By Cando205
Lancashire,
United Kingdom 
This Spring I did no gardening due to having a broken arm. Thus my 1.5m x 7m rose bed was awash with self seeded aquilegia/columbine, which looked wonderful when the latter were in flower. I did some pruning of the roses though. My roses are now straggly & taller than usual, with a dearth of foliage. Is there any way I can have the aquilegia & the roses again in 2017, but with healthy looking roses?
9 Sep, 2016
Answers
you could also cut the aquilegia down after they have flowered so that the roses then grow taller than the mound of foliage that's left behind. if you know which ones you want to keep dig out all the others you don't want to free up soil around your plants.
10 Sep, 2016
Thanks to seaburngirl & Tugbrethil for welcome & easy solutions!
24 Sep, 2016
When the Aquilegia comes up again, I would thin the seedlings out to about one every 50-70 cm apart. That should allow enough light to reach the base of the rose bushes.
10 Sep, 2016