I love roses, but I don't know if I would do it because in the winter the evergreen shrubs hide the foundation, while the roses would be dormant.

Do you think the rhodies would bloom at the same time as the roses? In my zone anyway, my Rhodies are about done by the time I get any roses, but since you are further south that may not be an issue.

Can you plant the roses in front of the evergreens? Or is there not enough room? What about an island bed in your front lawn?

Jess

If the exposed foundation is an issue you could plant some smaller foundation plants and still have your roses. Do you have a picture? Are you planning on moving the evergreens or cutting them out? If you move them, wrap them in burlap or old sheet or blanket to protect their limbs and yours. Maybe you could move some of them and not others. I'm just guessing. Without seeing it I really don't know how to advise you. Best of luck!

My thought also would be to put the roses in front of the evergreens; are they nandina? Or are they some unwieldy ugly type of evergreen you really hate and don't want there? Usually a deeper bed is going to look better than than a skinny one up against the house.

Ashli,

Your options are numerous. My thinking is that a row of any one thing is less visually appealing than a collection of different plants. It doesn't have to be either or...you could take out a few of the shrubs (maybe two here and one there...) and replace them with whatever you would like. Perhaps a lower growing evergreen to cover the house foundation and plant your roses in front of those. Or you could go with a taller vertical plant in one spot and lower things in another spot. I really like the look of roses against a green background. I think it makes them pop. I would probably do a search looking for as many pictures of rose plantings as I could find and determine which look you prefer from those. A good rule of thumb is to use odd numbers in your plantings. It has been found that this creates a more natural and less rigid look, if that's what you're going for.

Good luck with it.

Kristi

Our experience with removing evergreen foundation plantings taught us that the roots are very deep, and impossible to get out. We removed serval, and then made a built up garden bed over the area. The one tree that were removed left a stump, but that is perfect for setting my little fountain on.

Be Safe, Rach

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:768281}}

Thanks for all the responses.
The evergreens are some type of Holly with red berries...the nursery told us that they were "Dwarf Hollies"...Wrong!...If they weren't trimmed, I think they would grow as tall as our house....ha...They grew up and out...so they would be hard to trim with Roses planted in front of them...(?) Maybe take out 3 Hollies...A Holly, a Rose, A Holly, a Rose...Wish I had thought of this when I was younger!...The ground is very rocky, but I planted a few Roses last Spring and have just "fell in love" with them.(No pictures)...never learned how to post them.The house is a red/beige brick.

Ashli, can you email me the link to your photo album and I can post your photos? It's not that hard to post them here, I goofed up a couple of time then got the hang of it.

Can you locate a sunny spot or two in your front yard that you could grow the roses on a support?
Maybe a flat fan-shaped trellis shape would get you roses in a very small footprint.
GH-

Here is a link that might be useful: my photo album, nothin' new but a rose in the snow...

How about training an espalier onto the brick? On curb appeal this morning, they put an espalier on a brick home.
Here's an article on bhg -http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/espalierawall_122704.xml&catref=cat4410014

here's a post where someone espalier'd a camelia -http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/camellia/msg1219511027139.html?1

Keep your rhodie shaded, and then pull out a couple of the hollies. Berming is a nice idea, it will give a little height and more visual emphasis to the roses. Good luck!