Thank you, Lily. It's really lifted my mood, and given me a new incentive to go on and make the best of my situation. Upward and onward in the garden!

The owner at bellefontaine said that pretty much every austin except tamora is a beast in Southern California so you could probably get any.

My Star of the Republic loves the heat and is easily 4ft tall in its 2nd year. It also is very octopus like, I think it wanted to be a climber. I love all The different colors it produces Yellow to apr to bright orange. I’m in 9b, but a very humid area, so I do spray it, or it would be leafless from black spot. So would everything I have though, so I don’t hold it against it :)

Great to see you back in the game Ingrid....

I will only say that, I would suspect The Ancient Mariner would need a lot of water in your climate, and good soil conditions to produce the large fragrant blooms - this is pure guesswork on my part... but I wish you luck with it, should it be your choice...

Ingrid, I too wanted to say how happy it makes me to see your enthusiasm in the face of all your garden adversaries.

We are in completely different zones but I have Star of the Republic coming this spring and it would be fun to compare pics in the different locales!

Ingrid,

Do you have Violet's Pride? It is on my short list. If you view the video of ARS representatives touring the Weeks display beds conducted by Christian Bedard, you will see and hear their reaction to Violet's Pride, in full bloom there. Sorry I cannot provide the link to the YouTube video here. It is one impressive rose, and it's MIA, Made In America. I think the Austin era will be declining now that the founder is dead. Kordes, Meilland, and Weeks I believe are the rose houses that will produce the future's cutting edge roses.

Moses

There's nothing like shopping for roses to lift one's spirits, glad to hear that you are looking at planting new roses, Ingrid.

Wisley 2008 forms an arching shrub, around 3-4 feet tall in my garden setting. The blooms have a wonderful fragrance, good repeat bloom.

I don't know if Geoff Hamilton would work in your zone, but it's been a great rose for me here. It seems to be indestructible, a sturdy rose. It's 3-4 feet tall here, but I think it could grow taller in your area. It produces numerous, thick canes at the base that are densely spaced together. Maybe some canes would be left over after the bunnies nibble.

It has a moderate sweet fragrance with a fruity note, to me more like strawberry than apple.

Wisley 2008

Geoff Hamilton

Last winter was very droughty in my area. Hungry rabbits came in and chewed on the rose bushes planted in the ground. They killed two young and small own-root, smooth-stemmed varieties, and did progressively less damage to varieties with large, thorny stems. After I realized what was going on, I was able to prevent further damage by surrounding the smaller bushes' bases with a 2 foot high chicken wire temporary fence. Also, my roses in pots ranging from 9 to 12 inches tall were not targeted. This winter has been wetter, and there are no signs of bunny herbivory in my yard even though I haven't fenced the roses. Where I'm going with this is to suggest using chicken wire or something else to surround and protect your new or especially edible rose bushes. If you have already tried this and it didn't work you have a much worse problem than mine was, and my sympathies. Best wishes!

Hoorah Ingrid!! Your garden will just be that much better this time around, with new roses that are ready to take on these challenges. I just got Star of the Republic last week, so can’t tell you much about it, only that it had very good reviews here. I’m so excited for you!! And what a testament to your resiliency, and encouraging to us all. :-)

Seems like rabbits like young rose stems best. I put a circle of sticks in the ground around young ones. A nearby rose friend puts lettuce or other vegetables out for his huge rabbit. He had a thriving garden. I don't think his rabbit was neutered but he never complained about rabbit overpopulation. You could buy a trap, catch rabbits and release them somewhere else where there's enough wild food.

I bought a trap at Tractor Supply . Seems like roses at the Antique RE or Chamblee's might be suitable for your climate. Gets very hot in TX though parts get plenty of rain.

Thomas Affleck looks good to me. I think I need to try Violet's Pride. Is your Aunt Margy's rose ok?

Olivia Austin is a nice pink, blooms alot, and gets big! She is large, sturdy and a steady bloomer. She is completely disease free here and has developed a lovely fragrance now! The first year and a half she hardly had any.

If she was a Game of Thrones character, she would be, Brienne of Tarth :D Aint no wascally wabbits gonna get her lol.

Olivia (the rose on top)

Bud

Spirit of Freedom is a lovely lilac pink. She has around 200 petals. She also gets big has an awesome fragrance! A few places have her, own root (Heirloom does) Hortico might have her grafted. DA dropped her..because, I guess because, they are Cray Cray..can't think of any other reason :/

Spirit of Freedom

Aged blooms turn more lilac on outer petals and inner petals get lighter pink. So elegant and antique looking. Holds up well in a vase.

