Hello Liz, Your garden sounds like a very pretty blend of plants and colours. I really like the Clematis Will Goodwin and have one growing on either side of my John Davis climber. Anyway, it is not easy to find an exceptionally fragrant climber that reblooms well and is cane hardy in zone 5. For instance, most of the Explorer climbers which are completely cane hardy in zone 5, are not fragrant to any significant degree. I see that you mention that this wall and area is rather sheltered and is south facing. This likely makes the micro-climate in the area a full zone higher than what you are normally. You can get away with quite a bit growing borderline roses and plants against sheltered south walls. However, a harsh winter will still wreak havoc with cane winterkill on a borderline hardy rose, so be prepared for this. I like your combination of blues and pinks and since the wall of your house is white, I would think you'd want a colour that is bright and will stand out against the white backdrop while also blending nicely with the blues and pinks. My first instinct in colour would be to go with a dark red rose in a situation like this and to avoid light pale pinks and white roses altogether, as these will just be washed out into the colour of the wall and will not stand out from any distance. Here are a few suggestions and comments: Don Juan- Dark velvety red. An outstanding and very powerful fragrance. However, not cane hardy in zone 5, but borderline cane hardy in zone 6. It is however, a very vigorous rose that will bounce back from winter kill well. Grows thick canes that grow very upright and can reach 10 to 12' by end of season once mature. Repeat flowers well in good flushes. Can be prone to BS, but has good resistance to mildew. Illusion- Another dark red. Fragrance is not overpowering, but is detectable and sweet. A Kordesii climber and has good cane hardiness in zone 5. I suspect it will suffer little to no dieback against a south wall in all but the most severe winters. Blooms almost continuously once established. Very, very disease resistant. One of the best red climbers ever produced and very underrated. Westerland- A bright blend of mostly orange with highlights of pink and yellow. Super vigorous and grows super upright. It is also super thorny. It repeat blooms well and can easily grow 10' by the end of its first season in a sheltered location. Be careful with feeding too much nitrogen with this rose or it will produce growth at the expense of blooms. Cane hardiness is good for zone 6, poor for zone 5. Disease resistance is pretty good, but BS is more of a problem than mildew. The colour definately makes an impact and the fragrance, while not overpowering, is strong and sweet. Lemon Meringue- A yellow blooming sport of Westerland. Slightly less vigorous it seems, but otherwise identical in most respects. Laguna- I have never grown it, so this is second hand info, but it comes highly recommended by Palatine Roses. It is a bright, deep pink almost light purple red coloured climbing rose. Blooms heavily, repeats well and is very fragrant. Decent hardiness in zone 5, but will dieback to varying degrees pending severity of winter. Supposedly very resistant to both mildew and BS. Morgengruss (Morning Greeting)- A Kordesii large shrub/climber like Illusion. Blooms are mostly pink with highlights of orange, cream and yellow. Good, but not overpowering fragrance. Super vigorous and will produce a lot of thorny canes. Likes to grow as wide as it does tall, so needs pruning and training to make it a proper climber. Exceptional disease resistance. Does not bloom much in 1st year as it prefers growth. Blooms better in 2nd year and repeats okay, but really struts its stuff in year 3 and beyond and repeats well once established. Rosarium Uetersen- Just a stunning dark pink climber with good, but not strong fragrance. The blooms age beautifully and become a silver pink on the edges of the petals which adds to the effect. Has good cane hardiness in zone 5, almost bullet-proof disease resistance and the spring flush is a sight to behold on an established plant. It repeats well, but not as heavily as the initial flush. If you are set on pale pink in this location, then take a look at New Dawn and its sport, Awakening. They will fit what you are looking for as they grow huge, have good fragrance, are hardy, disease resistant and bloom well. Best of luck.

I'd just call it "Beautiful" and be done with it!! Sorry can't help with the name,it's just gorgeous though!! Kathi

Hello Claudia, I'm hope I'm not joining the conversation too late. What luck! You're just starting your life-long obsession with irises a year before the national convention is held in Oklahoma City. If you can manage to attend it, you'll never regret it. I had the absolute pleasure of attending my first convention last year. You won't believe your eyes when you see the variety there is out there. And you'll meet some of the nicest people you'll ever find. I agree that you should join your local society. You can find more information about your region's groups here. I found it through a link from the AIS site. They've got an entire page of links and if you look under the section entitled "AIS Local Iris Clubs/Societies" you'll see there are two websites from OK. As Walter said, you would benefit greatly from the experiences of your fellow local gardeners. Their advice would be priceless. I really hope you'll continue to delve into the iris world. Your only disappointment will be with your acreage and budget. Brock

Well--I've gardened where it's much colder, and I've gardened down here where it's some warmer, and I gardened in about your zone in Washington State where zones can be the same as ours but gardening is wildly different, so you must take what I say with a good handful of salt. I think a lot of bulbs can be grown right in your flower beds, but be careful to mark them so you don't dig into them (as I did!). A good way is to plant something beside or even on top of them that will cover the dying foliage but not be too vigorous to crowd them out--maybe just something that comes up later. If you're growing bearded iris it would probably be as well to have them in a dedicated bed as they prefer to bake in the summer. I remember the better iris growers in Nebraska had their iris beds 'out back', as one said 'where I can just shut the gate and forget them'. I'm not sure if you'd need to pre-chill--probably not. We do, but I think you'd be enough cooler in the winter. You could ask at the Extension Service if you don't know local gardeners. I always try to make the acquaintance of good gardeners when I move, because, as you say, local gardeners have the best information. Well, except for the ones one place I lived that said I'd better learn to like plastic flowers, since that was all that would grow there. I found lots of things that grew there, and I still don't care for plastic flowers.