What Makes a Good Backdrop for Knock Out Roses?

Perennial Backdrops

• Several kinds of perennials make good bedding company for Knock Out roses. More advice seems to focus on borders to place in front of roses, but a number of taller perennials do a great job of framing these vibrant beauties. Delphiniums are notorious for height, along with abundant spires of blue or white blooms. Other columnar stem flowers include hollyhock and verbascum x hybridum, whose strong vertical lines frame Knock Outs handsomely. For a softer perennial frame, feathery Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) will back Knock Outs with a summer-long blue cloud. Ask questions about particular varieties of these perennials; "Black Knight" delphinium, for example, grows far taller than newer dwarf hybrids, and Russian sage has also been hybridized to fit in smaller gardens.

Evergreen Backdrops

• The glossy leaves of Knock Outs suggest one contrasting backdrop that will make flowers stand out: the dark of evergreen shrubs and trees. Varieties of boxwood (Buxus) and yew (Taxus) used for hedging set off roses against an even green. Several kinds of dwarf spruce (Picea) and columnar junipers (Juniperus communis) can grow as hedges or specimen trees and provide good backdrops because they grow branches very close to the bottoms of their stems, putting a green "skirt" behind flowers.

Grassy Backdrops

• Ornamental grasses can serve as backdrops of changing seasonal color -- fresh green in the spring, deeper green in summer and gold, beige or even pinkish in the fall. Ask questions about both their height and habit before planting ornamental grasses. Blue switch grass (Panicum virgatum) and feather reed grass (Calimagrostis x acutiflora), for example, form clumps slowly. Some kinds of fountain grass (Miscanthus sinensis) spread more quickly, and one garden writer labels the behavior of ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea) as that of a "garden thug."

Structural Backdrops

• Some backdrops already reside in your yard and require no garden care at all. Brick, stone and wood all make handsome backgrounds for the vibrant colors of Knock Out roses. Knock Outs are strongly recommended as foundation plantings for just this reason. Contrast between their floral vibrancy and the architectural qualities of wood, stone and brick add visual interest to both. Try Knock Out roses against a picket fence, along a brick wall or even against a stucco or shingled wall.