I was looking on this thread to get info on hardiness of Albertine. Sounds like it might be cane hardy for me in z 5b if sited carefully. By the way, I saw a few comments above on Viking Queen. In my old z5b garden (Ann Arbor, MI), it was reliably cane hardy in most years, and only showed mild dieback in others (and not necessarily the coldest either). Its disadvantage for me was that in our sometimes hot humid June weather its flowers balled badly. However, in the cooler weather of fall, it absolutely excelled in bloom. While the number of flowers at any time was smaller than in June, it commonly produced a decent display all the way from late August into late December. I personally think it is a great hardy climber for places with cool summers. In cooloer summers we had, it was an outstanding performer and one of my best climbers.

I went a little rambler-happy when I ordered for the cemetery. There are quite a few big trees there, and I basically picked one for almost every tree. If Brian the caretaker doesn't want them all, I just may keep one or two for myself -- and save the rest for another cemetery I'm already eyeing. This is what I've got sitting in pots right now: Brenda Colvin Kew Rambler Kiftsgate Mlle Cecile Brunner, CL Polyantha Grandiflora Rambling Rector Seagull The Garland Treasure Trove Violette Wedding Day summersrhythm -- If you got the real 'R. moschata', I'd recommend planting it against a wall or side of a house, facing south. Mine was getting hit hard by Winter, and this Spring I dug it up and moved it to where it got more sun. Hopefully, this will allow it to ripen more before Winter sets in. For you, I doubt it'd make much of a climber. Even where it's warmer, it's more of a big sprawling shrubby thing -- look at pics of it on HelpMeFind. Of course, there is the question of whether you got the real thing. Some places sell 'R. brunonii' under that name. Others sell something else entirely. BTW, what is "Thema"? I can't find anything about that one. Was it a typo? :-) ~Christopher

I have only one, 'Chevy Chase'. When I moved to the South, I planted it in honor of the hometown I'd just been obliged to abandon (and the birthplace of this rambler), Chevy Chase, MD. It's happy here growing along its split rail fence -- and I'm always delighted when it begins its long period of cherry red bloom each spring. I purchased mine from Roses Unlimited back in the late 90's. They no longer offer it. I think I got the very last one they had in stock. Here is a link that might be useful: 'Chevy Chase'

Cottage Living magazine, now defunct, has a lot of photos up on the web. Some of their articles may apply to your situation; I remember seeing some houses featured that had elements of yours, and the makeovers were done in a classic way. They'll have some exterior inspiration photos, while I'm not sure you'll find much exterior stuff at houzz.com, the other site I'd recommend, since it focuses on interiors. And if you want to do anything to your kitchen, browse the kitchens forum here on gardenweb and post some questions. There are some dedicated and talented posters over there that will love to read about your kitchen dreams and get you pointed in the right direction. Looking at your pictures, I think your house is lovely. Being in the great plains, the absence of tall trees in the neighborhood throws me off. Is there anything that gets tall that you can plant on your lot, maybe twin sentinels in your front yard? Ask liriodendron on this forum, he/she might have some good suggestions for trees that are appropriate for your area. I like cottonwoods (I remember seeing a lot when I worked in IA and SD) but I believe they prefer to be along a river. I like that it has substantial windows and roof pitch; so many later ranches had anemic or too strongly horizontal windows and a shallow pitch, for my taste. The red brick and white trim look is classic. Other colors would also complement the brick, but unless you hate the white I'd put painting pretty far down the list. The white gable on the left is begging for something, perhaps a demilune vent like the other gable has, or even a window. But I would be careful to keep it smallish and not too ornate; you want it to blend in with the house and break up that large gable, but not become a focal point in itself. Here is a link that might be useful: Photos from Cottage Living