I gave them 6 to 10' spacing until I had to move Fragrant Plum to the back fence. Going to be a fight going on there, but the two look good together:) I give the grasses haircuts several times during the summer to keep them in check. They rapidly grow back. I put out the saucers as watering holes for the toads, I have caught them in there too. Yes they like snails and slugs and I open a 'house' and throw in a roseslug for them and they snatch it up like candy. There are only a few left now, they've gone to the ponding basin behind me to winter, I think. They'll be back the first of May if it's like the last two years. BTW that's one HT that isn't naked to the ground either, Purple Passion. I may not be wild about it, but it makes a fantastic rose to put in the bathroom for fragrance and it is my color, LOL* Les

Thanks everyone for looking and commenting ! Here are a few answers to your questions: 1) lilyday: Clematis is trained up tree using plant ties, then I just let it flop a bit at the top so the flowers can stretch out. 2)memo: The pic right after the hanging baskets one shows what is on the other side/left of the birdbath. 3)scottyboipdx: That is "Patricia" geranium that has green and blackish leaves, small purple small flowers held aloft on wiry stems, very early bloomer and still going as shown in the pic. I have a few other hardy geraniums, some shown in the foreground of the pic right after the hanging baskets. I also have Rozanne in 3 places because I love that one !! There are a few small suprises in that big garden, for instance there is a shade section tucked in by the irises that has 2 types of heuchera and a japanese painted fern. I also had some dahlia rhizomes that sat in the garage all last year, so I threw them in the ground this spring and lo and behold, they are growing! So there is a pretty dahlia tucked in too. I will try to take a few pics of the "suprises" you would see if you really took the time to study the plants. I put in an order last year with Green Mt Transplants, and the plants looked tiny, shriveled, awful and were 2 months late in delivering them. However, this year some of those plants survived and are growing well, so I am looking forward to seeing them bloom for the first time. They got tucked in willy-nilly last June without much hope of them surviving. I am excited for 2 hollyhocks, one of which is Peaches and Dreams, that I planted in front of a purple clemmie on an obelisk. I like the purple/orange combo so interested to see how that works out. Also excited for poppies, which I have never been able to grow. The foxgloves you see were also new last year and look great this year and are currently blooming - got Pam's Choice, a light peach one, and a strawberry one. I love foxgloves - so quintessential cottage to me. I would say my backyard garden peaks in mid to late June, and the front walkway garden peaks in fall. I added the lilies last year and they have already multiplied, so I am very excited for their bollms with that heavenly perfume. I will admit that while we have been at this house for 4 years, one of the reasons we got it was the layout of the patio, the gazebo, and the hardscaping was already done. The beds had a few shrubs/trees in them but no perennials. When I get home tonight I will post pics from the very first spring when I started planting, so you can see how things have evolved in 4 years. It has definitely been fun! We got our driveway paved last fall and now there is a very linear L-shaped bed between the existing fence that the purple clematis is on, the driveway edge, and the shed which is outside the fence. I will likely tackle that one in fall, because digging up all the grass/weeds/excess gravel will be a big job. Can't decide if I should just split some perennials to put out there, or if I want to try something different. It will be accessible to deer since it is outside the fence, so I have to keep that in mind too. Right now there is a tiny John Cabot rose planted against the fence, a bunch of tomato plants, and a sweet autumn clematis. Another area I want to develop is a mailbox garden, but that too involves lots of grass digging. I have one final area that needs work, out front there is a large island bed (not in pics) that has some established trees/shrubs in it and I would like to develop that as a part shade area, but the deer will target it. AS you can tell I have a thing for hostas, and while that would be a perfect place for hostas, the deer would destroy them. So, not sure what to do with that. Anyway, I will post pics in June as things really go crazy. Do people prefer vignette type pics that showcase 1-2 plant combos or do you like more of an overall view ? I will say that there is an angle I specifically did not photograph, and that shows the peach irises are actually pretty close to the big red/magenta knockout rose, and I hate how they clash. But I don't have the heart to move either one, and the iris don't bloom for too long, so it is fine once they stop blooming. Thanks again for looking, and stay tuned. I will add more pics this weekend when I get home. Amy

This was the spot I had in mind originally for a climbing rose. I can only have a 2 ft wide trellis here. Gets sun until around 1 pm though early morning it gets shaded a bit for an hour by the magnolia (which can be seen in my previous pic) Any possibilities here that are continuous blooming, manageable (pliable canes), disease/bs resistant? I just have two knockout roses which are very maintenance free, so I am a rose newbie ... thanks for all your help. I looked up quicksilver and it looks amazing but afraid of the thorns (have an unruly toddler) Annie Laurie McDowell is appears to be out of stock everywhere.

Thank you all so much!! @vaporvac- the only things I have used is neem oil and actually did incorporate Spinosad for the crazy thrip problems I was having early summer (I suspect was largely introduced via mail order roses) I have had much more issue with BS as of late and I'm reconsidering my plan of attack @modestgoddess- I would definitely place it in my top 3 of the roses I own at present. It's been a wonderful spontaneous purchase for me haha