I can't speak about any of the other roses but Henry Nevard was a very stingy bloomer for me. When he did bloom, he was awesome. But when winterkill took him away, I did not replace him. He was a very vertical grower for me though so if you put him in that spot, maybe you could try coaxing him to bloom some more.......

Alba Semi-plena was narrow for me.

Carol

I've found "Reine des Violettes" which is smooth-stemmed and has springy supple canes very easy to train.
For best bloom, I'd peg it so the canes arch and are pegged to the ground or tied to the lower parts of each cane so that each cane becomes covered with roses.
If your area is shaded, I'd choose a white rose to be more visible, and Alba Semi-Plena because it is quite shade tolerant.
"Alba Semi-Plena" is my favorite Alba, and I love every part of it, from its' fit-for-a- fairy -tale white roses with gold bosses, and "luxerious" blue-green foliage, that is usually bullet proof against disease. It also bears ornamental red rosehips that are flagon shaped. Altogether a beautiful plant. No re-bloom, however. I use its very attractive foliage all season long in bouquets with other roses and flowers.
This would be my first choice for your space. I'd espalier it to fit its' plot so it grows as tall as possibe, c. 5 feet wide and narrow from front to back.
"Stanwell Perpetual" is a prickly demon, with angelic flowers, that I love dearly, but I'm planning to move it to a hillside where it can enjoy solitude and cease to rip the hems of my dresses off, when I walk by it.

Good luck,
Lux.

It is possible to grow Alba Semiplena as a narrow tall tree with multiple canes. The hips will provide interest in summer, fall and even winter. Leaves will look good untill frost.
You can also train RdV on a pillar in this spot. W/o pillar it is going to be too sprawling in my opinion. It will require spraying to look decent in a prominent spot.
Reine d'Anjou if too broad and too thorny for such space, i think. It also blackspots, not too bad but again in a prominent place, it will not look too good w/o spraying.
My White Cap is still too small, don't know how much space it will require when mature. It is quite thorny.
I personally would go with Alba Semiplena, but I am probably not objective, this is one of my very favorite roses. I love everything about it- health, each bloom turning into hip, fragrance, big simple flowers with yellow stamens, grace of the bush. No spray, no fuss, just pure joy.
Olga

Alba Semi-Plena it is! Thanks everyone!

Olga, I got this rose due to your recommendations. Do you prune it 1/3+ down every winter like your other once bloomers?

Lux - thanks for the advice about the others I bought. I think I have a safe place to put Stanwell Perpetual. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Henry Nevard was probably a poor choice, bought on a whim after reading the obituary of the man after whom it was named. Great photo of him, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amusing obit of Henry Nevard

Um, it's not a rose, but how about ? It has in the spring, can very easily be trained to be upright and not too wide, has {{gwi:239863}}, and has an {{gwi:239864}} during the winter! (It's sort of an upright, undulating candelabra form I don't quite know how to describe.)

My Alba semi-plena was beautiful, but while I could have trained it to be narrow and upright, that was NOT what it wanted to do on its own. That rose wants to be a wide, lanky fountain of flowers. I left mine mostly to its own devices and (in mostly shade) it grew to be about 6' X 9'.

If your space is really narrow I would recommend a rose trained on a narrow support, something with flexible canes that you can wrap like stripes on a candy cane or an old-fashioned barber's pole. You will also want to avoud heavy thorns that will reach out and grab passers-by.

York rose - That Enkianthus looks really interesting, I'll have to research it. I already planted the Semi-Plena - although you had cautioned me before about its width. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. I didn't want to put anything that needed pampering in this spot, as it is dry.

I suppose I can move it if family members start to complain, and replace it with a pillar rose as Rosefolly suggested.

the enkianthus must have an acid, peaty soil but if you can do rhodies and azaleas, you will be OK. If so, there are also some gorgeous acid loving shrubs (which I cannot grow) such as the camellias, zenobia, eucryphia, michelia, cassiope and probably, Maureen, if your climate is cool enough, you could try the wonderful meconopsis.

Maureen, I just cut older then 3 year old canes each spring and most years shorten others by approx 1/3, but not every year. The new canes are always taller and are upright. Just cut out every cane that is twiggy and leave only those that are strong and upright. Also cut everything that is outside of you designated space. In your situation you want it to grow like a tree with multiple canes, not a sprawling bush.
Olga