Woweee! Love your arbor. It is so perfect with your house! I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas once people see your post. Looking forward to seeing pictures afterwards and of your fountain also.

FlowerLady

Oh thank you so much, flowerlady. When I saw what a close match the turned posts and spindles (which you can't really see much of in the picture) were to our wrap-around porch, I fell in love with it. I'm thinking I'd like to try clematis, but I've only planted one clematis and didn't have much luck with it. Still...clematis in full bloom is a beautiful sight...maybe it's worth another try.

Ooohhh, love your arbor! I have a clematis that does well in half day sun. I am forgetting the name - I think Versailles, but not sure. I'd try one if that were my arbor.

Is the arbor cemented in the ground? If not, I'd keep in mind the full grown weight of anything you plant.

What are you thinking of growing at the base of it? Do hydrangeas do well for you? Some blue flowering ones would be beautiful!

Diana

That's a beautiful arbor and I agree, you really should show it off. But, aside from the arbor, the thing that really caught my eye was the pot of red geraniums behind it.

I am definitely not a rose expert, but have you considered a climbing red rose to cover the arbor? I'm not sure if that location gets enough sun to support roses but I'd thought I throw that idea at you. :-)

You have my sympathy regarding that trumpet vine. They are gorgeous, but boy..do they sprawl in our hot climate. This is year 3 in the battle against my traveling- all- over- the -place, TV.

Marilyn

Oh your arbor is beautiful ! And I LOVE your bricks ! I am seeing bricks everywhere I look. I was told that it takes 3 yrs to get the full Clematis glory and that seems to be the case with mine. As long as the "feet" are cool and shaded they seem to do well. If I can grow it anyone can LOL.

Angelcub--yes, the arbor is cemented in the ground. :) And I do love hydrangeas. I have several lacecap types throughout our shady gardens behind our house. I just put a blushing bride endless summer hydrangea in a little bit brighter area in the back gardens, too. I'll look for the Versailles clematis. What color bloom does it have?

Marilyn--Oh yes, I have thought of a beautiful climbing red rose. I admire roses but haven't tried growing them after a few bad trials many, many years ago...what I now consider my pre-gardening years. You know..."plunk it in the ground and hope it lives" years. I had even thought of trying a rose climber on one side and a clematis on the other. I'm not sure what rose would be a) easy enough for a newbie gardener (this is my 4th year of serious gardening), b) not too thorny for my 2-year-old grandson to admire and for passing through the arbor, and c) not so bushy as to completely cover those sweet spindles and turned posts. I love the idea of red roses because we have a red front door. :) Any ideas of a rose to check out?

Trailrunner--we simply have to meet up sometime and stroll through each other's gardens. What nurseries do you frequent? I'm always looking for a good nursery or garden ornament center to visit. :) There is one in Pine Mountain called Garden Delights. They have some beautiful native plants there, too. I just put a nice bottlebrush buckeye and a red buckeye in the back gardens that I purchased there. My husband and I love to drive to newly discovered garden nurseries on some weekends. BTW, I hate to admit it, but my clematis is three years old and I would cringe to think that it is at its full glory. Maybe it's just not the right spot and I should move it. I just keep hoping that it will take off one of these years.

-Bama

Not a red rose but a pink...Zephirine Drouhin is thornless, blooms all summer, is delciate in looks and I understand, very disease resistant and she does well in partial shade. She would be pretty perfect for a beginner!

Your arbor is lovely. I like the way it frames the chair and pot of geraniums just like a picture. Very nice!

MeMo

MeMo, thank you for sharing. I'm off to check out that rose. It sounds like one that I just have to look into. The people on this forum are just the friendliest and most helpful of any forum around. Thank you all for your eager acceptance of newbies to the forum and of newbies to gardening in general!

Bama : There isn't much to stroll through...about 5 minutes wrth !LOL. I love the garden center that is across from the Lazy Bee called "In the Garden". It is on Hwy 54 and Moores Mill Rd. You would come the back way from Smiths.

I have never gone to Pine Mt to buy garden stuff . I have run the trails over there for 10 yrs. Now that I am trying to get plants I need to see what they have. If you e-mail me we can talk about getting together. I would like that. Caroline

Bama,

I am a newbie rose grower myself and I have experienced a lot of failures due to the fact that I make poor selections, unfortunately. I LOVE hybrid teas, but they just don't work for me. :-(

After some trial & error, I look for these two descriptions, either "Earthkind Roses" or "Knockout Roses", when browsing at the nursery. I have had much better luck with them.

Again, I love that arbor. It looks so welcoming!

Marilyn

Not sure where you are in zone 8 but Zephirine Drouhin
is not maintenance free rose in the South. It also may not rebloom in high temps.

I suggest Climbing Pinkie....nearly thornless and blooms all season. The rose has pliable canes and doesnÂt lose its leaves from disease or heat. I highly recommend it!!

Ronda

Here is a link that might be useful: Climbing Pinkie

Marilyn--you talked me into it. ;) I just purchased three double knockout rose shrubs for another bed around the corner from this arbor.

Ronda--oooh, I do so love the climbing pinkie in that picture link. Just gaw-jus! Is there a red version?

Carolyn--I'm very familiar with Out in the Garden. That's the way I often traveled to Auburn University the past few years. They do have some neat stuff--both plants and objects. And hey...my garden would take you 5 minutes to stroll through, too. Of course, I'd be trying to distract you the whole time so you wouldn't see what needs to be done!

--Bama

Bama, I looked for more info on Pinkie and came up with the link below. If you scroll to the bottom there is a list of other climbers that are good for the southern garden. Enjoy!

MeMo

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinkie and Others

Bama--beautiful arch/arbor. I had a white arbor (not as lovely looking itself) in the back yard fence as an entrance/gate of my old home. I grew a healthy, fairly disease-resistant rose called Altissimo (beautiful bright Chinese-red, porcelain-like flowers) which grew so fast it was wonderful, added blue morning glories (which had to watch and trim sometimes). You have so many choices with white. I also had the Zeph. Dru. rose -- raspberry pink, lovely light scent, thornless (as mentioned above) which climbed over our wood fence at end of yard. Oh--there's another climbing rose that I had a lot of luck with -- healthy, fast growing-climbing red/white called 4th of July. I grew it on a large fan type trellis attached to front of house. ENJOY!! Marj

Thanks Marj for the listing of plants. I just saw an Altissimo this past weekend...oh, the thought of that with the morning glories sounds so nice!

Bama,

I think you will love those Knock out roses! They are showing up all over the Dallas area, and I've seen them planted in traffic medians in Houston, so you know they can take about anything thrown at them-drought, floods, searing heat and humidity, unseasonable cool temperatures, pollution etc.

I know they will do well for you. :-) You are going to love them.

Marilyn

bama : where are you finding roses ? I have seen a few but am noting that most are already sold out. Thank you , Caroline