Flower carpet rose are great. The thorns are tiny, none of the children got pricked here. Flower Carpet is more drought-tolerant than Knock-out. I only water mine the first few weeks, and NEVER aftewards.

The single petal Flower-Carpet blooms more often than the double-full pom-pom type.

Thanx Strawberry. Can you tell me the diff between Flower Carpet and Knock-out? what do we ask for when I go to the local nursery?
Also wondering if ther is hardy colorful creepers/vines for the malbox?

This summer my neighbor tried to get Flower Carpet from HomeDepo but they were sold out. Many years ago HomeDepo had a large selection of Flower Carpet: salmon, orange, bright pink. This year it only has ugly dark red poms-poms Flower Carpet.

It's best to order Flower Carpet on-line so you get the color you want. Check out FIRST to see if it's a reputable source, by googling "The Scoop on Name of the Nursery."

I WOULD NOT put creepers nor vine on the mailbox, it's quite invasive, unless you choose Clematis. The best mailboxes I have seen are those with Clematis flower vine. I spent 1 week killing English Ivy vine, so I don't trust any invasive ground creeper unless it's slow-growing Clematis.

Or ask here.....most of us are very familiar with the few reputable nurseries that are still operating, and can give you guidance regarding which ones will meet your local criteria for shipping season, rootstock, etc.

I'll second the flower carpet roses! The stay very low to the ground and will give you a lot of bloom. With a clematis up the post it would be lovely!

Thank you all. I ran to a local nursery/farm next to my office. They have knock out, Carpet and then beutiful "DRIFT/Groundcover" roses in beautiful colors.
The groundcovers are kind of pricey $25 per plant. They are so small I need quite a few.

I called Lowes (like Homedepot)in my area. They have carpet roses $15 per plant.
Is anyone familiar with gr'cover roses? Are they equally hardy as the knock out ones? Please share your experience.

I guess this is the year for roses. As I said, I feel very depressed that I dont have any flowers in my house. Hopefully I will solve that problem!!!

Now is also the time to PU a Clematis at nurseries. Spring they range from $15-$17. I just picked up one for under $6.

I found carpet roses at Lowes for less than $5.00 a plant. I have 2 in the color "Amber". They are still in pots but they are full of blooms and grow very fast. Ive had to cut them back twice since I had them because they grew all over the place lol.

I mix my Flower Carpets in with my perennials and it works nicely because once they start blooming, they bloom all summer and early fall, so I can count on color in between the perennials' bloom times (like the lull between daylilies bloom time and aster bloom time). I've had a few Knock Outs too but they seem to be Japanese Beetle magnets here in our part of the country. Sometimes I'll find a few on my Flower Carpets but they never seem to stay long or do much damage, but they destroy my KO's blossoms and foliage, unfortunately.

Knock Outs are not carpet or ground cover roses and can get very tall, 4 to 5 feet high or more. The Flower Carpet and Drift roses are both "ground covers" just from different companies. I know the Drift roses are from Star Roses but I'm not sure who does the Flower Carpets, Weeks maybe. And they both come in a variety of colors. I have Appleblossom Flower Carpet that's a pale pink. It does not get taller than about 2 feet but will spread out to cover a wide area of about 6 feet. So even if the ones you saw look small now they will grow and fill in the empty spaces. So you probably don't need as many as you think.

German Bearded Iris likes it dry. Peonies are drought tolerant when established. Roses require lots of water. Here is a list of drought tolerant perennials.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/flowers/perennials_drought.htm

Common Name Scientific Name
Ajuga, Carpet bugle Ajuga reptans
Artemisia Artemisia
Asters Aster spp.
Baby's breath Gypsophila paniculata
Baptisia Baptisia australis
Beebalm Monarda didyma
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa
Candytuft, Evergreen Iberis sempervirens
Chrysanthemum, Mum Chrysanthemum x morifolium
Columbine Aquilegia spp.
Coneflower, Purple Echinacea purpurea
Coralbells Heuchera americana
Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata, C. verticillata, C. tinctoria
Daylily Hemerocallis spp.
Gaillardia, Blanket flower Gaillardia x grandiflora
Gaura Gaura lindheimeri
Gazania Gazania
Gerbera daisy Gerbera jamesonii
Goldenrod Solidago spp. and hybrids
Hardy ice plant Delosperma cooperi
Helleborus, Lenten rose Helleborus orientalis
Hosta, Plantain lily Hosta spp.
Iris Iris spp.
Lamb's ears Stachys byzantina
Liatris Liatris spicata
Lily of the Nile Agapanthus
Mexican sunflower Tithonia rotundifolia
Peony Paeonia lactiflora
Perovskia Perovskia
Phlox, thrift Phlox paniculata, P. divaricata, P. subulata
Red hot poker Kniphofia uvaria
Salvia Salvia farinacea, S. spp.
Sedum Sedum spectabile
Shasta Daisy Chrysanthemum x superbum
Stokes' aster Stokesia laevis
Verbascum Mullein
Verbena Verbena spp.
Veronica Veronica spicata
Yarrow Achillea millefolium

Here is a link that might be useful: Drought Tolerant Perennials