You are so lucky to have a good fence----Deer can be very destructive---

good luck and keep us posted about which roses you decide to grow----

There are quite a few roses that do well in my no-spray garden

It will be very exciting!

Florence

I live in Terra Linda and grow quite a few old garden roses (OGRs). I also grow or have grown a few Austins--Graham Thomas, Heritage and Molineux. There are many wonderful OGRs that flourish in my no spray garden. Garden Valley Ranch has wonderful roses. You can also order from Vintage Gardens in Sebastopol and have the roses delivered to Garden Valley Ranch for pick up. Garden Valley has lots of Austins to choose from and Ron is the best! Just ask him for his recommendations. Welcome to the forum!

Thank you, jbfoodie! After hours of reading the forum, I just need to know what to do where I live. I am glad to hear that GVR has good roses because they certainly look beautiful. I will ask Ron for his recommendations and buy there rather than trying to order from the numerous online sources.

Thanks again. I can hardly wait to meet Ron.

Lucky you to be close to Garden Valley Ranch - most of my roses are from them (and Vintage). Like jbfoodie said - check with Ron, his knowledge is vast and he's a really great guy.

Aprille

A sunny yard to fill with roses---what fun.

I don't know if the microclimes in the Oakland hills are exactly the same as those in Novato but am guessing they're similar. Austins that do well for me are Molineaux,
Graham Thomas, Mary Rose and sport Redoute, Cymbaline, Ambridge Rose and Golden Celebration. I think my young Carding Mills, which I got from Garden Valley, is also going to thrive.

Good hunting,

Colleen

Pattie, you are in a prime rose growing area. Get to know Ron, his advice is invaluable, and take a look around Garden Valley, it is a beautiful oasis.

Also, if you would like to get to know some of us, we usually garden up at Greg and Phillip's home (owners of Vintage Garden) twice yearly. Look for emails from Luanne about Dirt Days. I guarantee that you can not enjoy working more.

Carol

Pattie, where you live you can grow almost anything you wish. Ron will be helpful and you can walk in his garden too and look at some mature roses. Have fun!

Pattie,
You have great weather for growing roses. I am a little North of you and my two favorite DA or DA like roses are Golden Celebration and Polka; Polka is a Romantica climber and Ron has one growing on the fence across from his office. My friend lives on the East side of Novato and she has the most beautiful roses, everything in her garden is breathtaking!
Diana

Pattie--I would like to recommend two old garden roses to you--Duchesse de Brabant and Lady Hillingdon. Both are disease free roses that bloom all the time, especially the Duchesse. Her constant blooming and nice rounded bush form require very little care. I do not even dead head her and she continues to bloom. LH has wonderful loose, deep yellow blooms. Her new growth is plum colored, which makes for an alluring contrast. As for Austins--Graham Thomas and Molineux both have done well for me. I had Heritage, which I loved, but this rose tended toward rust and black spot. So, Heritage is 'no more' in my garden.

Hi, Patty,
I'm a fellow Marin County gardener, although cursed with a very different climate in Mildew Valley. Novato should be close to rose heaven, with nice hot summers and some decent chill in the winter to put them to sleep for a short while.

With the water situation with No. Marin Water District, do you have a drip irrigation system already?

I think you may want to get a rose book so you have some general background before go to a rose nursery where you'll be faced with hundreds of choices.

Rose books are great. I spent years poring over Botanica's Roses - the pocket size, which was a great bathroom and bedside book! Liz Druitt's books are written for Texas, much more similar to our climate than books written for the east coast of the USA or England. You can buy used copies of these books from Amazon or half.com for a fraction of their price, and it's easy to end up with overflowing shelves of rose books. One that I would not be without is Vintage Gardens' Book of Roses, which gives how big the roses will grow, how often they will bloom, and their fragrance, although their shameless rose pornography will make you want to possess every single rose that you read about, even ones that you've grown and know that you don't like!

Better yet is seeing the roses in person, and how they grow. I just visited Garden Valley Ranch for the first time, and you definitely can see mature roses there! An advantage of volunteering at Vintage Garden's private garden is seeing their roses - and it's worth trips to places like Berkeley Botanical Gardens, San Jose Heritage Garden, and my beloved Sacramento City Cemetery.

This forum is great for advice. Yes, Novato should be a lovely place for roses. How fun.
Anita

Thank you so much for all your helpful advice and encouragement! This is clearly the nicest forum on the internet!

In anticipation of my new garden, I have read at least 15 books on roses, but I still am not completely sure which are the best for here. I can hardly wait to get back to Garden Valley Ranch and meet Ron. A few months ago, I couldn't bear waiting any longer and purchased a Mary Rose, Charles Rennie Macintosh and Winchester Cathedral at GVR, but didn't talk to anyone. The fence wasn't up yet, so they lived under netting to protect them and they bloomed beautifully to remind me why I was spending so much money on a fence and gate. I was planning to buy the bareroots at GVR, but all the talk of Ashdown, DA, Pickering, etc. made me wonder if I should purchase roses elsewhere. So glad I can buy them locally and get some good advice from an expert.

I would love to join the celebrating on Dirt Days -- I'll be on the lookout. A million thanks to everyone!