Welcome to rose gardening, Shaun.

I would not be surprised if the climbing, pink miniature you saw was Jeanne La Joie, and it should do well for you. It rather sounds like you might grow what I would call 'landscaping' roses, those that look good whether in bloom or not, like The Fairy, also a pink, growing to a metre round ball, always well leafed and constantly in bloom till the end of the season once it starts to bloom.

However, I can't tell from your post whether you are also interested in florist-style blooms. Hybrid Teas tend to make poorer looking plants though the individual blooms can be superb.

Your post is not too long. You might even add more.

Steve

Hi Shaun! Can't give you any help in the rose choice department since I'm in an uncomparable climate. But - absolutely share your excitement and enthusiasm in having a group of people to share this passion with. All the people I hang with are either computer geeks or horse people - I don't personally know one other rose enthusiast. I LOVE this forum. And here, something about rose gardening makes everyone ageless - 20s thru 90's - we all share the same passion and experiences. So bottom line - welcome.

Thanks elks, and harmonyp, for your responses, and kind words of welcome. elks, I'm almost positive you discovered the rose I remember from back in the day....thanks for that!!!! And, yes, I am interested in landscaping roses predominantly, but am also interested in roses for cutting....I like the look of such roses contained in boxwood parterres and knot gardens, to disguise their less attractive foliage when they are not in bloom. Any recommendations of favourite roses in all facets of rose gardening would be useful, and maybe their ideal combination and placement with other plants. For example, would a given plant be better located at the front of the bed, so that the blooms can be appreciated, or should it be set slightly further back, and interplanted with 'fill in the blank' to disguise it after blooming. Thanks again!!!!

Welcome Shaun. Beware, rose gardening can become addictive! This has been a great site for me to learn from. I log on daily and read with great thirst to get as much knowledge from fellow rose gardeners. I've learned so much here, you've definitly come to the right place.
I have a completely different climate, so I won't be able to help you select a rose, but I do want to point out roses love sunlight. You will want to choose the sunniest place in your yard with at least 6 hours of full sunlight. (preferably more.) If you feel you don't have a spot that will give this much full sun, than make sure your rose choice is partial shade tolerant.

Welcome, Shaun! Folks there will be your best advisors. Out here in California, we just cheer-lead. :-)

Jeri

I was in your shoes about three years ago. Sounds like the center of your property is the best bet with all the sun, though your spots with dappled or afternoon shade could work with certain varieties. I can tell you a couple of the roses I planted and why I like them and that might help you out a bit.

Best all-around
Julia Child - Blooms like a machine and has a great overall shrub shape. No BS problems.

Favorite flowers
Queen of Sweden - Also has a great shrub shape. Upright vase shaped, but not awkward. Good disease resistance.
Princess Alexandra of Kent - Amazing blooms. Stands strong in the face of windy days and summer storms. Occasional pinch of BS.

Just added the Alba Great Maiden's Blush and the Gallica Charles de Mills. Purchased them for areas with a bit of shade because research says they can take it. Both are once bloomers.

Best surprise this year was Madame Hardy. Favorite rose this year. Scent was amazing. Once bloomer. It was one that the pictures didn't do justice.

I'm too new to give you any tips. But Welcome!!! being 21 myself I know exactly how you feel about your friends! :)

Nice to see those of younger generations with a keen interest in gardening and roses in particular. Passion is often contagious.

If you are in Toronto and based on the areas of your property as you describe, you should have no real issues incorporating roses into your landscape. There are a lot of different types of roses, each with somewhat different landscape requirements, different growth habits, bloom form and of course, disease resistance and winter hardiness. For a beginner and to avoid disappointment, I'd usually suggest roses with superior disease resistance and hardiness and luckily, we are somewhat spoiled for choice in those regards these days. We also happen to be spoiled for choice when it comes to having some of the best bareroot rose specialist nurseries to be found in North America, i.e. Palatine and Pickering Nurseries.

Like Elks, my first choice on guess of the miniature pink climbing rose was Jeanne LaJoie. Did it look anything like this? Excuse the poor pic quality, but I took this with my phone the other day.

Hey Zaphod42...your rose recommendations are truly appreciated. Those are some fine looking varieties. Julia child is so charming, Queen of Sweden is one of the most enchanting roses I have ever seen, Princess Alexandra of Kent seems to be composed of frills on top of frills, and the shade-tolerant varieties are also appreciated. I think I will definitely be adding at least one of the first three recommended, if not all three, to my garden this year. I will keep you posted on how this plays out. Again, thanks to infinity.

The_morden man, the information you provided will also be extremely useful. Thank you for providing names of reputable nurseries. But, now that I see a different picture of Jeanne LaJoie, I seem to doubt this rose as being the one I saw years ago. It seems to have much larger roses than I recalled (these look to be possibly 3-4 inches in diameter, while the rose I remember was half that size around). Does the size of the blooms vary according to the size of the plant? As in, would the rose be larger when the plant reaches maturity, while a smaller plant would seem to have blooms on a much smaller scale Otherwise, if I ignore the difference in size, the rose seems very much the same. Either way, I think this Jeanne LaJoie will make a nice addition to the property. Would love to have it grow up along one of my downspouts which is now occupied by a clematis that turned out to be less spectacular than I expected. Maybe I will intertwine them!!!!

And was also wondering how you all contend with your rose bushes (etc.) when they are not in bloom? What plants do you all use to disguise the less attractive forms? Or what other devices are customarily used so that they don't detract from the composition of the garden when not in bloom? And keep your favourite roses for my region coming!!!!! I am LOVVVING all of your recommendations!!!!!!!

The morden man,
Thanks for your follow-up, and photo, regarding my question about Jeanne LaJoie!!!! I am now convinced that it is probably the plant I was looking for! And thanks for correcting me on my intention to grow it up a downspout! I WAS thinking of putting a cage around the downspout, and growing it off of that, but if you think even that won't be strong enough to support it, in any case, I will find a place for it.

Since you are in my zone, I would also love to hear what some of your favourite plants are, from rose to anything otherwise. And when does your J.LJ. receive sun? Late afternoon, all day, etc. I would be so content with having the amount of blooms you have on your specimen!!!! Good job! Thanks again for your wonderful post. Look forward to hearing from you :)

Another possibility for the rose from your childhood is Cecile Brunner, CL. It's a classic old sweetheart rose.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cecile Brunner

The David Austin Roses are really beautiful and fragrant, great for a cold zone.

They are hardy and great bloomers.

Some are relatively compact like The Alnwick Rose, and some are large like James Galway. They have wonderful fragrance and old fashioned style blooms.