how about a 'shepherds hook' that is used out in the garden to put hanging pots on...you press into the groud. But you could put in a pot and even use plaster of paris and put dirt or moss on top..then you could decorate with small items.then you could move it around. If you can not find a hook, try a fence post with a pot or shelf bracket on it. I have a lantern on my hook and a wreath on one. I think that would work for a wind chime. June

If you don't mind once-bloomers, I'd go for albas, albas, albas. Their foliage is so beautiful, and most set hips once they mature. I love their large, arching growth. Alba Maxima, Blanche de Beligique (few hips on this one), and Great Maiden's Blush are our best. Pompom Blanc Parfait's flowers are too small for the size of the plant. Celestial has not thrived for us. In bloom, no rose is more refined and fragrant. I'm also crazy about eglantine, which has wonderful hips, great apple scent in the foliage, sweet pink flowers in spring, and a great set of backstories. I can talk for ten minutes about this rose on our tours, and sometimes do. Damasks may not be disease-resistant for you, but in my dream line-up of big shrubs, I'd have to have one Autumn Damask and just accept its sparse, lanky growth. Judicious pruning would help, I'm sure. We grow a mossed, white sport - Quatre Saisson Blanc Mousseux - that is really gorgeous. Many of the Hybrid Musks will grow to big arching shrubs - Lyda Rose is terrific, but we also grow Pax, Penelope, Buff Beauty and others in big mounds. Another terrific rose that can get big is Blush Noisette. Again, it's more of a mound than a free-standing shrub. Yes, many of the teas, at least here in California, will build and build into 8 feet or higher piles of constant bloom. We have a White Maman Cochet that is simply fabulous. I don't know how big they'll get for you. I wouldn't in good conscience recommend Mermaid, although I'll bet that Jeri's sighting of that one was indeed remarkable. I can't imagine dealing with its armature. Would Susan Louise be hardy enough for your climate? I've often thought about putting it at the back of my border. It's a bit gawky, but reblooms well with the most astonishing large, pointed buds. There are so many choices. I envy you and Sammy for making plans to plant. I'm SPing and adding a few roses at a time at home and in the cemetery, not nearly so much fun! Anita

Natchitoches Noisette (Does anyone grow this one as a climber?), Mary Washington, Narrow Water, and Alister Stella Gray all have more or less upright, shrubby, rounded or vase shaped growth habits in my garden. None of them has wanted to climb, at least so far. Blush Noisette and Champneys' Pink Cluster throw out long, arching canes that could easily be trained to climb, but they don't really need support. Both roses have worked out well as freestanding, mounding shrubs. Crepuscule is freestanding now, but did need a little support early on to stabilize the crown and help it to build a strong bone structure. And keeping it tidy as a very large mounding shrub still requires more maintenance than either BN or CPC require. But less work than probably would have been needed if I'd trained it to a trellis. It's not hard - I just remove any canes that jut out too far. I tried, and failed, to grow Pilarcitos as a mounded shrub before I gave up and began pruning it back fairly hard after each flush. The good news is that it doesn't seem to mind. If I had it to do over I'd put it on a trellis, though. Madame Alfred Carriere and Celine Forestier have been on large supports from the beginning. I don't know about CF, but the very thought of growing a freestanding MAC scares me.

All I can offer is untried opinions. Hammer a very sturdy wooden pole or stake into the ground at the base and twine the vines around to 4 feet high. Use binders twine or cotton thread to tie the vines to the stake. The vines should gain enough strength to hold the top up by the time the stake rots and the twine should rot before it cuts into the vines. Annual, brutal pruning will be need to keep the plant into a tree shape. I can only guess that this should be done after the Spring bloom but before July ends, so that next years buds can form. Several are in my neighborhood, the most notable is a 10 ft. diameter white one that has branches solid with flowers, branches and flowers trailing almost to the ground below.