I also read that about sunflower seeds. I use all sunflower seeds and my feeder had 2 "fairy rose " bushes and many day lilies around it and they did great. However, I planted two different Clem's there and they never took off. They were 3 feet tall , max for 3 years! I didn't know if the roses shaded them too much and they never had a chance or what. So maybe that compound leaching was to blame? Here's a pic of the feeder and the plants that did well around it. Also ,A big perk to the very thorny rose bush, was the neighbors cat didn't mess with the birds there and the squirrels had to make lots of effort to jump up there.

We have pruned ours pretty hard previously. The problem I'm having this year is that I have 2 in containers on each side of the entryway to the front porch with an iron trellis arched over the walk. We had so much rain, I guess they don't like that because I've had major die-back on both of them. I hope they don't die. The ones in the ground are doing fine, but I had to prune one back a lot because I got that stinkin' stink vine growing into it and couldn't get it out until I cut the honeysuckle way back. There was also some of that stinkin' bleeding heart that we discussed awhile ago that I had removed from that spot a long time ago and still the deep roots are sending out new growth constantly. GRRRR....

Just an update since I have my rose orders coming in...like Jim said before...things are behind this year with all the rain but I should see the first blooms this weekend...when it's supposedly supposed to be sunny and sunny for a stretch longer than 2 days. The Charles Darwin pot looks quite different as it's topping off with growth and putting the energy into buds now. It will be interesting deciding how to prune him after the 1st flush...still thinking that one over. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Her rainbow colored "climbing" roses. Spirit of Freedom is going between them...my only concern is it will be below the north lattice for a while and won't get much sunlight until it fills out more. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Not done, but managed to tear out the grass and mulch in the area around the garage....still need a WS2000 cutting to root to place in the empty spot to the right of the hydrangea. From 5-24-2011 This WS2000 has been exhibiting some weird behavior. If you look closer at the darker leaves, they are larger and a little different from the others...I'm wondering if it's a sport or something else...guess I won't know until it blooms. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 My old band from High Country of Winchester Cathedral...last year at this time it was TINY and I didn't even know if it would survive...now it seems to be thriving and on it's way to maturing. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 The other WC cutting I took off of the original WC...doing well. From 5-24-2011 The original WS2000 I bought in Columbus...glad it survived the transplant. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Another one of the WS2000 cuttings...this one is a little yellow from all the rain. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Just Joey, Medallion, Europeana, Double Delight, and Pascali still leafing out. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Anybody know what perennial this is?...it's quite colorful and the bumblebees LOVE it. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 She mustered up some gardening will and tore out the little area that was overgrown with grass and phlox and planted annuals...the 2 roses are doing better as well...need mulch...LOTS of mulch. From 5-24-2011 Lots of weeds and fern needs moved but little Peace is on the left and Graham Thomas is done growing and budded up...kind of funny seeing GT so small. From 5-24-2011 Bishop's Castle seems to be a later bloomer than most simply because it has so many buds on the end of canes that it takes quite some time for the rose to put energy into their development. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 The little GT on the other side of the porch...actually has a bloom on him. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Abe Darby seems to be getting a LITTLE more vigorous now. I just need him to throw out some thick and tall canes that others get. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Already ordered all these roses...should be in the mail soon...this is what I'm thinking. From 5-24-2011 What I plotted out....should be pretty full once everything matures. From 5-24-2011 Another one of my mother's unknown roses...it's pink...I know that much. I was under the impression it was a smaller rose based on the growth but it is throwing out some LONG canes...those canes aren't even budded either and are still growing. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Queen of Sweden to left of unknown rose and Carding Mill to the right of it...notice how I already have the holes dug out in anticipation haha. From 5-24-2011 Mirandy cutting has no buds yet this spring but....it's rewarding me with some new basal canes which is equally as rewarding. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 This cracks me up...Double Delight....still the same size it's been for almost a year now haha. I'm sure the root system has to be fairly dense by now, but it's struggling with top growth as the cutting was fairly thin...but it hints that it might grow with some basal buds. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Paul Neyron might be an antique rose, but he blooms pretty well. He had a bloom last year as a cutting and this year seems to be doing well. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Baron Girod de L'Ain has no buds....and probably won't get any blooms this year even though she is a HP just like Paul Neyron but I know BGDL will need some patience to get established in growth first before I start seeing some blooms. The growth looks really good so far. From 5-24-2011 Sharifa Asma with the newly planted Summer Blue Delphinium...this should be a striking combo of soft pink with soft blue. Sharifa was a Heirloom band. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Golden Celebration is quite....dense. Foliage is a little light from all the rain, but it's budded up and ready to go. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Evelyn was a High Country band a few years ago. Last spring she was just 2 4ft long canes and nothing else. This is the 1st time I've seen her in a state where she looks like an actual rose bush so I'm interested to see what the effect has. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Heirloom rose is leafing out nicely...not an english rose but close enough and it has an interesting color...for $2 I can't complain. From 5-24-2011 Not the soil of the garden...VERY rocky before falling into clay. I want to plant Crown Princess Margareta here but I'm still undecided as the hose is right along the wall so CPM kind of "gets in the way". I'm thinking about running PVC pipe underground and running a feeder hose from the spicket on the house to the hose reel which would be moved outside the garden. From 5-24-2011 A cloudy shot of the side...holes already dug for Huntington Rose and Charlotte...and CPM. From 5-24-2011 Pruning a rose is more like just taking a lot of cuttings haha. From 5-24-2011 A lot of trees have been cut down in the yard but some of the mushrooms still thrive...especially in this wet weather. From 5-24-2011 I dug up the Pat Austin cutting that died...they all looked like this...all had sufficient root systems, all put out growth this spring, then bam....died...so bizarre. From 5-24-2011 Poor picture, but does Evelyn do this for everybody else? When she puts out new growth her leaves are all shriveled up initially before reflexing and flattening out...doesn't seem like an issue, but always found that to be a little odd. From 5-24-2011 It was pretty much a miracle that the sun came out after all the rain and clouds if only for a minute so I took a pic of the sun...that's what happens when you never see it. From 5-24-2011 From 5-24-2011 Some of the salvia that was planted as plugs around Golden Celebration...4 for the price of 1 larger one, so we shall see how they do over time here. From 5-24-2011 And I thought I would finish up with my mother's dogs...which are more or less my dogs since I'm the only one that walks them haha. From 5-10-2011

Is it just your fence or the whole community? If it's just your section, you could try paste wax, might slicken it up a bit so they couldn't get a grip. Again, could be cause for a suit, but heck, they could get hurt as is and try to nail you for that. Such a suit-happy society we are in. Anyway, back to the paste was. I have a friend who sold outdoor wrought iron accessories through her business. The manufacturer recommended for prolonged outdoor exposure, use paste wax to protect and preserve it. I've used it, doesn't hurt the wrought iron at all (of course I'm talking about plant hangers and shepherd's hooks, things like that). You'd probably have to be sure all wax was worn off/weathered off/removed if you ever did decide to repaint. Or one of those silicone sprays (our window installer used that on something, I think to get parts to move freely). That stuff is pretty slick as well.