I don't get too upset if roses die back to the snow line. That is pretty much the norm around here in Michigan with most roses. As long as they bounce back I keep them. I think recommending roses is *very* subjective as I have grown many so call "hardy/vigorous" recommendations that have failed to thrive for me but since I'm in a rural, low spot and might as well be Z4 I do make some recommendations such as the roses above. My main problem is roses that do well the first year and then just never do much after that. I rarely lose any to the winter. In fact, our most recent winter was the worst in recent times and I swear my roses loved it. Many were loaded with blossoms, throwing up alot of new canes and grew like weeds this spring. I secretly think roses love a long, cold dormancy. Predfern I've grown a ton of Bucks and only Applejack and Prairie Princess have done well for me. Same with growing lots of Austins, Romanticas and Generosas. I don't have any Generosas left, only one romantic (Eden cuz I love it so much) and several Austins. BUT... sometimes I think you just get bad clones. Some of the pathetic band roses (twigs) you get are a waste of time IMO. I don't buy them anymore and only buy roses from Roses Unlimited and Pickerings. I've tried many name brand vendors roses and they've all been shovel pruned. I haven't noticed that ownroot does any better for me than grafted. Really, I think its all a matter of "hit & miss"...seeing what will grow well for you in your unique environment.

I was reading to my daughter from an illustrated children's Bible, and we came to a scene where some ancient Jewish king was killed in his garden . . . yes, I know, a lovely scene to read about to a child anyway! . . . but then I turned the page and saw that in the illustration the desperate fellow was fleeing through formal beds of hybrid teas. No way!!! We also have a beautiful park in town that was especially designed for a "natural" look, with many types of ornamental grasses and species shrubs, rosa nitida, etc. The only false note in the whole thing is three hybrid teas that someone plopped down, all by themselves, at a very prominent juncture along one of the paths. You can tell by looking at them that the designer never intended for them to be there! I'll bet that the man who donated the park and named it in honor of his wife probably insisted on including those hybrid teas because they were his wife's favorite flower, or something like that. I shudder every time I see them!

Zyperiris, since you are new to clematis, I'd like to invite you to a class I will be presenting at Valley Nursery in Poulsbo on June 12th. Generally, we would have a lot of blooming clems in stock at that time for you to choose from and I'll help you with all the specifics about growing them in our climate and pruning techniques. You could certainly select and plant earlier, but many growers, and especially new clematis gardeners, like to choose them while they are in bloom. Gig Harbor is not all that far a drive and if you haven't visited Valley Nursery previously, it's worth a trip just for that......the best nursery on the Kitsap Peninsula!

The design appears to give priority to garage and closet space at the expense of habitable space. The plan seems forced into a preconceived shell and ignores conventional drafting techniques. It would help to show all doors, make overhead beams dotted/removed, write the room name larger and add a north arrow. Is the shaft next to the stairway a dumbwaiter? That's a good location for a window. If you want to take full advantqge of the forum you should include a site plan with views access and a north arrow plus a description of the climate if not a location. If the neighboring houses are 1 story I would try to make this a 1 1/2 story house since the upper level is so much smaller than the lower level. More efficiently designed closets would create much better layout opportunities.