I think you are on the right track with your flower color.. Something with white or cream flowers against the brick would be a nice contrast. I would lean towards a clematis rather than a rose, because even the best of roses are prone to disease and pests; for example there is a fast-spreading virus called Rose Rosette Disease that will eventually kill a rose and there is no cure for it once a rose is infected. For the clematis montana, are you ok with it blooming for a few weeks in May or so and then just being a tangle of vines for the rest of the summer? Would you want to plant several different large clematis vines to ensure a continuity of bloom through summer (montana, something that blooms june-aug, then an autumn clematis)? Clematis will need to be mulched deeply and faithfully watered throughout the summer. Unless you have your heart set on vines, another idea might be something like a Limelight hydrangea or another of the sun loving hydrangeas. It will get pretty tall and have white flowers that gradually turn pink. People love them for flower arrangements. I'm only mentioning hydrangeas because I am discovering them myself. Good luck with your choices, and hopefully this helps a little. Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of Limelight

hey grow power, i am interested in a trade of strawberries, thornless bberry for curly willow and hydrangea... although i have been living in the klamath siskiyou mountains, way way way up north almost to oregon in a very remote part of nor cal....i am currently on the south shore of massachusetts. i have all this heavy family stuff i am dealing with...and my dad's house, who is now gone sadly =( i just went to message you and found your messaging settings arent enabled...so i can't message. i wish houzz would just enable this by default, but you have to go into your account settings to be able to receive private messages on this site. you go to this ---> go to ADVANCED SETTINGS (<<--click here) and scrolling down to the bottom of the page there is a section called privacy settings...change that drop down box to ALLOW ANYONE TO MESSAGE ME well here since i can copy and paste this, here's the basic instructions for setting up your profile... select the option of “ALLOW ANYONE TO MESSAGE ME” under "Who can message me". click on "UPDATE" when you are done to store your settings. ========================================== To add your growing zone: Go to ADVANCED SETTINGS Look for - Climate Zone for Garden Forums - and fill in your zone. ====================================================== To make/edit your wants list: Go to ADVANCED SETTINGS -Then click on the box under “My GardenWeb Trading List” -Type/paste in your seeds in a vertical list (much easier to read than a horizontal list with commas between). ============================================================= To access these settings: if you are currently logged in, click on your name anywhere on the site, or the “Your Houzz” button at the top right of any page. Then go to ===> Edit Profile ===> Advanced Settings (located under “Account”on the left) also, this page can be accessed by going directly to the web address - https://www.houzz.com/settingsAdvanced this is the page where you can edit your preferences, allow people to email you, list your growing zone, and fill in your have/ want lists. anywho feel free to message me when you get that set up.

Hi Alana, I appreciate being welcomed and yes, you did explain that very well. Gagal, Hi to you and glad to know that SdlM roots like a weed - this will be great for my very damaged ego after my recent disasters. Do you grow Zeffy? I am looking to put in a line of Madame Isaac Pereire, Sharifa Asma, SdlM and Grandmother's Hat right under the windows on the front side of my house. The idea is that as long we keep the windows open, the front rooms are fragrant, hopefully 9-10 months of the year. I live in 6a/6b, and I need a rose that, as another poster said about Benjamin Britten, blooms like a fool. Still chuckling about that one. Much regards and thank you for being so willing to share your knowledge and network with me. Nancy

Rosylady… I just read that link, thank you, and I know you get it too... but can I be forgiven for wondering if the writer is perhaps in some way connected with any firm that produces this? because it sort of read that way to me, like an advertisement.. in fact I notice he used a photo from 'Mycorrhizal Applications' which supply the product... but I don't doubt what is said there, I'm just a suspicious type... They always show a picture of two plants, one with a great root system, MF treated and one without which looks poor... so I did my own experiment with this too.. I had 3 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh' roses, grafted bare roots, I planted the 3 together, 1 with MF only, the other two without MF but with my own mix of soil amendment... proprietary potting mix, plus composted manure, and small amount of organic fertilizer... It says on the MF packet that after just 4 weeks the root system starts to develop secondary feeder roots, or words to that effect, so what I did was, I gave it 6 weeks and dug up 2 of the 3 roses,... the one with soil amendment had masses of little white roots forming in the potting mix surrounding the roots, like you see in a potted rose... the one with MF only.... zilch...nada... it was exactly the same as when I planted it, still with white specs residue from the MF... It was this that turned me off the product... and I was not prepared to purchase any more then on.. I also say to people over here, think about the past how many roses and other shrubs have been planted all down the centuries, all the roses in this country, no one ever grabbed a packet of MF along the way... yet in the last 10 years apparently it's now a ''must have'' …. …. they ain't foolin' me no more... agree about the Oak trees too, lots of good MF can be had from Oak tree mulch so I understand.. Here are my 2 'CR Mackintosh' roses that I kept, neither had MF, I removed the 3rd which did as it wasn't doing well, and both of these bloomed all summer during a very hot season for us... this photo from October 15.. and bedraggled with rain..