Kmama, I hope I'm not hijacking your thread. Hopefully, my Climbing Pinkie will shed some light on yours. Seil, here's a photo in April that shows the metal trellis attached between the 4x4s. The top curves up to a point like a gothic window. I had originally planned to train it straight up like you said, Denise, and then over toward the garage, adding brackets to the posts. HMF says it grows to 5' to 10'. My posts are 8' out of the ground. Looking at photos on HMF, I'm thinking I might be able to get it going up and with age it would take on a tree shape with bare lower canes. I think that would be nice. Perhaps my brackets would have to go in both directions like the horizontals on a pergola. Kmama, I noticed some photos of a lovely pillar on HMF by David Elliot in Australia. An earlier photo shows the pillar exposed and later shots show it engulfed, so it is doable. It looks like it will wind up looking like a big blooming bush not narrow at all. That's the way it worked when I put Prosperity on a rebar teepee. Wrapping the canes around the rebar gradually made the pillar wider and fatter. It got to almost 6' in diameter and that was only two years worth. I removed it after that. Maybe a pillar wouldn't get quite as wide as my tripod but I wouldn't put it past it. Looking at my two photos, I'm rather astonished. That's 2-1/2 months growth. Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Aw, thanks, you guys. The weather here has really been cooperative. This has convinced me to get more roses, which means a five-year heat spell and drought is in order. Pippi, the peachy-apricot flowers are nasturtiums, either Apricot Trifle or Creamsicle. The pinkish flowers in the second to the last photo are Martha Washington pelargoniums in a barrel. Jenn, the chartreuse plant behind Cajun Rhythm is Golden Feverfew. Easy to grow from seed. I am not sure how tall it gets, but it's scaring me already. It gets little white daisy flowers. I am so pleased with the Showbiz bed- it's the first time I ever had an idea that worked out right, where the plants bloomed together and were the right height. And I'm so glad they didn't die when the irrigation system broke last year and I didn't notice for two months! Renee

I have a list of seeds available but don't have any roses yet. I'm trying to get started with them. I can take cuttings from my Jazzberry Jam Hibiscus. I an send forsythia cuttings. Wish I had more to offer, maybe you would like some of my cuttings and some of my seeds, please check out my list. Thank you Sharon Cash Zone 7

OOOH-La-La Renee. Not just Pinkie but the rest of the lushness as well. I especially love #2 for the garden accents, color, and geometry. Plus I love shots that kind of play peekaboo and add depth with a glimpse into a distant part of the garden. I almost found myself stretching out my neck and cocking my head to try and see where the pathway led after the arch and the lawn. Not to mention the fact that DD adds a lot to any foto ;-)