You are not alone FL. There are a lot of us who got sucked into the rose vortex, but managed to escape ;-)
Interested in ideas for trellis
i never got sucked into the rose vortex, have a few and replace them every year or so.
i grow clems on arbor vitae, boxwood, limbed up lilac, other evergreens including alberta spruce, very pruned back wisteria.....but one specialty is enough!
Wow, I've never had a rose die, maybe it's the zone difference.
many of mine do not survive the winter. even if i am mulching in deeply...but i am not going to get deeply into roses. would like a signature rose or two for my gardens at hardwick hall to grow in several places and so far "social climber" is one of my multi year successes and i am trying new dawn this year.
too many roses with all the clems i have would be too too much. but the idea of one or tow signature roses grown through out the seperate clem gardens is appealing.
my focus is clematis, woody shrubs, evergreens and ground covers like sedum, woodruff, lysmachia (sp on that), ajuga.
with all the clems, that focus is key to the gardens remaining uncluttered and peaceful.
I am just starting to garden, but really love roses. I am focusing on hardy, own root disease resistant varieties. The grafted hybrid teas I tried died at the join, even if I planted them relatively deep and mulched. I am interested in small flowered clems to enhance climbing roses and to extend the garden's bloom period.
I agree, ClemGuru that lots of roses and large-flowered clems could be too cluttered. Your garden is gorgeous as it is. The evergreens must be very restful in the winter. If you don't mind once blooming varieties, you may want to look into antique roses. Here are a few good sites:
http://www.northcreekfarm.org/gardening-shed/plants/antique-a-shrub-roses.html
Also some Clems, but small flowered hardy types in Maine (she wrote several rose books)
http://web.archive.org/web/20030212090751/www.country-lane.com/yr/index.htm
Yesterdays Roses on the web archive
http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/main.html
Paul Barden's Old Garden Roses and Beyond
I have tried about 15 different roses and they were all a disappointment except for Therese Bugnet, which looks so good I'm tempted to get another one.
I tried to get a picture of it, but my camera is either failing or the battery needs replacing.
thanks gardenquilts...social climber is in second and third year with me and i added new dawn this year by impulse before i knew it was ultra thorny. if new dawn doesn't flourish and take with me i will investigate the own root and antique. if new dawn sticks, i will stick with social climber and new dawn. they look good with all clems.
i do not plan to dive into roses as a collector , just the counterpoint of a few and the seasonal interest. i love the clem rose combos i see on the forum, and other places, but can not take up another addiction.
actually don't know why i didn't just buy more social climbers, as it has been my only success with roses to date. i think it is because the plants haven't really gotten huge as i envisioned, but maybe this this year they will "leap". here is a social climber from last year in my garden. with a young ville de lyon clem.
maybe if i were in a little more rose friendly climate....like oregon.......but the texans have good luck with roses too it seems!
great idea. old wooden laddders can make good trelllising also. garage sale type ladders.
My son made me the arbor from the georgia pacific web site this weekend. It looks fantastic! It seemed easy to make ( of course I didnt do the work) . It didnt take him very long. I wish I had a digital camera.
You have a very nice son!
My son is great! He doesnt care for flowers or gardening but he knows that my yard is my passion and he helps me ( if his schedule allows) just to please me.