Jeff, I'm no expert on your area but when you mentioned your criteria I immediately thought of Grandmother's Hat. Mine is still very young but it definitely seems to want to grow tall rather than wide. The fragrance is wonderful, the color would go well with your purple buddleia and from all I've heard this rose is very healthy, and it blooms a lot. Keep in mind that mine is young and my climate is vastly different, but I though I'd put in my two cents' worth anyway. I'll be interested to see what other suggestions you receive.

Ingrid

I have a little Spice which smells great, is very pretty and is super healthy.

Jeff, I'm going to throw in some more English Roses that are supposed to be very healthy and are the 4x4 size, more or less, you are looking for. They are Strawberry Hill, The Mayflower, Wildeve, Crocus Rose and Gentle Hermione. I have seen these all blooming and they are very pretty and The Mayflower especially has a somewhat cool color. Someone I know in Virginia grows them and they stay mostly healthy. Hopefully, they can do well in Atlanta.

By the way, I read on your member page that you and your wife take a turn in the garden every evening together. I think that is so romantic and wonderful. And congrats on your son graduating!

Juliet

Gruss an Aachen, maybe?
Or some small austin, like Charlotte or The Alnwick Rose ?

Jeff,
Some Austins that may fit your growth needs might be:
'James Galway' - fragrant pink ruffled flowers, tall narrow growth, nearly thornless.
'The Generous Gardener' - very fragrant light pink to white flowers, tall somewhat bushy growth, flowers do shatter quickly but it's always in bloom.
'Eglantyne' - very fragrant warm pink flowers, tall upright growth, flowers last awhile (in z5 at least).

Hope this helps,
Rob

P.S. super Bass in the pic you posted on the "Garden People" thread. Before I became addicted to Roses and gardening, fly fishing was my thing. I loved fighting it out with gamefish and panfish on a fly rod. The last time I went fly fishing about 4 years ago, I hooked a 20" Northern PIke on a 6wt rod. That was a hoot!

Queen Elizabeth is tall (up to 8') and narrow (3'). For a hybrid tea/grandiflora, she fairly bs resistant, tho this year I am spraying her because bs has been so bad. Like mostHTs, she gets leggy, so you could actually put two in--a QE in back and a small poly or china in front.

Nahema

Hey everyone. Thanks for the suggestions.

Ingrid, Grandmother's Hat sounds great. Does anyone know how this one does in the South?

I've heard mixed reports on the fragrance of spice, anyone else care to comment?

Juliet, thanks for the personal comments. We do like "taking a turn about the garden" although we often just say, "do you want to take a turn?"

Rob, Thanks. It was super fun catching that bass. I'm going to NC in a week or so for a little fishing trip and of course have to stop by RU to take advantage of their sale. (hence the rose search)

Do you two think these Austins are going to make the cut as far as Black spot resistance? I've had 3 Austins and they've all been pretty disease prone.

Robert, I don't have any Delbard roses, so Nahema sounds intriging. What's the growth habit?

Any other suggestions are VERY welcome. You never know when I might discover another small spot that NEEDS a rose.

Most people say they can smell "Spice", so I think I'm a rare exception, but I can not smell any fragrance from my specimen.
Fantastically healthy, productive, and beautiful plant here though.

Randy

I can definitely smell Spice and to me the scent is peppery and somewhat sharp, most unusual in a rose. My two are still babies but the scent is definitely there. It's not at all an unpleasant smell, just different.

Ingrid

Jeff,
These 3 Austin's, in my climate at least, suffer only mild BS by early September.
You may have to ask other Southerners that grow them how they fare in the warm humid South.
Best of luck on your fishing trip.
Rob

I do not like the smell of Spice so far. Mine is only in it's 2nd season and I have heard that as it gets older the fragrance improves to more like grapefruit. I hope so, because right now it smells like bug spray to me. I'll give it time since it is so healthy.

Do you have Cecile Brunner? It would be about the right size and to me the fragrance is very good and travels on the air. Very healthy, too.

Therese Bugnet is about 3 or 4 feet wide by 6 feet tall. It can be kept smaller easily. TB is very clean though there is not much humidity here. Also, the foliage and hips are attractive. In fact, I sometimes cannot decide whether I like the flowers or foliage better! Anyway, this is a tall narrow rose. It does sucker some, but they are easy to deal with. Perhaps someone in your climate will have some feedback on TB.

I do detect fragrance on my Spice, but it is a very wide (although extremely healthy) rose. I can't imagine trying to confine it to a 4' area. I have a similar situation in that I need to replace one of my penelopes with a rose that is less wide and arching. I am considering Madame Antoine Mari and Napoleon, buth of which I have growing in pots at this time. My Duchess de Brabant is being grown in a relatively narrow area and it is fantastic.
Molly

I've been looking at this post for days and trying to think of a rose that would be tall enough, yet narrow, and has good disease resistance. I have grown most of the roses mentioned above and they are not resistant to blackspot in my garden. The only one I can think of that sort of meets your criteria is Paloma Blanca, a buck rose with huge white blooms, it is about 4 ft in my garden and doesn't grow very wide. Has a mild fragrance to my nose and has fairly good blackspot resistance. This is a tough one! :-)

Carol

Thanks for the suggestion, Carol. I appreciate that you took some time to really think about a good rose for my situation. That's very thoughtful.

FJ Lindheimer seems to fit the criteria.....mine is a very upright shrub with flowers of variable pink/yellow/apricot. The intensity changes with age of the flowers and temperature. It is a tall, narrow plant, peaking at around 4 feet. It is relatively BS resistant, but very few varieties of roses don't get at least some BS here. It has been blooming quite profusely and another bonus: the blooms don't crisp and fry and we have been having a major heat wave and drought here (100 degree + temps for several weeks now).

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Happy Gardening and good luck with your choice!

Lynn

The regular bush form of "Mme. Cecille Brunner" grows to be c. 4 and 1/2 feet tall by c. 4 feet wide where I live.
One of the daintiest pink roses in existence.
Not tall but sublime.

Luxrosa