Hi
training any roses on swags is a lot of work as you have to continually tie them up. Don't go into this thinking that you will have little maintennance.

I have had some experience with this and I believe that the best roses are ramblers as they have really flexible canes.
Many of these, like Velchenblau only flower once a year.
For repeat flowering ramblers look at Paul Transon, Phyllis Bide and Francis E Lester.

Regards Deryn
They are roses like Viechenblau

prob you have is that ten people will give you twelve diff answers!....new dawn is STUNNING for maybe four weeks a year...the rest..it's crap!...climbers are fine.....might suggest something a bit more modern.....lilli marlene....iceberg...etc etc...a floribunda based climber might be the go....alow 2-3 years for it to look like a house and garden magazine..the old stuff have their place...but....if your new to roses and want good results...refine your search to more modern climbers

Hi Chris,
I'm not sure how high your privacy screen needs to be, but have you read the post on rugosas. (It's at the top at the moment.) They grow quite big and I'm sure would afford quite a bit of privacy.
Cheers,
Dee.

Thanks guys for your replies, I appreciated suggestions very much I think that this rose thing is becoming an obsession with me .I now think roses for this and that and here and there almost all of my waking moments. Am I on the road to becoming a rosarian?. Maybe I could try wires stretched across poles instead of swags Lamarque is on my verandah and is doing very well..any more suggestions would be great///Thanks

Rugosas look bluddy horrible come winter time-more so than other roses I think-nice autumn foliage though.
I would suggest the Banksia roses as part of it-they only flower once a year(though my banksia lutea has flowered twice
2 years running-it is in bloom now)but they are dense and evergreen.I would intersperse them with repeat bloomers.
My New Dawn flowers regularly now that it is 4 years old.
Blush Noisette has small perfumed flowers and can grow as a large shrub or climb.
Mutabilis is a gorgeous shrub and will climb given the opportunity and is never without flowers.
Lamarque is a stunning climber and repeats well.
Sparrieshoop is a shrub that can climb if given encouragement.
Have fun choosing your roses-and hey!if you have found this forum then you are well on the way to becoming addicted.
PSSSSSSST!wanna see some pics of roses???*grin*
regards
sandie

Just plant EVERYTHING you fancy in climbers.

And I've learned from going to the state rose garden at Werribee PArk that they can be planted very close together when young.

Down there, they have roses which compliment each other in colour planted on each side of a pole. I have to say Angel Face and Blue Moon done like this is breathtaking.

Pick pink colurs which which flower well together and plant them, a light and a dark, put a Lamarque with someone mauve and gorgeous, go mad woman.
Enjoy!
Or - come to Victoria in late spring and go to the state rose garden... you will go home ARMED.

they do have two arbours totally covered.. one is in red.. darn I have it and my mind's gone blank.. Ah! Altissimo - the other totally covered on gold has brides posing in front of it all the time.. I think Gold Bunny... these are planted about 2 feet six apart.. well fed and they all are entwined and cover the archway.

Just plant everything.. pick colours that blend, mix once flowerers with repeating, like Lorraine Lee with Albertine.. and enjoy!!!

I would go mad and plant everything from Banksia Roses, a few different climbing roses including crepescule, gold bunny, renea and black boy, a few cematis and maybe even sneak in a passionfruit.. It would be a huge mass of colour and some evergreen.... Nothing like a quick snack when you are having a swim. If after a few years it becomes overgown, just remove the ones that don't do so well and replace it with other things.

Do you really need to use climbers at all? Would large shrubs suit? If so you could use rosa multiflora or something equally simple as a tall hedge.

You do mean a 'dam' wall (e.g. a retaining wall for a large body of water) and not a damn wall, don't you? :-)

New Dawn is a great rose here - I've got it climbing through a pool fence - it's taken off like a rocket and produces a great show in Spring but also produces right through the year.

Sparrieshoop is tough and climbs well but it has fairly thick canes so not sure it would suit what you have in mind.

I think the suggestion of Banksia lutea interspersed with more frequent bloomers is a good idea of Sandie's. Mutabilis is a great hedging rose with very nice foliage.
So is Gruss an Aachen.

Gertrude Jekyll provides a dense screen, is tall, lovely smell and looks wonderful in Spring and summer. Very tough but the canes are visciously thorny - might be great to keep out intruders!

I'd second Lamarque too - maybe consider that with banksia and New Dawn.
Barb

Go the "banksia roses plus everything else thrown in with" idea for sure . The banksia roses will definately give you the screening effect and the "everything else" part will provide some contrast.
I just hope your dam wall has a reasonable amount of topsoil placed on it because the consistancy of the clay types used in dam wall costructions is often akin to that of plasticene.

Thankyou so much to everyone who has replied with their suggestions It is so nice to have this forum. I lead a fairly solitary life here in the foothills of Blue Mountains and I now look forward to getting onto the computer and browsing.. I will be buying an assortment of climbers from all the above and will try lots of suggestions We have 11 acres to cover in roses also.So here goes.. Please keep suggestions coming as we also need heaps of privacy elsewhere It is hard to get that when one is built on a hill but i have found an arbour right across the front of house with Pierre de Ronsard simply stunning they have been in 3 years now and are really taking off.. Wonderful.. Good gardening and thanks again to all guys that took the trouble to reply..