Over here in the East, we're in blackspot and other fungal disease heaven. We need to keep all the fallen rose leaves cleaned up, so that the diseases can't overwinter in the soil. Therefore, I don't use a groundcover around my roses.

Well, I could just mulch around them and then put in a ground cover in front of the mulch. Do you or anyone else have a suggestion of what would look nice if you did not have the disease problem (as we do not in CA)? Thanks in advance.