Question
Hello,

I am working on setting up a small rose farm in the South of France, most likely for the production of rose water.  I'm trying to find out if there are any beneficial associations between roses and other plants, in particular aromatic herbs such as lavender.  Also,any books that you could recommend to me on the subject of growing roses for scent?  Many thanks!

Answer
This question is really out of my field of expertise but I will give you what knowledge I have. Although many roses have a strong fragrance, it often does not translate into a viable perfume such as an oil. The very old Damask rose appears to have the best quality for passing on it's strong fragrance for cosmetic purposes and the second one is rosa Centifolia. Soil, weather and even fertilizer all have an effect on the fragrance of the rose petals. Here are the sites I use to get information about rose perfumes.
http://www.quinessence.com/bulgarian_rose_oil.htm

http://www.bulgarianroseotto.com/

In regards to growing other flowers, I have not come across any information that would suggest a positive reason for growing any  plants with the roses. I am assuming you are talking about the effect on the perfume. Other reasons for growing certain plants are to keep rose diseases down but there has never been any definite proof that they do. Certain plants are also grown to discourage insects from attacking the rose bushes but again, no  proof that they have any effect whatsoever.
Sorry I could be of more help.