A lot of roses will probably do what you want. You are probably looking for a rambler or a climber with flexible canes and one that is relatively short or medium in the length of its canes. Either that, or a shrub rose that has long flexible, arching canes that can also serve as a climber. We planted a Eutin in a large planter box last fall, with the idea of letting it roam around a bit at the foot of a couple of climbers, expecting it to flow over the sides of the planter and down the slope it's built upon. I have the impression from reading that Eutin is relatively easy to grow, and this one has made it through the winter here in beautiful shape. It's a heavy rebloomer and very shade tolerant. We also have a Crepuscle on order now, figuring on using it as a climber. I have read that it has a reasonable degree of flexibility so I think you could easily use that one too. I gather that it's quite easy to grow, and it's relatively low in thorns. Fragrant, with some shade tolerance. Another possibility might be Cornelia, and it does have the arching form that you were thinking about. We had ours only for a year before it got Rose Rosette Disease so I haven't seen it as it adds cane on top of cane and achieves height like that, but ours wanted to send out canes at ground level and I ended up pegging it, partly to get it off the ground. Wow, what a prolific number of buds it had on it last spring when we had to get rid of it because of RRD. The pink flushed apricot flowers are small but there are many, many of them, and the buds look a bit like little strawberries in contrast to the open flowers. I've seen a picture of a whole mature bush in the spring flush and it was breathtakingly beautiful and delicate looking. It's fragrant, relatively low in thorns, and has good shade tolerance. I can't say how often it reblooms, though I'm pretty sure it ordinarily gives a wonderful fall flush in addition to a good spring flush. Some of the other hybrid musks would also have a lovely arching form, though I hesitate to mention any because I don't know how flexible they are. Prosperity isn't nearly so flexible as Cornelia, though I still think you could peg it. We have Moonlight on order now too, figuring on using it as a short climber. Buff Beauty will throw out nice long canes, though they're not overly flexible. A few other possibilities that immediately come to mind: Renae, Annie Laurie McDowell, Climbing Pinkie, Climbing Rise N Shine. I think they all bloom many times during a season and for sure the first three have good shade tolerance. Try Reine des Violettes only if the spot has some shade. If you end up selecting a rose that's less limber than you need, it wouldn't be hard to use a reacher-grabber to pull down each cane while it is still relatively young and flexible, even if it's growing skyward. Then just peg it to wherever you want it to flop - tie it to pieces of u-shaped wire on the sloping ground at various points. The very act of forcing the bending down will get a bud-producing reaction from the rose and your bank will get covered with flowers. Best of luck with your new house and yard! Mary

Charles Rennie MacKintosh is not grey lavender. It's cool pink with a slight bluish cast. Looks lavender next to pink roses but looks definitely pink next to lavender roses. Lady X has similar coloring, except in classic exhibition Hybrid Tea form, one of my favorites. WWIIMR is pink. Lagerfeld is a great performer with good flowers. You can keep it lower with pruning. If you can get Cologne, it's a great rose, but also grows tall to about 7 feet. A Buck rose, Silver Shadows, is grayish but reports on growth are inconsistent depending on location. Twice In A Blue Moon is a vigorous healthy plant on its own roots. Love Song is surprisingly good if you give it time. The first few years' flowers are shaped like Angel Face, but as the plant gets established, the flowers get larger and much more double.

As far as being free blooming, strongly fragrant and looking great in a (large) pot, it’d be hard to beat Julia Child. Violet’s Pride has all those characteristics,too. Frida Kahlo and Love Song are also attractive plants, strong growers and generous bloomers, but not especially fragrant. (Between the two lavenders , I think Love Song is the more attractive boom and plant, but Violet’s Pride is more fragrant, so it’s a trade off). Hybrid Teas in my mind look better on the ground. I’d suggest Firefighter, Double Delight, Neil Diamond or PJPII if you’re pretty sure they’ll be planted in the ground later.

Hi, I'm in SE MI too! Julia was my first thought but you already have her. Unfortunately the other two that are pretty bullet proof in my garden I don't see on you list. Home Run and Quietness are both very hardy and disease resistant for me. As well as being good bloomers all summer. I also have Watercolors Home Run but I've only had it a year or so and the jury is still out on it. It did winter very well though. In general I would steer clear of most HTs as they tend to be a little more disease prone and a little less hardy than the other classes. Shrub roses seem to do the best for hardiness and blooming but some floribundas come in a close second. Bordines is a good nursery but have you checked out Eckerts at 14 & 1/2 on Ryan, Tellys at 16 & 1/2 on John R or Weigands on Romeo Plank just north of 21 mile Rd.? The all have excellent selections of roses. They may offer something else that will work for you.