If partly depends on how much shade. I am growing Double Knock Out in an area that doesn't get as much sun as I'd like--maybe 5 hours maximum. It is healthy and blooms--but not as often as my other Double Knock Out planted in full sun. Since the Knock Outs are very disease-resistant, I haven't had any disease problems, but with just about any other rose planted in that same spot, I would expect it to have more disease problems. Let's face it--roses love the sun. Kate

What fun! And what did you play. Our 3 year old grandson is into learning how to play Red Light, Green Light and soccer too. Don't let him wear you out!

If you are planning to have children someday, will you stay here or move? I can see, with just two adults, why you would use the great room most of the time for your general living space. But with kids, you might want an adult living room and a child-friendly great room/kitchen combination. But if you are planning to move to a different house when you have kids, it would make sense to remodel this house to better fit your needs. Here are some questions for thought: What activities do you do in the great room? TV watching, gaming, reading, surfing the net, board games, entertaining friends, hobbies, crafts, yoga, something else? Are all the activities that you do easy to do in the great room? All supplies ready to hand, electric outlets where you need them, good lighting, table-top space if you need it, etc.? And what activities would you like to do in the great room that you can't, due to lack of resources--space, storage, electrical, table-top space, etc.? If you do have a child while living here, and the child gets your home office, where will all those activities move to? Are they compatible with the activities you currently do in that space? Then think of which of these activities could be moved to the living room or dining room, if you only had the proper support and set-up there. Are you not using the living room because of inherent flaws in the room--poor flow with the rest of the house, bad lighting, etc., or are you not using it because you haven't put in the correct furniture to let you use it the way you want? Clearly, the setup you have now isn't working for you. I think the space can be reconfigured to work better for you, but I'm doubtful that making it one big room is the best way to go. I'd look at plans that still allow you to have one room, however small, in that space where you can close the door and have privacy/quiet. That room can be your home office/computer room, or a library, or a craft space, or anything else you choose. Consider it a "swing" room that can change identities as your family's needs change.

I tried one Knock Out rose once ( I think it was the blush one) and I was astonished. In my garden in Northern CA, with mild wet winters and sunny, dry summers, with not much BS "pressure", it got mildew and BS. I do not spray, so I waited several years to see if it would "grow out of it". No luck, so I eventually had to shovel prune it, which I almost never do. I have over 150 roses of several different types, mostly older, which are happy here. I was so surprised that the KO rose, which of course was rather blah looking, did not even do what it was advertised to do - stay healthy! I presume that they do stay healthy somewhere, perhaps where they were developed, but not here. Again a problem of a rose which does well in one place being universally advertised as doing great everywhere. An old, old, story. Jackie