Hi Beth - I'm new to this forum, but not new to coastal Southern Cal rose growing, so I'll chime in too. I'm in San Juan Capistrano on the South end of Orange County and about 2.5 miles from the beach in a coastal canyon. So I know all about roses in the marine layer fog. Mildew, not black spot, is the bane of our existence here. The only blackspot I've ever seen in my garden was on florist roses. But I do spray. And the three most fragrant ones on your list -- Double Delight, McCartney Rose and Fragrant Cloud -- will mildew even with religious spraying. But, the fragrance is worth it and I grow all three. No one has told you about the rose societies here yet. There are several. I go all the way south to the California Coastal Rose Society in Carlsbad. That's probably too far for you. There are two other OC rose societies -- the Orange County Rose Society which meets very near to Huntington Beach in Westminster -- they focus on exhibitions and hold their show the last weekend of October every year at Rogers Gardens. There's also another one that focuses mostly on gardening, garden tours and garden parties -- no exhibiting -- which is the Saddleback Rose Society -- that one's a bit inland for both of us. Wholly different climate those folks have. You can get to either one by googling the names, or I've put a link in here for the OCRS. On the rest of your list, I've grown most of them, and they do just fine. But as a general rule, in coastal cool areas like ours, fewer petals is better. Many roses just won't open like they do in hot climes, and sometimes you just die waiting for a leeeetle bit of heat to get them open, which never comes. So, plan to have some that open without heat. As for colors, try these -- Pink -- Our Lady Of Guadalupe is by far the best pink floribunda. But also check out The Imposter and Lovestruck, both of which do well for me. For Hybrid Teas, I like Memorial Day. Purple -- Intrigue is okay, but try Purple Tiger -- it's better and it's striped. It does really well on the coast. For a Hybrid Tea, I like Neptune and one that Armstrongs carries called Della Reese that is a darker purple hybrid tea with occasional exhibition form. Orange -- About Face Red -- I'm still looking for a good one. Yellow -- Julia Child or Midas Touch. Or even Peace, which gets enormous blooms on the coast. Multi -- get some stripes -- City of Carlsbad if you can find it or Cabana if you can't. Have fun. I seem to move every few years just BECAUSE I get to replenish my garden. Enjoy it. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Orange County Rose Society

No, I haven't made any decisions. I don't know how anyone makes a decision about these things - there are just soooooo many varieties to choose from, it's sort of overwhelming. I have, however, been having a good look around my suburb at what my neighbours are up to in terms of rose growing, trying to see what does well and what does not so well. So within a few streets of my house Crepuscule, Renae, Pinkie and Ballerina are all doing exceptionally well. There are a couple of Pierre de Ronsard's doing ok, the blooms are looking lovely but they're not growing very much and they have very little foliage, so I guess they're not exactly vigorous. All of the hybrid tea varieties, however, and not doing too well - they have a few scattered blooms but the bushes are looking very leggy. I don't think they get enough sun up here to become bushy and healthy.

I think if you only get 3-4 hours of morning sun, it will be hard to find a rose that will bloom well for you. Then again, you won't know until you try. Does the top of the pergola get more sun? Best case, the rose will grow up to the top without blooming much, and then do better once it reaches heights with more sun. Off the topic of roses, here is a guide to planting climbing hydrangeas: http://www.marthastewart.com/1502837/marthas-step-step-guide-climbing-hydrangeas But they won't have a scent. For scented climbers, you could try jasmine, but I'm not sure how well it does in shade. If you are planning on putting iris in that shady front bed, I would stay away from bearded iris, which like lots of sun. Japanese iris are ok in part shade. Even better for you would be Pacific Coast iris. These plants thrive on the west coast in part shade. I have several clumps of iris douglasiana (a native pacific coast iris) growing in my yard in spots that get maybe 1 or 2 hours of morning sun, and they bloom like crazy for about a month in the spring. There are many beautiful varieties. Check out the article here. Finally, another flower that has done great for me in part shade is foxglove. There are perennial varieties that will bloom from spring into late summer even in afternoon shade. And if you want scent, oriental lilies like some afternoon shade and create a heady perfume throughout the garden.

Little green worms that are probably on the underside of your rose leaves munching...(size varies from tiny up to a inch long)... Sawfly larvae are called Rose Slugs....Least toxic spray would be safer insecticide soap or similar... Spinosad is very effective just be careful and follow directions as it can kill bees... Some people pick them off there rose leaves and squish... Our curled rose slug here are mostly found on top of the leaf... But usually other types are found UNDERNEATH the leaf... Here's what our more mature rose slugs look like: The wasp eats them so he is a good guy in my book....lol