Hi, I am searching for the same thing. So far I have found some good info on the university of maryland's cooperative extension service web site. It might have a lot of what you want to know. Good luck!

Campanula, I have 2 gardens. One is urban, in Cambridge (MA), where the commuter trains go by all day strewing their diesel fumes, and I grow only shrubs and 1 rose (Tiffany, put in about 25 years ago); and the other, more important one is in Rhode Island near the sea, where I recently built a fenced (against deer) potager with vegetables and with climbing roses on the 8 ft. posts. As the tiny baby band-size roses grow, the veggies will be mostly phased out to make room for the roses plus a central seating area. Should be in another 3-4 years. The seaside zone is a little less cold in winter, making it the edge of zone 7, for plant survival purposes. Last spring I visited northern California to see and smell the roses blooming there (I wanted to choose wonderful scents) before I ordered my choices by mail. (Also met some of those wonderful Calif. Gardenweb forum members and rose-lovers on that trip.) Because I'm at the low-temp edge of zone 7 there, I will be heavily mulching those babies at the end of autumn. And because my far view includes the ever-changing blues of the ocean, I chose rose colors of white, cream, pale yellow and pale apricot. All climbers, all hypothetically good to zone 6b. THAT was a challenge. We'll see how well this works, next June. Carol

Hi Max, In my garden, it gets quite a bit of black spot and has been disappointing in some ways--however it is vigorous and keeps foliage at the top of the plant. The flowers, too, are relatively unimpressive in summer but are significantly better in spring and fall. That is a common pattern for teas but it is even more heightened in 'Mrs Dudley Cross'. In my opinion, there are healthier and better performing teas in this region, but its flowers of this plant are stunning at times and the plant can look quite good in certain seasons (spring and even more so, fall). It just isn't one of the more black spot-resistant teas. Stefan

If you want a cottage style garden clumps are better than lines, rigid lines of plants are more suited to formal or modern styles. Planting groups of three or more usually gives greater visual impact, most designers recommend odd numbered groupings. Larger plants can be placed singly, especially if space is limited. You might find it helpful to drive around your area to look for gardens you like, see what does well and so on. There are lots of good websites for gathering inspirational pictures for your own garden, and there is probably a local Master Gardeners group that should have useful information for you. Our local Master Gardeners have a website that I consult regularly. You might want to measure your space and draw up a plan. Consider the mature size of the plants you want and make sure that you won't have to worry about removing or severely pruning them in the future. It's hard to judge from one picture, but it seems to me that your space is limited enough that just using one tree as the focal point and designing around it might be the best way to go. Find your specimen plant(s), install the picket fence, do some border beds, and you might be set. I always like to print out some graph paper and play with different designs that way, it's a lot easier to erase and redraw a line than it is to dig up and move a flower bed. Using a hose or some flour to outline the beds you imagine can also be helpful. Also, I would want to put something taller than a steppable in front of your porch, something that could connect the tall porch to the rest of the landscape. Research and planning isn't as fun as getting your hands dirty, but in the long run it can give you a nice garden faster than trail and error. If you are impatient to get some color going you might want to start with potted plants, that's what I've been doing in the areas I plan on renovating in the future but want to have flowers in right now. Good luck! Post pictures to keep us updated on your progress, please!