Wedgewood rose. Still available from DA. Also gets big. Very good bloomer here. It likes to bloom in clusters.

Sharifa Asma has a beautiful scent. Mine is own root. I hear she is stronger grafted so I plan to get another one grafted. DA still has Sharifa as far as I know. I love her coral center.

Hi Ingrid, Star of the Republic was new for me last spring, but about the only time I spent in the garden last year was to cut flowers for mom, so I can't tell you much about it. I do remember I cut blooms from it several times to take to her, but it seems there weren't many blooms on the plant at one time or often...it was a newly planted baby, though, so that's not surprising. The bloom color was a soft buff apricot with a bit of peachy pink in the center and had an old rose form with nice fragrance...that's about all I remember. It survived on total neglect it's first season with me, and I noticed last weekend that it has thrown some really long, thick octopus canes that need to be pruned back harshly...it still has its homemade bunny cage around the bottom, but I think that can come off now :)

I don't think ARE carries Viru Viraraghavan (M.S. Viraraghavan) roses anymore, but Roses Unlimited does. Viru is a breeder of warm climate roses from India. I haven't tried any yet, but have been very tempted by some of their descriptions on HMF (Aussie Sixer, Dixie Beauty, Krishna's Peach, Faith Whittlesey, Maura La Cava, etc). Those might do well for you, but unfortunately, Roses Unlimited doesn't start shipping until Spring when it's already pretty toasty in your area.

What a treat to come back to all your comments and gorgeous pictures this morning. I had to smile because you all know my taste; the roses in the pictures are just the kind I swoon over. I had already considered Star of the Republic because it's tall and I like ordering from ARE because they send out such large plants. Erasmus, the bunnies here are not particular; they are chomping on every single rose, big canes or small; they don't care. Late last night I took off the metal cage around Quicksilver because that rose had not grown AT ALL since I acquired it, and I was tired of looking at the cage around a puny little plant. This morning that puny rose is completely gone, nothing left at all, no doubt residing in some rabbit's tummy.

Spirit of Freedom is gorgeous, but I can't find anyone who has it. Has anyone else ever noticed that, of the thousands of roses that are available at umpteen nurseries, the one you want is discontinued, sold out or available as a tiny band when you need the gallon or larger size? Violet's Pride is gorgeous but I'm leery of Weeks since they've found RRD among their roses. The Austin roses pictured above are definitely contenders, and I'm still contemplating buying another Evelyn. Buying roses is fun but also stressful. I have the worst time deciding, dithering around among three or four choices, and then suddenly discovering an outlier that might be even better than the "favorites". Naturally, after I've finally ordered because I'm exhausted from all the nail-biting, I come across the absolutely perfect rose!

Ingrid, does Fortuniana rootstock do well for you? I just noticed K&M roses has SoF listed for $28. Idk if they have them in stock or what the shipping to Calif might be. I have heard good things about their roses.

https://www.kandmroses.com

Another rose by DA in the lilac pink range is Charles Rennie MacIntosh. It doesn't get huge here so would need protection. Mine start out more lilac pink then age to more lavender..I hear this one may be on the chopping block...no clue if its true but DA seems to be getting rid of lots of them. This one and SoF both have lilac tones. Maybe DA doesnt like lilac lol. I should probably buy another one.

sultry, I believe Dr. Huey is used here as a rootstock and I presume there's a reason for that. They were out of Charles Rennie MackIntosh at David Austin, and after much hand wringing and agonizing I ordered Louise Odier. I know it's done very well for Lisa, although I know everything does well for her, which is quite different from my situation. It seems to be a very lusty rose so at least the bunnies will have lots to eat.

Isn't Lisa's LO Grandmother's Hat, Ingrid? You might have to order another Tea to vanquish the rabbits. The Cochets are so strong and beautiful.

Ingrid, can you grow Spinosissimas in your zone? I'm just wondering, because it seems like the thorns would deter rabbits. Anyone here know if rabbits eat spinosissima roses? Of course there are some lovely once-blooming spinosissimas you might enjoy (the color of Doorenbos Selection stops me in my tracks during its short season), but what about a spinosissima cross? Like Stanwell Perpetual? Please someone correct me if these roses can't be grown in a hot, dry climate -- I know they are native to Northern Europe, so maybe not -- but they just seem so rough and tough. It might be worth a try!

