Lilies. They have similar needs and have a small footprint that will not crowd roses. I also like to underplant roses with low-growing annuals. Anything that won't get tall and compete for light. A couple I have regretted and later moved are delphiniums and peonies. They just get too big and compete with the roses for light. Lupines are good if you give them enough space. Two new ones in my rose garden this year are dwarf penstemons and Alyssum saxatile - so far so good. Oh yeah chives are really nice with roses too. And I have seen some climbing rose/clematis combos that look great. I'm hoping to acheive this with an Alpina type clematis and a Polstjarnan rose I planted this spring.

I like perennial baby's breath with roses, just because of the look, but it's a plant that takes up a fair bit of space - my mature one gets to be about 3'X3'. I tuck them between the big rocks and the roses in my front flowerbed. I also tuck garlic in underneath the roses, in the hopes that it will help repel some of the insects - don't know if it works, or just makes me feel better. In general, I love white flowers with roses - petunias and alyssum in front for example - though I don't really know why.
Connie

I love the look of roses in font of baby's breath too. It looks like an arrangement fom the florist

I would strongly recommend hardy geraniums. I have G. sanguineum var. striatum under and around Therese Bugnet,, G. sanguineum Biokova with the rugosas and G. macrorrhizum and G viscossimun with Prairie Youth . They all make good ground covers are low enough to not distract from the roses and compliment the roses very well. With the yellow rose ÂPrairie Peace I have campanulas which also makes a nice combination.
Leo

I have Lupins with my roses in my new bed and also Globe Flower. I'm following advice that I read before and have put petunias, pansies and some marigolds around the roses. I want to put my University of Saskatchewan Lily in this summer and was wondering about perennial dianthus? I only have a small space so like "clumping" perennials so that they don't really take off - hopefully

Fern

There are many different Dianthus with different growth habits, but most stay more or less in a controlled mat. My favourite is 'Arctic Fire', it's low and has pretty foliage (and flowers of course) and it stays pretty much where you put it. It might be of interest to seed savers that I collected seed from Arctic Fire last year, and although it shouldn't come true from seed being an F1 hybrid, it has started blooming and is true from seed. :0) Yay!

Gil, i did the same with my 'Arctic Fire' and it came true as well. It's a good idea to put it around roses - i must try it. I have another dianthus, something 'Alba', and it has self-seeded all over the place in one bed. Maybe i can dig some of that up for a rose companion.