I am fairly new to the forum but I have been looking at ways to add to my garden and I have noticed many people plant flowering vines behind their roses. I think maybe a short growing clematis would be pretty and give you some height behind the roses. It's a beautiful spot in your yard and I hope you post pics when you get it the way you want it. Good luck!

I just added Drift to my collection of roses last year. I've been growing Flower Carpet roses for over 12 years and I've been really happy with them. Most of the varieties Flower Carpet that I have bloom almost nonstop from about the end of June through our first few frosts. The ones that seem to be the most full in our area are Scarlet and Pink Supreme but I also love Coral and Appleblossom even though they don't get as big. From what I can tell after the first year of having Drift roses is that they are considerably smaller roses - both the flower and the shrubs themselves - but I guess that makes sense because I think that they're promoted as being for smaller spaces. I have mine tucked in some spots between the Flower Carpets where I needed filler.

I love the flowers and fragrance of Young Lycidas, and it IS one of my favorite roses --- but I do struggle with its growth habit. It sends up long (very) long skinny canes that cannot support the weight of the flowers. So I have to pick the flowers up off the ground (very nearly) to see them or to take in their wonderful fragrance. I was going to give it away last year and we were in my yard to dig it out for my friend when a nearby redwood tree root made the digging too much of a struggle. So I kept it after all, and I'm glad I did. But I wish I could figure out a way to get the canes to fatten up so they would support the flowers. Other than Young Lycidas I have two other very favorite roses: Matangi and Lady Emma Hamilton. Matangi is one of the so-called Painted Roses and it has so many virtues -- disease free in my garden, deep green glossy leaves, never out of bloom, super light-up-the-landscape last forever blooms, big fat generous hips, neat bushy habit. If it has a fault, I suppose I will have to admit it lacks fragrance. Lady Emma is one of David Austin's and aside from its beautiful flower and wonderful fragrance, I am quite taken with its foliage color which is hard to describe but the leaves are flushed with a sort of brownish burgundy which is a perfect color blend for the flowers. The very attractive foliage persists all winter for me until the new leaves in spring force the old ones to drop. I welcome its shorter size, and it is very full and bushy. And healthy.

Betty Boop is a great rose in Del Cerro (on a hill next to a canyon in San Diego). "Del Cerro" btw, translates to "of the hill" and is near San Diego State University on the east side fo San Diego. My mother lives there, and I tend her rose garden there. Here's a link to the San Diego Rose Society's best performing roses for San Diego divided as between coastal and inland areas. Most of these however do need spraying. Generally "coastal" to San Diegans means within 5 miles of the beach, where there is a marine layer. For no spray, Julia Child would be my first choice, followed closely by Betty Boop, Lovestruck, Mardi Gras, Moondance, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Home Run, Hot Cocoa and the new AARS one Easy Does It. Do NOT get any variation of Knock Out -- it mildews badly in San Diego. Also tell her that the best place to get roses is NOT HOME DEPOT or any other box store. Make her go to Kniffings nursery in El Cajon during bare root season (December- January) and get her roses there -- they can answer any questions she may have and make very knowledgable recommendations. Have fun, Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Best Roses for San Diego Lists