I'm surprised how well the Spins do here, K S, because they also did great in Alaska z 3. They do seem to manage the heat. They are so hard to find in the U.S.

Ingrid, if you dont want a climber but want a taller rose, consider James Galway. It is a very tall shrub for me, no octopus arms. Very upright, blooms all the time. I cant remember it getting much disease. Mine almost looks like a small tree. I just ordered Charles Rennie Mcintosh last week........guess they sold out of it now. I wanted another Leander - sold out til next spring. I live near the Tyler DA outlet - when I picked my first order up, I asked them which roses were being discontinued: here is what they told me. [I know Pegasus is rather a stingy bloomer, but so pretty so I ordered one.]

Cottage Rose, Miss Alice, Sprit of Freedom, Endeavor, Windrush, Mary Magdalene, Pegasus, The Countryman, The Endeavor, WS 2000

Glad you are getting some roses. Life is too short to deny yourself - you will find a way to have some beautiful roses to enjoy.

Judith

Hi Ingrid

My suggestions are no help to you being in a totally different zone and situation. I'm just thrilled that you're back to having hope of enjoying a modest array of roses in your yard. It sounds like to avoid the frustrations you describe with rose ordering and regrets after the fact, you might do your rose selections one at a time and see how they react to the situations as they change in your yard. That way you've not sunk too much money or too many hopes and dreams into any one rose and you can keep having the joy of new things to try rather than the frustration that your ideal rose isn't going to work for one reason or another.

I suspect part of your garden moving forward is experimenting with protection methods that don't violate your excellent garden vision and artistic gifts. Obviously removing the unsightly cage was a step backward for Quicksilver but I imagine there are garden sculptures that might be artistically interesting when the roses or other garden plants aren't blooming and hidden when they recover to their greater potential. Hmm, I don't suppose Chinese pottery comes in garden cages does it?

Very glad to hear enthusiasm back in your garden voice.

Cynthia

Judith, James Galway is beautiful but I was thinking I shouldn't get another pink rose when I already have a garden full of pink roses and have just ordered two more. I thought about ordering Tranquillity, but for some reason I'm not too keen about a white rose right now.

K S, Stanwell Perpetual might do well in the heat, but I don't think that spiny roses would be a deterrent. I'm also not sure that it would grow tall as quickly as I would like it too.

Sheila, thanks for reminding me about Lisa's rose which I believe was not Louise Odier. I wouldn't mind having Grandmother's Hat, although the blooms fried badly in my heat when I had it years ago.

Cynthia, you are so funny, thanks for the hearty chuckle about Chinese pottery as garden cages. I wish there were such a thing! My hope is to have the roses grow quickly so that I can do away with the cages as soon as possible. If we have ample winter rains and with some fertilizing I'm hopeful these roses will grow tall quickly so I can remove the cages.

Ingrid, so happy to see you fighting back against the troubles! I am just curious - why do you not want any climbers? In my garden, we have deer, not a lot because we are only 4 blocks from downtown, but every year one or two come to visit. For the last 3 years, there has been one doe who comes at night 2-3 times a month. Of course they eat roses. Long long ago I started planting a LOT of climbers for that reason - deer don't have ladders! I don't think bunnies do either.

Most of my roses are either climbers, or are in deer cages, at least until they get 7-8 ft tall. I grow climbers on the house, the (separate) garage, up trees, on standing arches, rose follies, and other standing structures in the garden. In your climate, I would think that the extra shade would be welcome. Sombreuil is on an arch over our back patio, and having lunch under it on a hot summer day is delightful - nice gentle shade, and if you are lucky, some rose petals will fall as you sit there. Is it because you think climbers would be too difficult to take care of? Mine get pruned/shaped only once a year. My DH does it for me, but you could hire someone to do that - they really don't need to be meticulously pruned, just shaped so that they don't fall off whatever they are growing on. Just wondering...

Jackie

Jackie, I would kill to have any structure on which I could put a climber because I LOVE how climbers look on your property. I have a single-story ranchburger instead of your three-story house and up to the eaves except for the short ends of the house it's not even 8 feet. I did have Reve d'Or at one of the short ends but it could not stand the sun there. Reaching upwards to tend climbers is not something my shoulders can handle at any rate and with our health issues ladders are no longer an option. One learns what is doable and what isn't, and for us at this time most things are not.

