Deer will eat the Jerusalem artichokes... only reason why mine are only 5 ft tall is because the deer had been grazing on them. My deer don't touch my garlic or onions... (in the dead of last winter only thing green was my garlic and they didn't come close to them of course they ate up the arborvite in my front yard). I'd try hot peppers and cherry tomatoes... cherry/small fruited toms can tolerate a less than ideal amount of sun. I have small thai chillis that I planted in the wrong spot one year and they got shaded out pretty badly... the plant did fine though. (BTW these are two that I grow out in the open not in my deer protected area)

It would be very helpful to know what zone you garden in because the quality or intensity of light can have a bearing on how much sunlight a rose needs to thrive. Climbing Peace is a rose that requires lots of patience. It takes quite a long while (several years) to settle in and to produce the growth that, in turn, promotes bloom production. Because it's so slow to mature, I feel that it's especially important to do whatever is necessary to keep Climbing Peace in good health. A rose that's healthy and well-foliated throughout each growing season will naturally mature more rapidly. As long as they're well watered and fed, Peace and Climbing Peace do well in dry climates like yours. One doesn't often see a well-grown Climbing Peace, but with patience and determination a Climbing Peace in full flush can defy description.

I bought Scentimental almost 10 years ago and it has survived all the hot summers we have had recently. Oranges and Lemons did not fare so well. I think it (O&L) lasted 1-2 years only. Be advised that if your weather is similar to mine, during July thru part of September, you may notice that the number of blooms will dimish significantly and that the color in the blooms will be almost always "wrong" until the temperatures come down from the 100s. During that stressful time, Scentimental has 1 to 1.5" blooms whose color is either only bright red or a dark shade of pink. I only see one bloom or two tops at a time. Sometimes they have stripes but very few. They may appear to be the wrong rose to people who have not seen this before. If your soil is as bad as you suggest, consider growing them in containers. It may help keep some of those the large shrubs' size in check a little. Take a trip to Antique Rose Emporium (call first to see if they have a good selection of striped roses) if you want to see before buying. I have not tried hybrid perpetuals here but I have seen Reve dâÂÂOr and Souvenir de St. Anne's for sale before in my area and have Souvenir del la Malmaison (shrub) and Zepherine de Drouhin. Those are not striped roses though. Reine des Violettes did not fare well as I did not like the shrub's structure. Here is more info: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rosesant/msg0217034631488.html?4 Luis

It sounds as though martagons would do well there.