billrose-guess I didn't address your question. Good idea the white suggestion unless it gets "dirty looking" when it blows. I had climatis (Nelly Moser)and rose(John Cabot) growing up a trellis together but as the climatis got large it shaded out the rose on its side of the walkway. And he is a great strong rose. I finally tore the climatis out and replanted elsewhere. Something to keep in mind -its a beautiful concept but didn't work for me. Goodluck with yours.

I think you are on the right track with your flower color.. Something with white or cream flowers against the brick would be a nice contrast. I would lean towards a clematis rather than a rose, because even the best of roses are prone to disease and pests; for example there is a fast-spreading virus called Rose Rosette Disease that will eventually kill a rose and there is no cure for it once a rose is infected. For the clematis montana, are you ok with it blooming for a few weeks in May or so and then just being a tangle of vines for the rest of the summer? Would you want to plant several different large clematis vines to ensure a continuity of bloom through summer (montana, something that blooms june-aug, then an autumn clematis)? Clematis will need to be mulched deeply and faithfully watered throughout the summer. Unless you have your heart set on vines, another idea might be something like a Limelight hydrangea or another of the sun loving hydrangeas. It will get pretty tall and have white flowers that gradually turn pink. People love them for flower arrangements. I'm only mentioning hydrangeas because I am discovering them myself. Good luck with your choices, and hopefully this helps a little. Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of Limelight

Hi, Lynn. When no one posts a comment to a thread it stays at the top of the page. Since this post is no longer timely I posted so that it would move down the page. Bobbie

I have three roses climbing against a fence in my garden. I also have type-2 clematis between them. From the front to the back, it goes like this -- clematis, clematis, clematis, clematis, 'Purple Skyliner' rose, clematis, clematis, 'Bubble Bath' rose, clematis, clematis, 'Bleu Magenta' rose, clematis. There used to be another rose between the second and third clematis, but that one didn't make it. Since the rest filled in so nicely, I didn't replace it. Every early Spring, both groups need to be trimmed back a little. The roses have their laterals shortened, and 'Purple Skyliner' in particular gets thinned quite a bit, since it is becoming a monster. The clematis are carefully examined for where their healthiest, highest swelling buds are located, and then I remove all the dead tangle above that. It takes me about two days to get three roses and nine clematis cleaned up. I'm glad I did it this way, rather than having type-2 clematis climing into these roses. I did this to two other roses, but they are much larger -- and I still regret it. It would be a nightmare sorting through two plants which both needed to keep some of their old wood for Spring. The three type-2 clematis climbing into the much bigger roses don't reach much into the blooming parts of the roses, so I'm still pruning two different areas rather than two plants in the same area. The clematis hang around the more bare parts of these big climbing roses, and the roses' pruned areas are further up. If I wanted to put a clematis into a rose now, I'd choose a type-3, which would be cut down to near the base in Spring. And I'd make sure the rose grows about 50% bigger than the clematis. So, something like clematis 'Jackmanii' would be paired with a rambler, not a repeat-blooming large-flowered climber -- unless the rose is already massive and mature. Otherwise, the only type-3 clematis I'd put into something like a repeat-blooming large-flowered climber would be one of the taller non-climbing types, or, if I pick a climber, it'd be one of the dwarfer type-3s that max at 2/3 the height of the rose it'll climb. I wouldn't put honeysuckle into a rose, except perhaps a mature and massive rambler that's left to grow wild, for the same reason I wouldn't put a type-2 clematis into a rose -- having two plants which need to be pruned but still retaining some old wood occupying the same space will be quite a tangle at pruning time. Also, it means both plants would be leafing out in the same space at the same time, thus competing for light. If you want honeysuckle, plant them between your roses, rather than in your roses. Make sure there's enough room for both. They'll likely grow together by Summer, but be sure to cut them back enough in Spring that they have their boundaries. I still have a bare patch against the fence, and I keep leaning toward putting a honeysuckle there, but definitely one of the smaller ones, like this one: Lonicera periclymenum var. serotina Florida It would have about eight feet of fence width and six feet of fence height, but would have to stay rather flat against the fence, since a path runs there. The only type of rose into which I'd plant even one of those smaller honeysuckles would be a big tree-climbing rambler that has already reached 20 feet or so into the branches. That would leave enough room to neaten up the honeysuckle at the base in Spring, and plenty of room further up for the rose to grow without the honeysuckle. :-) ~Christopher