Well, I've decided I don't want Louise Odier and was wondering about Boscobel. The height is listed as 4 feet, but does anyone know whether it might get taller?

I caved in and canceled Louise Odier, and instead ordered another Evelyn, because I honestly can't think of another Austin rose I might like as well except possibly Charles Rennie MackIntosh, which unfortunately is sold out. I'm going to look at the offerings of the Antique Rose Emporium, although the roses that I really want there are also sold out. Rats!!!

Boscobel can go coral in the buds, Ingrid, so you may not have missed much. My Evelyn here are not looking good after Spring. I'm hoping they improve with age. One is grafted and the other is own root. My Boscobel improved last year which was it's second year. The first year was a hideous coral.

Sheila, I'm not expecting drop-dead gorgeous roses in the first few years because most of them do take time to settle in, especially in my conditions. Flower colors and shapes are rarely good in the first year, and it's just what we have to put up with. I discarded way too many roses in the past after their first year because they weren't great or had diseases, but I would never do that now. I've admired Evelyn for a long time now, and I'm determined to love her, no matter how long it takes!

Here’s your bunny solution :p

Ingrid....to go with your Evelyn, how about Princess Charlene de Monaco. I don't grow it myself yet ( I have one coming this spring), but I have heard Lisa sing its praises. Then yesterday I was watching a video by the owner of Grace Rose Farm ( commercial cut flower grower in Santa Ynez) where she was talking about one of their best roses, Princess Charlene. It gets pretty tall...I want to say 6 or 7 feet in their climate (which I think might be similar to yours?)

It seems to be a very sturdy, very floriferous, very well scented rose. And...it makes a great cut flower!

Amanda...I love your bunny proofing cage! haha

Ingrid, do you have any of the Radiance clan? I just got a ‘Radiance’ and have been reading up on them. They might work for you?

Amanda, that cage is adorable! We once made something similar by bending a lightweight metal flat trellis over a trash can and back-lining it with chicken wire. Didnt take a picture & gave it as a gift, but your pretty white cage reminded me of it. :-)

Yeah i think that’s actually a wedding centerpiece, but an old pretty birdcage with the bottom taken off wouldn’t be a bad idea. The only problems are that an old pretty birdcage is probably $200 in an antique shop and that 1 birdcage in your yard would be fine but if you had 20...the neighbors would talk for sure.

Ingrid, if rabbits are your main problem, an easy solution might be going to Lowes, they have 3 or 4' pieces of rebar [I have used these for lots of things] Get some of these [4 for each bush], some chicken wire or hardware cloth and zip ties. Hammer the rebar down in a square around the roses. Zip tie the chicken wire to the rebar around the bottom of the rose. If needed, dig a little trench and insert the wire in it to prevent rabbits digging. In the new David Austin catalog on pages 15-16 they have a whole border done this way except they apparently cemented square posts in the ground. You barely see the chicken wire. It was probably done like this to prevent flopping of the plants for a neater look. This wouldnt be much work and before I would let a bunch of @#$@$ rabbits keep me from growing roses, I would do it. Matter of fact.....once I get my Pink Bed completely planted and mulched, I plan to do this around the bed to keep my little cochin pet chickens out of the bed. Will spray the rebar a dark green, that looked nice in the DA border. I can still step over the wire to prune as the bed isnt that wide. For almost every problem, there is a solution I believe!

Judith

Good eye, Judith! I use chicken wire for the deer and it's hardly visible. (Or maybe I've just gotten used to it! ; ( )

Judith, that is a good idea, and bird netting was also mentioned in a similar context. If I were to do a group of roses or a whole area I know that I would fall over the barrier before too long, sure as shooting, or my husband would, but putting it around individual roses, at least the more easily accessible ones, is a very sound idea. It would have the added benefit of keeping the leaf mulch in place, which the rabbits are now also eating. All these things, which seemed so doable not too long ago, now seem very difficult since my husband contracted an autoimmune brain disease, in addition to the fibromyalgia I've had for years, to which chronic fatigue syndrome has now been added. I'll try to find someone to help us with this project because if it gave me back even some of the garden I used to have it would enrich my life immeasurably. Thank you!

Ingrid I do feel for you, I knew about your husband, but I must have missed or forgotten about your fibromyalgia. It's no joke. I have it as well. Changing temperatures really get me, along with humidity. I hurt so bad from it, I'm hurting now, cause I guess the temperature is changing again. Chronicle fatigue, brain fog, and pain. Those are my most prominent.

