' spaces. Another which was quite striking was Silver Charm (lavender, single floribunda) with myosotis (baby blue eyes). You have the lavender tones and you're adding orange. I'd pump in some deep, glowing violet with just a touch of butter yellow to round it out a bit. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Raven Penstemon

I'm nowhere near your area (NJ here), but color-wise, I think you'd do well to add some silver-foliaged plants, and some white flowers, to the mix. Something that offers both is Lychnis coronaria 'Alba' and while it will spread, it stays rather short in height.

To offer a contrast to that, consider adding some purple- or red-leafed sedums around the Lychnis, or even to hide any naked edges around the Lavender. And for a soft element, consider perhaps a grass like one of the Muhlenbergias, a shorter Pennisetum, or even the taller Miscanthus ''Purpurascens' to flank the orange rose.

These are things I'd consider in my area, and while I think they may also work for you, others here will be better able to offer more climate-appropriate choices if mine aren't.

:-)

~Christopher

I just noticed the 'Generous Gardener' in your image. Do Heucheras do well for you over there? Perhaps if you can find a sun-tolerant variety whose leaves echo the colors of the flowers of 'Lady Emma Hamilton' you could plant that in front of 'Generous Gardener'. Perhaps either Heuchera 'Delta Dawn' or 'Caramel' would work. If Heucheras melt in the sun near you, then perhaps something else -- maybe an Achillea (yarrow) in an orange-apricot shade?

:-)

~Christopher

If you want to try penstemon, as Kim suggested, you might try "Blackberry Ice", with rich purple blooms that are produced all summer. It grows 25-30 inches tall, and deer and rabbits seem to totally avoid it. Other good purples are the echinacea or coneflowers, and a fairly new variety, "Pow Wow Wildberry" is a short one. I think the taller varieties bloom more, however. Coreopsis "Heaven's Gate" is a good short purple, and a new variety with a deep purplish color "Mercury Rising" is one I'm eager to try. A favorite of mine is the la Bella series of snapdragons. These include the gorgeous, long blooming la Bella purple. They have an open azalea type bloom. I like to fill in here and there with purple osteospernum Atrican Daisies in the short varieties. Other good plants which are a little bluer, but have some lavender tendencies are the hardy geraniums, "Rozanne" which has an especially long bloom time, and "New Hampshire". Hope this helps a little. Diane

Not much of a pastel fan so would agree, purple/deep red with orange is a good combo. I like to stir this up even more with the acid green of euphorbia or mollucella or the sharp green of nicotiana langsdorfii and deschampsia 'Tatra Gold'.

Agastaches!! Lovely combinations of Oranges, and purples in them and a wonderful fragrance in the sunshine. SHould like the same conditions Lavender does. Beautiful with penstemons and california poppies.

How bout Limonium (Sea Lavendar) and White African daisy's -- though they don't need a lot of water either.

These colors would echo the blue and white on the other side.
these all have good foliage year round pretty much.

Daylilies come in all kinds of colors and make nice partners for roses and they take wetter conditions.

Hellebore is the only thing I can think of that would bloom in winter. There are some great ones with cool foliage and if you plant 3 would alone look great. They are partial shade plants however.....

You might consider just architectural plants like grasses, or aloes--- keeping in mind the amount of water you get there.

I particularly like the idea of the dramatic color combination, like the dark violet/deep red/orange combo that was suggested. The french lavender + artichoke already have pastel purple flowers and the silvery leaves there, and with the white rose in the back I'm worried the colors will be too "pastelly". I saw some California poppies "Mikado" seeds in the store today, so I'm thinking that dark flame orange color will do well if I place it in front of the light orange rose (there should be enough contrast between the two colors right?). Or does Echinacea have similar shades of dark orange/red?

I like Agastaches as well, but would the scent conflict with the scents of the 2 David Austin roses I'll be planting? or do they have separate bloom seasons so it wouldn't matter?

So many wonderful ideas, thank you! I'm going to have to compile a list of the plants everyone suggested and their respective pictures because I'm not familiar with a lot of the plants that were suggested (relatively newbie gardener here). Really excited to see what all the suggested plants might look like! :)

This post was edited by technoduckling on Mon, Mar 4, 13 at 2:53

Another idea that's worked well for me are the reblooming irises which come in every color imaginable. When they're not blooming they're a great foil for the more rounded plants. I've had them bloom in November, December, February, right now, August and of course in the spring, and they're low-care. There are some great on-line nurseries for irises and the flowers and foliage really work well with roses.

I like the idea of soft orange lilies such as African Queen and white Henry (white with orange centers). At least it looks great in pictures such as the glamour shots attached. Note the purple-ish backs of the lilies. There are heleniums in the background, I think, but one could also have other orange flowers, such as dahlias, crocosima, or achillea terracotta.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beautiful orange

Along with the lilies, Klaus Dalby likes allium sphaerocephalon (dark purplely red), angelica gigas (purple), a red old fashioned daylily (Crimson Pirate?), Dahlia "David Howard" (with purple foliage), crocosmia and astromera. Single apricot zinnias would also be nice.

Here is a link to a video from July 23 2011: http://youtu.be/xus9T0dB9c8

For earlier in the year I also like the orange foxglove (digitalis obscura?) -- I think I have one that I bought last year, which seems to be alive. In the nursery it was displayed next to a gorgeous bearded iris called Tiger Shark.

Technoduckling,
Personally, I wouldn't plant roses around lavender bushes.
Lavender at my home requires very little supplemental watering, it is totally care free.
Roses, on the other hand, in the hotest months of the year, really do require a nice amount of water, unlike Lavender.
Mabey you have a lavender plant I am unfamiliar with, so it likes water, idk.