To do what you want to do with your father's fence, I am going to suggest once-blooming ramblers. They are the absolute best, in my opinion, for doing exactly what your father is wanting to accomplish. My Rambler Fence has Wichurana ramblers planted on it, the likes of Alberic Barbier, Francois Juranville, Aviateur Bleriot, Paul Transon, Jean Guichard, and others. The fence itself is a 4-board pasture fence with a strand of wire installed between the boards to fasten the roses to. Canes are trained horizontally and I get thousands of flowers each spring. After the roses finish their annual show of flowers, the foliage is healthy and shiny and makes a great background to the tea roses planted in front of the ramblers. Another class of ramblers to look at are the Hybrid setigeras, like Baltimore Belle, Arcata Pink Globe, Queen of the Prairies, etc. These are also healthy and vigorous, spring-blooming, and they are happiest trained horizontally and allowed to drape. During the growing season, my ramblers are extremely care free. I take any new basal canes they produce and I flip them over the fence. Every couple of years in late winter, when the roses are bare and I can see their struture really well, I thin out the oldest canes and tie the newest ones into their permanent positions. I do not spray fungicide on my ramblers, and I do not spray insecticide in the garden at all. In this area of blackspot hell, my ramblers are very resistant and look good all year long. There's a blog post I did last year that has pictures ... I'll put the link below. Connie Here is a link that might be useful: The Rambler Fence

Climbers are so hard when you drop into zone 4. Good thing pink is one of your choices; you'll find most successful hardy roses are some shade of pink. (Your request for yellow however, is doomed, I fear to tell you.) I've spent years (and $$$) experimenting and rejecting those climbers that are not cane hardy. It is a long list, believe me. I hope you don't go by the "is listed as hardy to zone..." route and waste your time. Ask for those who have experience; that's the best way. I have a few climbers that are once blooming and I accept the lack of repeat for a rose that won't die back on me. My most reliable is Champagne Arches, aka Nancy Parker. That rose is Iron Clad hardy and really tall (but be warned, very thorny too.) My Lilian Gibsons aren't very tall yet this being only their second season, but came through winter with no damage and right now are preparing to bust out all over with bloom. So far I'm impressed and I'd feel safe recommending that rose to you. I have several of the Geschwind ramblers, but none is big enough to really show what they can do and some I fear never will be, not being truly hardy enough. The best of the lot are Geschwind's Norland Rose and Geschwind's Orden. They are in their 3rd year here and have some potential for retaining their canes over winter, I think. The others, Asta von Parpat (knocked down to the ground every winter for the last 6 years) and Erinnerung an Brod (the same extreme dieback for 3 years) are doomed here, I think. Prinz Hirzenprinzchen and Inermis Morletti, I can't even find at all this spring. Sigh. Others I've allowed to stay that make only a short plant are Ramblin' Red, Viking Queen, American Pillar and Russelliana. They're all wonderful roses, but not climbers here in zone 4. I won't bore you with the list of failed roses that I've taken out, given away or just had completely die away over the last dozen years. But believe me, if I heard about a tall, hardy rose, I've probably tried it. John Davis has my vote for the best reblooming pink rose you can train as a climber. My sister has William Baffin on the side of a tall arbor, but it is a chore keeping him well behaved. My own W.Baffin is grown as a monstrous free standing shrub...much easier!

St. Swithun's canes get about 10' long (I have them trained on a lattice fence. It is very disease resistant in my garden - I don't think I've ever seen blackspot on it. I do spray every 3-4 weeks with a fungicide and have roses that get some BS with that limited spray schedule, but not St. Swithun. New Dawn has been quite disease resistant for me also, but not as cane hardy as the Saint. New Dawn's canes get even longer - perhaps 12' on a year where there wasn't much winter cane damage. I forgot to mention another climber I enjoy growing - Dortumnd. It has been bullet proof form me in terms of hardiness and disease resistance. I don't spray it at all, and rarely have to prune back winter damaged canes. It gets about 12' long. I have it on a split rail fence and it is busy growing into a spruce tree.

Alisande - lol. No, my weeds have no manners!!! As you may see, the grass is VERY green beside my new beds!! I use heavy corrugated cardboard, and then lay 6 to 8" of compost/garden soil on top. If I have left a margin - there is a dandelion!!! lol. I need to get out there for those gaffs!!! NANCY.