YOU BET THERE IS!!! This is the book we needed, and waited for for years. TEA ROSES Old Roses for Warm Gardens Lynne Chapman, Noelene Drage, Di Durston, Jenny Jones, Hillary Merrifield, and Billy West -- (A team of Australian ladies most commonly referred to as "The Tea Bags") They're the nicest people in the world, and their book is an essential for warm-climate lovers of Old Roses. ======================= I would also recommend the older books: LANDSCAPING WITH ANTIQUE ROSES (Shoup/Druitt) and ANTIQUE ROSES FOR THE SOUTH (Welsh) Shoup's NEW book, EMPRESS OF THE GARDEN is also good, but both of his books DO touch on some roses for colder climates. If you are a bit more adventurous -- and ready to step off into something without pictures -- look on line for EVERBLOOMING ROSES by Georgia Torrey Drennan. She wrote of the roses of the South at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries. I think the book is available via Print On Demand service. Then, there is ROSES by Ethelyn Emory Keyes -- the FIRST "Rose Rustler." I recommend this because Mrs. Keyes also knew the roses of the South, and knew the ones that had survived to be rescued. (That's what you want, you know. Roses that are so tough that, once established, they will make it on their own.) Lastly, I hope you will visit the websites of the Heritage Roses Group: http://www.theheritagerosesgroup.org/ and Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group http://www.goldcoastrose.org/ (Or find them via Facebook) There, you'll find images and articles on roses that succeed in California -- including many of California's Found Roses. That should get you started. :-) Jeri

Out of desperation and lack of room in January or February I stuck an Arcadia Louisiana Tea in a spot that gets 3 - 3.5 hours of afternoon sun after 1:30 (and total shade before.) It has actually put out a straight cane already - now less than 18" tall - that has 3 buds on it! The plant is very short - 12"? - and maybe 18" wide, basically still a baby, very green, healthy and happy. I'm amazed. I'm sure no knowledgeable person (nor even a dimwit!) would have approved of this site between 2 oak trees with an arbor between it and the sun. I hope he continues to like his spot. Sherry

I have a Campsis x tagliabuana 'Madame Galen' (a cross)trumpet vine that is vigorous but not invasive in my zone 5 garden. Mine was planted in 2004. I have mine growing in quite a bit of shade and use it to hide some ugly brick. It gives a nice solid green backdrop that I like. I stretch mine out sideways in two directions and it grows about 20-25 feet at most. Mine does not bloom, perhaps originally because of the part shade. However, I read on Dave's that it does not bloom (or is very slow to bloom) for many people, supposedly because it may have been started from immature stock. As my trumpet vine grew older I began cutting it back each year in early spring to 3-5 feet and letting it regrow, which it does quickly. This keeps it exactly where I want it - on what I want and since it climbs by itself there is almost no work for me at all after its yearly haircut. It does not send up runners across the way or anything like that, and can't spread its seed or anything because it has no flowers! I tried a Campsis radicans Flamenco and it died out in a couple of years. I think it may have been too wet, or so slow to show itself that I planted something else into it. Some other vines I use that you might be interested in are honeysuckles, the very nice Lonicera sempervirens 'Blanche Sandman' has lots of scarlet blooms and is very well-behaved. Mine was planted in 2005. I did have another one with flame in the name, Goldflame, Pink Lemonade ?? something like that, anyway that one mildewed badly for me, something I hardly ever get in this garden, but this one probably got shaded out too much by some enlarging shrubbery making it weak. I eventually removed it. It had the typical narrow tubular blooms that were a pretty pink color. However, neither of these two vines get really long like a trumpet vine or a sweet autumn clematis do. My two sweet autumns both get well over 20 feet, but unlike in the south, I have never had a single seedingl off of mine. The SACs gets cut back to 3-5 feet from the woody base and regrow covering most of a 60 foot stretch of fence. In addition, I also have a Halls (japonica) honeysuckle which is considered by most everyone to be invasive. I love the thing and planted it long before I knew it was supposed to be a problem, well over 10 years ago. It is some work for me, but not outlandish by any means. It blooms very well and has a wonderful scent. It may be a true invasive getting into wild places and such, but I have not been able to bring myself to remove it, especially since it is available for sale everywhere around here. With the Hall's honeysuckle I limit (cut out) the number of main stalks coming out of the ground each spring, make sure everything goes up the structure including later emerging growth, as it does try to root if pieces or stems are left on the ground, then let it waterfall down, being careful again not to let it touch the ground. I also cut out some of the undergrowth if it gets too bushy in midseason after its main growth period is over. It blooms for over a month in mid-spring through early summer. It mostly blooms on old wood, which is why I restrict the number of stems rather that cutting it all back in spring, I do get some repeat bloom later in the season. Every three years or so I cut it back hard and let it regrow - maybe 15 foot max with cutbacks, somewhat longer without them. I can't really recommend this one, if it is invasive to the environment, but it is very manageable in my climate in my conditions with reasonable pruning.

WOW. That's an impressive project. I am trying to take it all in. First of all I am impressed you have a HILL. In Florida! Yes I know central florida has hills because I just crossed the middle of the state and saw some but didn't know that Tampa had any. You are lucky to be on a hill. Second of all I am impressed with your list of roses. Just awesome. So...is the area at the top enclosed by the wall going to be level with the ground when it's filled in? It looks that way. And then the area outside the wall is stepped down 4-5 feet? The very first thing that comes to mind is safety to keep people and animals from wandering off the edge and falling over (I'm clumsy myself) so I would think about a solid hedge and/or fence around the back and high parts. You could put climbing/rambler roses trained horizontal along it, maybe a split rail fence there. A solid hedge might work too but then you couldn't see your rose garden from the street side. Perhaps rather than planting something at the top that trails down you could do an espalier on the wall below. There are so many vines to choose from. Or you could espalier the Don Juan rose you have.I'm not familiar with the other roses to know if you have other climbers but mixing two different colors with different bloom times would be cool. I know what you mean about needing something to interplant with the roses and I don't have anything specific to reccomend but can suggest putting some of your roses in decorative (large) pots. That way when they don't look good they can be rotated out to a less visible area. My favorite sun loving plant is perennial verbena. It's pretty low maintenance, comes in lots of colors (except yellow or orange). I also love daylilies for the same reason. Sorry for the long ramble-on. I look forward to hearing other peoples ideas. It's fun to imagine your finished project.