Before you get into the details of what to do, I would take a step back and look at the LOCATION where you want this rose to grow: 1) What region of the US are you in? This will affect what you can grow - do you have freezing winters? Do you have hot humid summers? Do you have hot dry summers?, etc. etc. Each situation is OK, but different situations call for different kinds of roses, and you want to get one that will like what you have to offer. 2) How much sun will this rose get per day? Since you say this is a Northern exposure, this is very important. Look at the location, both at the bottom where you will be planting the rose, and higher up where the trellis will be. Look at it in various times of day. Folks on here can be much more helpful after we know the answer to these questions. Re metal trellis - not good, as in any sort of sun at all it would get too hot and burn the rose canes. Looking forward to hearing more about your project. The short answer to your general question is, yes, you can do this - it is not difficult. It is just important to choose a rose that will cooperate with you and where you are and where the garage is. Jackie

I am not a pro or avid rose gardener, but I will give you my two cents anyway. For the climber rose, Horizontal canes encourages more laterals, which produces more flowers. So you want to think horizontal in training the main canes. If you don't like the Lattice trellis, you could install 4 to 5 medium/heavy gauge wires running horizontally every 12" apart along the wall. Then, train the main canes on them. They will shoot out vertical laterals and will be full of blooms in the peak season. I have not tried this myself, but I think I would do it this way. If you have not already done so, watch the video in this link or search "Paul Zimmerman training a rose on Trellis". He also have other videos for rose caring, pruning and training. Must watch for a rose beginner. Good luck with the roses and post back how you did it finally! Here is a link that might be useful: How to train a rose on trellis

Lilyfinch, I already have a Spirit of Freedom that I got at the same time I got my Charles Rennie MacIntosh. I have already planted it at the end of my front porch. I'm trying to determine what to do with it once it reaches the porch railings. The railing is about 6 feet up. I'm dreaming of doing something similar to these trellises: https://cdn2.tmbi.com/TFH/Projects/FH99SEP_LATTRE_04.JPG or https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3b/05/d2/3b05d2b01a7e838f791d345c1660e38c.jpg I know some roses prefer the lateral training, but wasn't sure about Austins in general. One bad thing right now is that we desperately need to paint but I guess I have a bit of time since the rose is new and only about 2' feet tall right now. Sorry for the bright photo!

Lala - the pink rose you circled in the pic is 'Climbing American Beauty' (which is a seedling, NOT a sport of 'American Beauty', and not related to 'Miss American Beauty'. Cl American Beauty (1909) is once blooming, but it blooms very prolifically for a month or so, and then there is scattered bloom for more months on new growth. HMF says it is hardy to zone 5, as it is a Wichurana hybrid. Vaporvac - in Elaine's first pic, the purple rose is Kim Rupert's 'Lauren', and the peach colored rose is Peach Drift (this one is a tree rose which Lauren is eating!). In her second pic, the rose is Korde's 'Summer Wine' (NOT the same rose as 'Summerwine'). Jackie