Hi Lisa, Please pardon my overlooking your color preferences! I got so engrossed in the thornless and height parts of it that I forgot about the rest of your wishes! I also forgot another rose that ought to have been an obvious choice, considering that I like that one enough to have bought it for myself last year. (!) Have you looked into Renae? Maybe I didn't think of it sooner because I didn't have the feeling that a polyantha would be good for that far north, but I've looked it up again now, and apparently it will go for zone 6b. And also your location for it would have some protection from drying winds and may be be a little warmer overall than farther out from your house. I think it would work, and from what I know about Renae, I think you'd like it. Eventually, anyway. Renae is a little slow to get going (as apparantly are some other rambler/climbers) but is definitely able to fill up your space easily; it's not likely to get to the top of the post and quit. There's a picture of Renae on Carolyn Parker's website pictures (link enclosed). If you scroll down towards the bottom of the page and look for pink climbers, you'll see Renae growing in her yard, plus her comment in the fine print under it mentioning that Renae is her favorite climber. (Carolyn Parker is the author of a rose book, "R is for Rose" and she has an interesting website at http://rosenotes.typepad.com/ too.) There are a couple of tiny thorns on my Renae near the ground, but otherwise it's thornless so far. When it gets established and blooming, I'm looking forward to its fragrance. Renae is the ultimate in pliable floppiness, and is often used in weeping standards. I can picture some cascades of it from the top of your posts now! She apparently does like to bloom, bloom, bloom, and then bloom some more. I have on order another one that is a Renae seedling. It might be just as hardy as Renae, though it might not have been widely available enough to tell about its degree of hardiness yet. That rose is Annie Laurie McDowell. It's supposed to be very much like Renae, but with flowers that look even better up close. Best wishes, Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Carolyn Parker's rose garden

I have at least 6-7 climbers done this way and they work just great. I used copper dowels for longevity and made them about 3-feet protrusion either direction. The height of your fence would depend on various things, but the look you want, the particular rose. I like fences to be about 4-6, even 8-feet tall but it is just a matter of preference and rose. For a picket, I like about 4 feet although my DILs (which son made) is 5-1/2 (to keep dog at bay). Eden is a climber but often listed as a shrub because it can be either.

I haven't been on the forums for a while so am a bit out of touch. I've been busy in the garden, but it is already 90F at 9am so am taking it in small doses today. I got carried away with purchasing and trading morning glory seeds this past winter and ended up like many of you with not enough fence lines to grow them on. I raise sheep and if they can get to a plant it is history! I made some trellises this year with refrigeration tubing rolled into a shape like a spring (about 6" in diameter) then inserted one end of the spring in the ground or pot and the other end in a section of copper pipe stood on end in the soil with the plants around it. The plants seem happy enough with this arrangement but it is actually a little short for most morning glories and they are overreaching the tops now looking for additional support from neighboring plants. Another idea that I tried this year is actually working better--I had a section of loose chain link fence that I could get anyone to take away for me so I used a bolt cutter to cut off the part where the wires are twisted together at the top and bottom freeing the wire to be twisted out of the fence fabric. They are perhaps 6-7' long. I tried various configurations in pots and ground using 3, 5, or 6 wires. I twisted the wire into the soil and wired the tops together making some teepee type trellises. The plants LOVE this wire and have almost no problem climbing the trellises. In some pots (smaller type vines), I pushed both ends of the wires into the soil and it makes a nice fat balloon shape that are very nice when covered with vines. My visitors have all been very interested and complimentary of these trellises/support systems You just can't get any cheaper than the salvaged fence trellises. I would bet that you could find pieces of this kind of fence at the local landfill or recycling center. Good luck, spiderwoman

Is your soapstone soft? If it is you can try using a jigsaw to cut around the hole, or a carbide router bite, once you have a hole drilled. It the stone is a harder variety, it might be too much for you. I have done soft soapstone (can scratch with your fingernail) with good luck, but the hard soapstone, (the kind that doesn't scratch with your fingernail) you probably wont be happy with the results. But that has been my luck. The straight cuts should do well with either, but the curves and the finishing are different. I had a plan to make my second sink for the current remodel and couldn't finish the surface with my tools, I would have needed stone sanding tools. So I scraped the plan. My first sink and counters turned out fabulous, but it was very easy to file and sand by hand. I have such a rough grit on the surface that I don't ever see any scratches. I love this, and they are all remnant no larger than 12" wide, except for the base of the sink: A link that you may have seen, or maybe not. Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Soapstone People Show Your Counters !