Forgot to mention the beds face west here, are in my front right near the street where every passerby can see them and the beds get full sun from about noon until dusk. The soil is fine and I have been adding organics every fall like straw, chopped oak leaves, etc.

Here's a closer pic of one of the beds

This post was edited by kentstar on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 20:04

That's a very lush, pretty bed already, but I can see why you might want to add some color and vary the height a little with a few roses. I don't know what size range you want to stay with, but I've been most impressed this year by the constant bloom and gorgeous colors of Easy Does It. This rose is covered with blooms right now in our month long heat wave, and it's just a baby, planted about a week before the heat hit. Other roses that just don't quit for me are Munstead Wood, also a new one and in constant bloom with a gorgeous dark red color and wonderful scent. Of course, Julia Child is in full flush right now in 100 degree weather. She is indomitable. I have others that don't quit all season, but they may be too large or the wrong color for what you're looking for. Golden Celebration is blooming away, but it's big, and may take longer to establish itself than the others I have mentioned. Frederic Mistral is a constant bloomer for me, but he's big and the blooms are a pale pink. Royal Bonica (not Bonica) is a brighter pink, always in bloom, but only available (that I know of) from Hortico. Since we don't have blackspot here, I can't mention my experience with that problem.
Just a word on the brunnera. It's a real shade lover, and maybe your giving yours too much sun. Mine is happy in the one small shade spot I have. There is a brief sunny period it's exposed to during the day, and it promptly collapses, then soon revives. It's thriving and spreading, though.
Diane

Here is a pic of the baby Easy Does It, just a week or two after it was planted. This is at its brightest. The blooms fade to a lovely apricot. Diane

Here is Julia Child at the very beginning of her spring flush. The smaller yellow in front of her is Bernstein-Rose, another favorite. My two Julias are 6X6 feet, but I don't think they would get that large in your colder climate. Diane

Nice looking bed. Great potential.

You have great plants already and a very nice tidy border in those logs that I envy. I'm wondering two things - do you have enough space for a rose to spread out, and how much sun does this bed get? If the heucheras are happy, then it's no more than part sun and you'd want to go with a hardy shrub or hybrid musk. Also, it doesn't look much more than 2 feet wide, which might limit you to the small shrubs or even minis, which sort of rules out most of the hybrid musks I can think of.

If I were you, I'd look at some of the smaller Easy Elegance shrubs, if you want year-round color with guaranteed winter survival in zone 5 and aren't fussy about individual flower form. I've had good results from Sunrise Sunset (pink-orange blend), which stays around 2-3' for me, or maybe Paint the Town (reddish blooms). You'd have room for one of the "drift" roses, and they can handle part shade and might drape over the edges of those logs nicely.

For more height, you could do one of the shorter Kordes roses. Bushier ones might be Elmshorn (below) or Eutin, which was apparently the Knockout of its day and is a tough ever-blooming low bush.
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For a taller compact Kordes, Floral Fairy Tale stays short for me, less than 3' tall (picture below). Otherwise, there are wide varieties of minis that would fit in nicely around these heuchera and you could winter protect their bases with some chopped leaves if you're unsure of their exact hardiness in the first year.

Cynthia

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That area is not wide enough for 'Munstead Wood'. It gets massive in about 3 years and needs lots of real estate.

An alternative to roses for continuous summer bloom is the new 'Buzz Series' butterfly bushes. I put in magenta last year, along with 'Quietness', and the color combo is striking. 'Buzz' comes is a variety of colors; gets taller and is more upright and doesn't sprawl, and would make a wonderful companion perennial with whatever roses you choose.

What are the dimensions of the raised bed? 'Quietness' is bulletproof here and is fairly cane hardy also, so it may be an option if the dimensions are large enough.

Nanadoll - I nearly had a heart attack when I read that your Julia Childs are 6x6. Thank god they are smaller in cooler climates. Mine is in a decent sized pot but not big enough to maintain a 6x6 bush. Your roses are absolutely gorgeous.

M

I would also recommend Julia Child. She has been tip hardy, black spot resistant and blooms nearly continuously for me. The other one I like is Home Run. Bright red, non-stop bloom with no black spot and very good hardiness. I like it much better than my KO. It blooms more and the flowers are brighter and drop more cleanly.

Thank you Mirenda. I love your roses and enjoyed seeing your garden in Ireland. I wish I were there right now--it's 100 degrees outside.Today in this heat, Julia C looks just like the photo taken in June. I can't get over that rose. Diane

I have to chime in and agree, if you like yellow, Julia Child is the way to go! She just blooms and blooms, and blooms and then blooms. I am i the northern part of S.C. zone 7b. My plants are around 4 years old, and are a good 4 1/2 feet high. Besides her nice constant blooms I like the plant because it has a nice rounded shape.
You would want to plant it about 1 1/2 to 2 ft from the house though to give it room to grow. This picture was from her first flush in May. She's never without blooms.

Do you think that Sunprite floribunda would work? I love the idea of the yellow roses, so sunny and bright! But Helpmefind says that Sunsprite is zone 5b and warmer and the roses would be in a raised bed over winter. Do you think they would make it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunsprite rose

'Sunsprite' does well for me here...overwinters just fine without any winter protection at all. It's much, much smaller than 'Julia Child'.

BTW, I grow several roses in a raised bed that is about 4' off the ground and they do just fine. It's gotten to -20F here before for several days and while I may lose cane, they are crown hardy...which is what is important.

I agree with TerryJean - Sunsprite is reliably hardy and healthy for me, and I think the hmf rating of 5b is a minimum. It should handle a raised bed in your zone with no problems. This is a Kordes rose and it tends to laugh off most winters. It's also a better bet to fit in those tight spaces than Julia Child, lovely as she is. Sunsprite blooms right next to my mailbox and doesn't grow any higher, and stays within a 1.5 or 2' radius, upright and compact.

Cynthia