GWlolo - Jeri is right - get thee to the Sacramento Historic Rose Garden on April 20th! It is free, and you can take a tour that will show you all sorts of roses - climbers and ramblers, and you can see what they really look like. I live in the SF Bay area too, and there are so many great roses we can grow. It is a matter of personal taste, really. That's why we are encouraging you to go look at the roses. In our area it is important to get a rose that: 1) Likes our climate, and 2) Will not get too big for the purpose you have in mind. In our climate, many roses get two or three times larger than they are advertised to get. This is because in other, less perfect climates for roses they are smaller, but in our climate they are not. It is better to get a rose that will stay within whatever bounds you have in mind, rather than trying to fight its desire to be much much bigger. So, if you want a rose that will "grow up the side and along the eves" of your garage with the "nice roof line", you need to make sure that you do not get one that has plans to completely eat your entire garage, roof line and all! Jackie

Thanks for the response michaelg. So the rose petals that fall off the mature bud and onto the ground are called "self-cleaning?" Too funny! Especially since the climbing rose and the bougainvillea are the only flowers I have that I'm constantly sweeping up after. Yes, dying buds are ugly too but I find it easier to just deadhead those. Perhaps I'll think differently after acquiring a few more. I don't have any other flower-types that I can really compare them too. Wait. I do have a gardenia, but I barely can get that to flower at all. I guess the rose petals can be pretty. But now that I'm paying them more attention, I thought having any disregarded materials nearby would be unsanitary and breed pests? No? The other thing is our home sits pretty close to the neighbors. Although I do have the best and friendliest of neighbors, I'd like to keep them that way. I live pretty coastal - San Diego, CA. About a 10 mins from the beach. Thank you for your help!

Star jasmine will completely cover a fence. It will appear to be a hedge. This will take a good amount of water, but so would a rose. If you want another rose option, 'Secret Garden Musk Climber' would probably be faster than 'Iceberg' to cover a fence. Blooms maybe even more than 'Iceberg', and fragrant too. Blooms much better than 'Sally Holmes'. Other vines that will cover a chain link fence are Lavender Trumpet vine, Clytostoma callistegioides, or another trumpet vine called 'Tangerine Beauty', Bignonia capreolata. These are faster and somewhat easier than Star Jasmine, and with a longer blooming period. It's a good idea to cut vines like these completely to the ground every 5 or 6 years so they don't get too woody and leafless at the bottom. As much as I love roses, they are not the solution for every spot in the garden. Look at the star jasmine in the upper left hand corner of the photo. See the fence? No? That's what it does. Same for the other vines. Thanks for that link, roseseek.

Thanks Marlorena. They are kinda segmented so when the wind blows it causes them to spin a little and that's why they are also called Dancing Ladies. They are kinda cool when they do that. Adam, I love the Orange Champaca. I have tried a few different times to grow them from seed but it never worked. I think I must have had old seed. I also really want the Michelia Alba! I have 2 Michelia Figos (banana shrubs) they are hardy down to zone 7. They have been blooming next to the patio the last few days and it smells like strong bananas and vanilla out there. There are a bunch of Carpenter Bees out there going crazy over them lol. Jay: Your yard sounds heavenly. Yes post photos when you can :) Sherry: I read some of your blog about which roses you are growing in Florida. I really enjoyed seeing what can be grown here. I am also interested in learning more about which clematis will work for me here. I noticed you had some planted with your roses and they look really nice. I am north of you on the NE Coast. I have a few of the same roses you have, that I just got. Rosette delizy and Maman Cochet cl. The Maman just put out two long canes and is flowering at both ends of them. I pinched off most of the buds but left one on each lol. I am anxious to see it bloom.