Hi Rachel, A little long to download with my slow connection but it worth well the time. Thanks a lot for sharing such a beautiful serie of Cooper Hawk pictures. Luc T.

I personally think decking boards look better on a back door than a front, but it can be done in a way that is appropriate looking for a front, just needs a more formal look. ARe you thinking of doing the work yourselves or hiring someone? If you are hiring someone I would call some places that specialize in front porches and see what their ideas are. Could you replace the concrete with pavers? They have more give an don't crack.

sultry_jasmine - they don't grow wild, but this is a very old (for CA) neighborhood - the houses were built between the late 19th century up until the 1920s. The old survivors I am talking about were all growing in the yards of old houses, and had survived (in our VERY mild and rose friendly climate) for long, long periods of time just taking care of themselves, living on leaf litter which was not cleaned up, and on our usually copious Winter rains. When I inquired with homeowners about taking cuttings, I was always told OK, and some people were even interested when I told them what kind of roses they had! I even convinced a neighbor to stop letting his father (the actual house owner - we have many houses that are still owned by the original family, but inhabited by younger generations of that family) chop their de la Grifferaie down to 12 inches tall every year when he was doing Fall "clean up". He did not even know or care that it was a rose bush - he just wanted it to be "neat". Anyway, after the son finally put a stop to that, he was astonished two years later to discover what a gorgeous rose it is. The good news is that there is a lot of "benign neglect" going on in our neighborhood, because the old plantings are left mostly alone. I am sure 90% of the roses originally planted have died long ago, but the remaining ones (like Lamarque, the banksias, Cl Caroline Testout, Belle Portugaise, TROMN, etc. are fabulous survivors which can be seen all over. I even found a Niles Cochet growing in the yard of an old house. Jackie