My vote would be for MAC and Darlow's.

How large are your arbors? Are you trying to achieve a lush, colorful effect, or something more cohesive and calm.

Here in Virginia, we don't have to worry so much about cane hardiness. I always emerge from winter with plenty of cane on my climbers. I have a TON of climbers. Sombruiel is nice and reliable, but stiff
MAC gets out of control everywhere I've seen it. The laterals on top of an arch look like an afro to me.
Laguna is wonderful.
Zeffie is great in the spring, blooms sparingly after that, and MUST HAVE fungicide to keep its leaves. Bald roses on your walkway could look weird.
Darlow's Enigma can be grown as a huge shrub. It may be too bushy and thorny for your walkway.

My immediate reaction to your question was to suggest something like White Cap or Parade, which are two of my best blooming, healthiest climbers. I'm also totally in love with Compassion, and Buff Beauty, and Crepuscule ... Alister Stella Gray looks like it will be a star ... Reve d'Or is nice, too.

Can you tell I love climbers?

Darlow's Enigma is not a climber. It is a large (ok, very, very large) shrub.

Most of those roses will eat anything like a normal size arbor in Virginia. John Davis is controllable. I'm really not sure of anything else.

Bigger in this case is not necessarily better. It's more a matter of right rose-right place. The rose has to be sized to the arbor or Very Bad Things can happen.

I'm with Mad Gallica. Most climbing roses are way too vigorous for a 2' X 8' arch. An arbor, can have many dimensions. I have made the mistake before. You have to know the mature size of the rose and here's the rub - how much training (pruning) are you willing to do. I am currently flurting with Cl. Pinkie, Parade, and see below.

I prefer to have symmetry (the same rose on each side) on arches and many rose gardens go for this. The reason being that two different plant habits will undoubtedly give you an awkward look sometime during the year. Either they will bloom at different times, or have different growth and disease habits. Sometimes folks try and get as much variety into an allowable space and often regret it. Again it may depend on the dimensions and your taste - would three colors be enough?

PS - Some hybrid musks may work fine for you. However, they may take some training. I have seen a cherry Meideland and Henry Mitchell's Ginny, both can be medium to large size shrubs, trained beautifully on a hillside structure of 6X6 posts and beams flowering up and across. However, seeing this and knowing the fellow was a 35 year seasoned gardner just let me know that there are still wonderfull gardening challenges ahead. In that case and most, you just can't plant something and come back in 3 years and expect to be thrilled. I think he said that it took 3 to 5 years to achieve the effect. Best, Nick

I would recommend looking to see which rose gardens/rose nurseries are open so you can see them in person - or which websites if the rose gardens themselves are closed. E.g. Hartwood Roses or Bon Air rose garden.

Bon air has more modern roses but does have a couple of the ones you mentioned - I believe compassion and viking queen.

I'm in a different zone, but I'll chime in anyway. I wish I could grow Laguna here. I have Climbing SDLM on a pillar planted right next to the bush. I read that it is basically a once bloomer and very vigorous - right on both counts, and not very thorny. Sombreuil on the other hand is very thorny. I grow Reve d'Or almost 2-1/2 years. He is a monster but the flowers now are simply gorgeous. Up till now they've been small (maybe it was the heat) and relatively sparse, but since the heat broke flowers are nice and big with light fresh fragrance. He will take some effort to control even if your arbor is deep and wide, and the canes are lax which I think is better than stiff. Mine grows fanned out against a stockade fence and spans about 15', maybe more, and would love to be 15' in the other direction, too. And no way put a second rose on that arbor.

Sherry

I've got lots of climbers covering lots of arbors in my yard. I grow all of the varieties on your list except Red Rambler and John Cabot.

From your list, the only one that "might" work well on an arbor here is Laguna. I grow my roses without spray.

There are many other better options in my opinion:

Climbing Pinkie
Dancing Doll (I'm surprised Connie didn't suggest that one)
Awakening
Plaesanterie seems to be doing well.
White Cap
Reve d'Or
Crepuscule
Jaune Desprez
Lamarque

Where are you in VA?

Robert

I just discovered a nice nursery for ramblers and climbers. It is Hartwood Roses in Fredricksburg Va. Lovely assortment of roses from a small nursery.

Liza, FYI "Hartwood Roses" is the lovely lady named Connie who posted the second reply to this thread. Liza meet Connie. Connie, this is Liza. I hope you have a long and happy (and rosey) acquaintance.

Sherry

I've got Everblooming Cecil Brunner on a large (15') arbor and while I love it, it does require a LOT of training.

For the variety you want, I would suggest planting two of the same roses and adding a true vine plant. I have star jasmine on that same arbor, but I have frequently seen excellent results with clemitis and honeysuckle as well.

LOL, Sherry.

The arches in my rose field are a lot like the ones the OP has described. They're 8' tall and about3' wide, made of two lengths of bent rebar, and the arches are 8' apart from each other. I have 19 of these down the center of this garden, and I have a different climber planted on each side of each arch (that's 38 of them, in this location).

In my original reply, I mentally walked down my climbers and chose ones that I knew wouldn't get too much out of bounds, or be too persnickety. Robert, you're right, I should have recommended Dancing Doll ... it's a sister seedling of Renae, darker pink flowers and leaves, and it is a nicer rose for me than Renae. I have both of these roses planted on the same arch.
Renae is a good choice, too.
Or Climbing Pinkie, though it gets a bit wild for me.
Zephirine Drouhin, and Kathleen Harrop, are nice climbers ONLY IF SPRAYED with fungicide here in BS Land.
Moonlight is also good, if you want white.

There are SOOO many different styles of climbers. Perhaps you should plan a field trip and come meet some of them for yourself. :)

Connie

Thank you all... and I am in Northern VA... near Manassas

and Connie.. I am dieing to come out and visit your place sometime.. sounds devine!!!!!!!

I ordered more roses.. where to put all these roses.. I havent a clue now.. LOL/ guess after having them reserved.. I can cancel some.. shoot.. I just ordered and kept on ordering.. Maybe I should also do an entire section at the side of my yard just roses.. mmmmmmmn... gonna have to share my new list with you all.

Palentines
Ice Girl Freelander
Janet carnochan
Lions fairy tale
Summer Memories
Rosarium Ueterson
Red Cosair
Laguna

Roses unlimited
Cecile Brunner
SDLM
Sombreiel
2 darlow egnima
2 crepscule
MAC
Coltide supert
Zephie

I thought I orderes Westerland too.. but may have not

Thanks all for your words of advice, and wowzer.. now to figure it all out. Yes, we are talking.. the typical 8 foot arch over a sidewalk, I am scared now what to plant there

I have already, purchased from last year/ my first roses ever ordered- 2 compassion,2 rev d or, climbing pinkie- which is just a big wild bush thing now,(never flowered),carefree beauty, 2 New Dawns, 2 edens.. I think they died.. or one did, started moving them around due to one of the edens from my memory- just simply started to dry out.. it was soooo strange, no matter how much it was watered it was as if it wasnt absorbing the water, moved it.. but it turned black!!!, and I also have a abrahmam darby, and double delight. But then again moved flowers around mid summer, to see if they would do better in a different location.. etc/ and I dont know what flower is what.. LOL, that'll be next summer with everyone here, snapping photos and asking what these are.. hehehhe

Thank you all for all your support.