Sunset has wonderful books aimed at southern gardens and gardeners. I have one that must be 30 years old. What I like about it is that it has older varieties listed that you seldom see anymore but that you might encounter from time to time. I think everyone should have a book like that to look up impartial information. That is how I came across my Brandy which is an amazing bloomer in cool or even the hottest weather. It out-performs all our other flowers and is about the size of a small woman's hand. A good 4-6" I would say. Jackson Perkins also has a great book with the more modern varieties, but they seem to imply that all the varieties featured are fantastic performers, and I couldnt disagree more. Many a bush has come to my house only to go back, because it didn't tolerate the heat or wasn't the color they described. We live in zone 8a which might be the same as where you are.

Michaelg, where I am in S. Louisiana with heavy clay soil, raised beds are a necessity. It's strange--my yard is only about 150 feet deep--the front yard drains very well but the backyard is always so soggy after a rain. Of course days when it might rain in excess of 3-4 inches are a semi-regular occurrence here, and the last half of my backyard fills up like a swimming pool, especially along the back fence. If I dig a hole when it's dry and fill it with water, it will completely drain within 2-3 hours. Not great drainage, but not terrible with heavy clay. On Friday, we had a "gullywasher" of 3+ inches and the lake formed. Got another 1/2 inch the next day. Most of it has drained out of the grass area, but the holes where I pulled out the roots of some large Sweet Viburnum bushes are still totally full. The funny thing is, the Viburnum bushes that were in the wettest part of the yard grew like gangbusters, and there is even a Parkinsonia aculeata (Jerusalem Thorn) in the area with great growth, and that is really an arid climate tree. Maybe the drainage isn't as bad as I think? I really wanted to put a bed for roses along this wet back fence too, so a raised bed is absolutely critical here. I am embarrassed about how the yard looks now, but I'll take some pics so you can see what I'm working with.

Tracy that porch bed at one time was a rose garden. I had about 15 bushes in there. I ended up yanking them after a couple of years because I was forever attempting to stop the blackspot. They also did not overwinter well here, so every winter there was a lot of die back or I simply lost the plant all together. I love roses too but I have wet clay soil and even amending it, the roses just don't like it. They got to be too much work. The only roses that have been consistent for me are Bonica and knockout. I did have to try red blaze again though because I LOVE roses. I amended the soil all around the rose so I am hoping it goes well this year. I also used the pillar thinking that I could wrap it in burlap this fall to keep the canes warm. I do have New Dawn roses on a trellis but they never look like the pics you see here of other peoples gorgeous billowing mounds :( Still I try hahahhaha... Mary the bush with the red flowers is Cytisus "Burkwoodi". It grows to 6 foot H - 4-6 foot wide. I am going to keep it trimmed smaller though for that bed.

Deb, spraying is one thing that some people don't do for one reason or another. A perfectly good mini rose may not be suitable for those who do not spray. Rise n' Shine is a highly rated mini. Here it performs to perfection having the rounded bushy shape, and continual bloom that makes it wonderful for landscaping. But it needs to be sprayed religiously in my zone for powdery mildew and blackspot. Even though you don't work outside your home, spraying can become tedious after awhile. Since you are in a cooler climate then mine, your minis will probably not get as big, but you were right to worry about thorns attacking passersby. That's one of the reasons I suggested you look at the thornless Cinderella. Thornless roses are at a premium (just ask my non-rose loving DH). I can see an edging of healthy Cinderella backed by taller annuals/perennial that would be just lovely. The point is, it's up to you, and it's going to be so much fun looking at all those rose books over winter.