Thanks so much parker25mv! Looks like we're both on the same page. I'm not planning on planting them in the ground, and I agree that they're too dominant in LA right now. When I was trying to find a suitable screen plant I read through all of the ficus discussion on here and decided against them. Then these fell into my lap, which opens up budget for native CA plants elsewhere so I'm trying to make lemonade. I'll leave them in the half-barrels, but I'm also open to any suggestions to make them healthier. Root pruning has been suggested above, which I'm looking into now. Thanks!

They look modern to me, too. And they look like they are doing quite well! How great that your place came with roses. Mine only came with one, unkempt Mr. Lincoln which will forever be 10 feet tall! Kim covered so much of the initial care that I'm not sure what to add. We do have a couple of kinds of cane borers in this area, so I seal most of my cuts (I just can't handle sealing the numerous, out-of-reach cuts on big climbers and ramblers) with Elmer's Glue All. If it rains soon after pruning, and the cuts haven't had a chance to harden below the dried glue, I reseal the ends. It doesn't take much glue. Just enough to put a lid on the open end. If you decide that you want to add some antique roses around your antique home, there are a number of places to snag some, including Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, OR and Joy Creek out in Scappoose. (Have you been to Joy Creek? Great clematis!) If you ask, I'm sure all of us Antique Rose Forum members will chime in at once with favorites and recommendations! A few easy to grow beauties that come to mind are Jacques Cartier, Perle d'Or, Rose de Rescht, Blush Noisette, Buff Beauty, Penelope, Reine des Violettes, Salet, Blanc Double de Corbert and Marie Pavie. Please DO keep us updated. I am so excited about your new home and garden! :-) Carol

houseplants should not be in a pot filled with mother earth ... it needs to be bare rooted and repotted ... media ... is a water management system ... and soil is not in a pot .. a good media allows water to flow thru tyhe pot.. and excess run out the bottom ... mother earth makes mud which wont drain properly ... this is probably why it nearly died previously ... when you bare root it.. perhaps you can pull the plants apart and end up with more than one.. maybe not ... show us pix when you get that far ... you might also get help with the plant on the left in the first pic.. its etoliated ... and might even be a weed ... new post on that plant with better pix.. and we can help ... looks like you have a great window for houseplants.. why are they so far from it.. if other than just to take the pix?? ken

The bed and the armoire are fabulous. The dresser needs major rehab. The market for old, broken furniture is not great. As far as I can see, the everything visible about the bed is fine. You can strengthen it by nailing additional wood to the bottom. We beefed up the support of one of our beds. If you look under the bed, you can see the pale pine additions to the dark wood frame. But who crawls under the bed to look at the framing?