I wish I could help you with a rose, but we are in such different climates. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking of ordering a few Austins... they were my introduction to OGR..Best of luck with your choices.

Oh, Ingrid, I was thinking the same thing as Alana...I wish I could help more, but FL is pretty opposite from you. I really wish I was close enough to just come over one Saturday and help you put it up. I bet I’d learn a TON just by hanging out with you! I’m sure I could grab Jin, and we’d make it a road trip...;-)

Count me in for the road trip! It's too bad we couldn't make it a reality is we could have gone to the Huntington event at Jerry's. Well I don't know what event it was but the event that's coming in a couple of months dependable.

And we’d have to head up to Sacramento, if we’ve come all that way! :-)

I am in Texas, if I was in your area, I would be happy to come and do this - all you need is hammer, zip ties, rebar, wire and wire snips. Maybe hire a high school kid or ask at your local feed store if someone needs to do some part time work. And that is a good point - it will keep mulch, leaves around the rose. Know a friend with a teen age boy who needs gas money?

PS: Only problem with this - the rose needs to be planted before you put up the fence - meaning........you gotta go buy some roses before you put up the fences! That's like eating dessert first, ha ha!

You're all awesome, and I thank you from the heart, but I'm sure I can find someone to help me in the garden. So many of us have health problems of one kind or another, the thing is just to keep going, and enjoy the good moments. Alana, I'm so sorry that you have similar problems, and I know what you mean about the aches when the weather changes, and boy do I know about the brain fog. Strangely, as I've become more weak and tired I seem to hurt less. It helps to remember that the average life expectancy in the Middle Ages was about 35 years (although that number is low because of high infant and child mortality), and it makes sense that as we get older there are more health challenges that are going to be debilitating. At least we're still alive to enjoy the roses!

So very true Ingrid! I do so enjoy the roses and gardening!

I don't know about everyone else, but I come from generations of Farmers on my Fathers side, and flower growers on my mothers. So it was bound for me to get bite hard.

I'm always so happy to be outside, even doing nothing but looking at the beauty surrounding me.

I think you can’t go wrong with a second Evelyn, Ingrid. As I said before, she loves our dry heat. I didn’t catch up on this thread until now, or I would have reminded you that my Louise Odier is probably Grandmother’s Hat. ( Add me to the list of people not feeling well, lately.) I’m still not 100% sure who she is, but she’s certainly a winner here. I purchased her as Louise Odier from RVR. I was going to suggest you might order Louise Odier from RVR, and see what happens, but they deal mainly in band size roses. Now that I have more Bourbon roses, I’m convinced mine isn’t Louise Odier. Her growth habit is more upright, instead of cascading once the canes become longer. She’s also FAR cleaner, foliage wise than my other Bourbons.

Isn't Daisy’s climate similar to ours? Perhaps you could have a look at her roses to give you some ideas. I bought the DA ‘Perdita’ after seeing hers do so well. Unfortunately I thought I was doing Perdita a favor by planting her in partial shade, apparently Perdita needs far more sun than many DA’s, even in So CA. She hasn’t bloomed at all since I planted her out. That means I’ll have to move her.

As Roselady said, Princess Charlene de Monaco grows to at LEAST 8F high here. I do remember Cori Ann saying hers needed extra water, and would appreciate some PM shade. My two PCDM’s receive full sun, but my soil is heavy, rich clay, quite different from yours. For the past two years, my very favorite nursery has had lots of grafted PCDM’s in 3? 5? gallon containers at exactly this time of year. If you’re considering PCDM at all, I’d suggest buying her locally, so you’d get a large plant to start with. The nursery is Walter Andersen in Poway. They also carry a large assortment of David Austins. If you’re both up to it, have a look at Walter Andersen’s. They carry many different roses, and also many native and rabbit resistant plants. Lisa

Lisa, I haven't been able to leave my property for over three months with this stupid weakness, otherwise I would hotfoot it to the nursery you mention. At any rate, earlier today I ordered three roses from ARE, Plum Perfect, Spice and Coquette des Blanches. That's more than enough, along with my two Evelyns, and finding someone to put barriers around the roses. If all goes well, though, I'm going to be a very happy camper.

Ingrid, I am so happy to see your purchases. I hope your new roses bring you many smiles!

Thank you, oursteelers, I'm sure they will. Look for me to bore you endlessly once they put out spring blooms.

Please do post photos, Ingrid, when you can. Your photos are a highlight for many of us.