What a collection! It's hard to pick a favourite, but I'm partial to AMrose. Do you love Gruss as much as I do? Of all my BS defoliated pot pets, GaA has grown healthy leaves and kept them! I adore the pink tips.

MFK is like the girl with the little curl in the middle of her forehead...when she is good, she is very, very good. So lovely.

I can hardly believe that I had 12 Gruss an Aachen in one bed 20 years ago. Only one is left. It's one of my absolute favorite roses but I have to realize that it's not quite hardy in my climate. I comfort myself that my taste in plantings has changed. I no longer want mass plantings of one variety.

Lovely Ingrid!

So much personality in MFK, and no proliferation, that rose takes the cake.

I love my Aunt Margy's rose! I had seen your praises of this rose, Ingrid and I now understand why. It is healthy, fragrant, and an excellent bloomer. My Gruss an Aachen is still very young, but I am very pleased with it so far.

Molly

The color of that MFK bloom is exquisite! I wonder what they will look like once she is planted out. Everything is looking good, despite the heat and bugs. Your Duchesse de Brabant sure puts my pitiful mildewed specimen to shame. Love your pictures! Lisa

Gruss an Aachen seems reasonably happy here and it is a very pretty rose. It doesn't last so long in the heat, but that's to be expected. I've never had more than two or three of one rose, but have planted a row of only tea roses which I quite like. There's a cohesiveness there but the colors are different which gives more interest.

jardineratx, I'm thrilled that a rose I recommended is working well for you. Aunt Margy's Rose doesn't seem to receive the attention that it deserves.

Lisa, I can't understand why your DdB is "acting out" to such an extent. It has loads of blooms but I wouldn't be happy either with those leaves. Usually these things clear up in the summer heat so it is a puzzler.

Ingrid, MFK looks like she's off to a good start.

Have you ever tried 'Anna Jung' in your garden? It seems like a rose you might like, though I have no idea if she would enjoy your growing conditions.

My youngster is blooming in our heat, but she is also getting much rain this summer. So heat-tolerant, yes, but she might prefer steaming to baking?

Virginia

Virginia, I have Anna Jung on my wish list, and the only roses I have there are ones that I've heard are good in dry heat, so she seems be a steamer and a baker. I have no room right now for a tea rose, but you never know, good roses can sometimes go bad almost overnight.

Ingrid your bloom on MFK is just lovely. I hope MFK does well for both of us over time. :-)

Ingrid, so far 'Anna Jung' is a trouper... I just got her earlier this summer from Roses Unlimited during their sale, and she's been blooming and growing since despite the heat and the beetles. Even with a bit of insect damage, I still think she has lovely flowers:

I almost got her Virginia, but didn't have enough funds to add another. Let me know how she does for you. There's always next year :)

Be still my heart, Anna Jung is beautiful! A picture is always so helpful, thank you!

Ingrid, I think I can thank Kippy for her enabling photos and descriptions of Anna. I tried to order her last year, but somehow she was replaced with another rose (RU must have sold out), so I was especially happy to finally get her this year.

It's still early days, but so far she has been worth the wait.

Virginia

I really miss Kippy, she hasn't been here or on the decorating forum for a while now. Please do keep taking pictures of this rose, Virginia, as she grows up to be a big girl.

Cori Ann, I don't see a mess, just a beautiful rose that I'm feasting my eyes on. I don't expect to see as many blooms on my rose because you have that magic something, but I'll enjoy every bloom I do get. A shade structure seems like an excellent idea and will hopefully keep the inside cooler too since it will shade the entrance to the house, but I also think it will add a decorative element to the yard. Please do post pictures when it's finished.

Lovely roses!

Cori Ann, are you going to grow something over your shade structure?

Totoro that's a good question. I think for this one I'm going to keep it clean with no roses... only because it's near a main gutter for the roof and I don't want to cause hassle or clogs in that area.

Although...I do have 2 Belle Purtugaise bands that I have been babying in containers. The current plan is to see how this structure looks and if we like it, then we will add another similar gazebo/pergola structure in a different part of the yard, away from any gutters or roofing, and then have Belle Portugaise(s) grow up and over that one.

That being said, I have a lot of climbing roses and some may still find their way over to this structure. ;-)

Here's the update I promised. It's a mess, like most construction jobs, but it's coming along nicely. We have a smaller totally covered area we are making into an outdoor kitchen/bar at some point and a long pergola/trellis attached beyond that. Already sooo much shadier!

We are getting a friends and family discount so I am not going to complain too much about the mess. ;-)

Looks great!

It's absolutely gorgeous, I didn't expect anything this grand, and I love the way it now grounds the long rose bed in front of it. This is a win all the way, and the benefits in shade and a cool place to hang out will be so enjoyable.

What a perfect addition! However, if you want to see construction mess, I should post a pic of my balcony roof project. Geesh. If only my messes ever looked this good. : ) Oh, and I don't think that gutter would be much bothered by a climbing rose. ; )

Thanks Lisa, Ingrid and Vaporvac. Our construction friend is heading up the project, so we are lucky that we can go "grand" without the overly grand price tag.

One of the only problems is that he's very pushy... and he doesn't draw plans. So that means I am stuck being pushy back to hold my ground in conversations and I have to draw plans to make sure we are communicating properly. Honestly, it really does create some communication problems. But, such is life and construction always has downs as well as ups. It's going to look amazing and be a lot of fun once we have the outdoor kitchen there. My husband is a total grill master. :-)

I'm pretty sure we won't be doing anything growing over this structure. I want to be able to access it, paint it during upkeep, etc... and I don't want any clogged gutters problems.

Looks great! I totally understand about the need to keep it bare to upkeep the painting. It would be such a nuisance to take down a large climber. Outdoor bar and kitchen will be so luxurious. Best of luck with the contractor.

Thanks Totoro. It was just finished last night. Right in time for another excessive heat wave. I'm glad the poor guys won't be working in this next heat wave. We are supposed to get up to 115 and it will be above 100 daily until next Wednesday. :-( At least now we will have a little more shade.

Wow, it beautiful! What a great place to hang out. I hope you find some time to do so:) Lisa