Hi Crv. I can't help wondering .....it sounds a very narrow space...so with trees and shrub roses....is there any room for more planting...rose roots are so vigorous, not to mention the trees (sorry, you don't say how many). It sounds like a good feed would help the roses pick up, and you'll probably need to widen the border to get your next 'layer' of lower planting some room to grow. If it were me, I'd go for Dianthus as they flower all summer, are evergreen and beautifully scented. I'm in Scotland, East Coast, and I've had one flowering all winter. Lavander is great with Roses too, and hardy geraniums. Some Long flowering varieties. They are tough as old boots. Rozanne is a fabulous one for a start. Hope this gives you some ideas! :) Karen

I was going to suggest hardy geraniums too. And rugosa roses might perform better than others in that situation. Could be the ground is rather dry with all the tree roots so try a good mulch, and use gel crystals when planting the herbaceous - makes all the difference in a dry place.

Your garden must be a picture when the trees are all in blossom!

Good tip Stera!

Thank you for the suggestions, it has 8 Laburnham Trees, 12 shrub roses, 2 Larch Trees (self seeded I think) and a very large (40ft high) conifer in the border. I'll clear under the roses - got lots of self seeded Angelica in it at the moment, then put 6inches of well rotted horse manure down, keep it weed free over the summer and put Hardy Geraniums and Dianthus in as when I get them over the summer, I'll pop the spring bulbs I've had in pots into the mix for spring colour.

Sound good CRV! What a lot of lovely laburnums! Will look glorious soon. Must get one for here, I love them!

Thanks for all the advice

Border now 4'6" wide! Started planting Daffodils from their pots and have put a few lillies and Phlox in :)