Terry, Sometimes I wish there was a delete button on BF forum--like facebook. :D Then you could just wipe the whole thread away! This is one of those times!! I didn't take offense at anything you said. I answered Larry's question, we usually correspond by email, and realized that I probably should have been more discreet. I've been on the forum too long. I don't take offense at other's remarks unless they are hurtful to someone. And, in that light and having had lots of friends and schoolmates who served in Vietnam, I have to say that the returning vets were treated badly. The antiwar sentiment created an atmosphere of animosity toward our returning soldiers. The whole war was a mistake as we have learned from history. However, our men who fight are doing so with honor, and should never be denigrated no matter how we feel about the war. I have a hard time with the wars we are fighting now, but I don't hold our military responsible. I feel so badly for any parent, spouse, child that has lost a child, spouse or parent. I also am aware of the horrible things that happen when these men/women come home. Exposure to chemicals, emotional issues, missing limbs, etc, are just a few. Dreadful diseases like ALS and cancer are the reward for being loyal to our country. If you know a veteran, thank them for putting their life on the line. I lived with two veterans of WW2. I can tell you the scars run deep and all too often silent. Now, where's that delete button? Sandy

Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us for a virtual tour. I so enjoy the tours in our area and can only imagine what work it is to have everything as beautiful as you did. Everything was so pretty with such attention to all the little details. Your colors of red and green in the upholstery are great. I would never have thought of using those colors but they work great with the wall colors you chose. You have surely earned some relaxation.

Good golly, I loved it...that green color is fab! I think I have about as much Christmas "stuff" as you do, but unfortunately this is the first year I've not gotten to decorate. We've had a family tragedy and have also been in remodel h%ll on a lake home we bought, so no go for me this year. I so enjoyed looking at your beautiful home. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. How MANY poinsettias, paper whites and wreaths??? Oh child, bless your heart. Christmas decorating really is so much darn work. It looks so great when it's done, but then, if you are like me, you're usually too pooped to enjoy it. HA! Now to a question that nooooooooooo one has asked you...and probably never would. What does the little sign say in regards to the "temperamental toilet?" That's what we are beginning to call ours. This lake place (built in 1952, hence the remodel) is not on a septic system, but it still has some flushing issues even with the new toilets we bought. We've been thinking of making up a little sign, too, for guests. Something like, "flush often and with gusto...flushing is free, plunging is not." Would also like to include something for the shower doors....."if you see a squeegee, USE IT!" Wow, I'm sounding like such a lovely hostess, huh? HA! Anyway, if you care to share the sign sentiment, that would be great. And once again, thank you so much for sharing your lovely home with us. I wish you a very blessed holiday! pup

It is certainly achievable in your zone since I grow both roses and clematis, but not in a north-facing site. Both clematis and roses need sun to bloom, IME a minimum of 5 hours, and more sun will give more blooms. So I would plan to put your roses and clematis in sunny spots and find something that is more shade tolerant for your north-facing garage. IME roses will do fine on a trellis like the one you have in the photo, but will need to be fastened to the trellis since they don't cling on their own. Most clematis will cling on their own, but need something pencil thickness or less since they climb by wrapping their leaf stems, which are relatively short, around the support. So either they would need to wrap around the rose stems (so you would have to find a rose with hardy enough canes) or you would need to add something such as wire mesh (like hog fencing) or strings to allow the clematis to climb. I most often choose metal supports since they are easier to create and maintain with thin enough bars. You don't mention where you are in zone 5. In my NH gardens (and where I grew up in OH) Japanese beetles are a problem for roses and I am not willing to use pesticides since they also kill other pollinators such as bees. So I choose roses that don't bloom midsummer when the beetles are at their destructive worst. There are a fair number of older varieties of climbing roses that bloom just once in late spring/early summer in our zone, before the J. beetles emerge. I also grow one old Bourbon rose called Zephirine Drouhin which blooms for me in the spring and fall, but takes a break midsummer. It has bright pink roses and a lovely scent and is easy to work with since it is almost thornless which is handy when pruning both the rose and its accompanying clematis. I've mostly seen it rated to zone 6, but it has survived several winters here including one that got to -23. It does sometimes die back a fair amount but regrows to about 7' each year. There are several roses developed by the Morden Agricultural Station in Canada that are quite hardy, including some shorter climbers (6' or so) but they tend to overlap bloom with the J. beetles, so I haven't been as happy with them. If you don't have the beetles you should be fine. You can ask for additional input on the rose forums. How large to make a trellis will depend on how large your plants are likely to get, both the rose and the clematis. You want to choose a clematis that isn't so large and vigorous that it will overwhelm the rose, so I'd avoid the most enthusiastic clematis such as Betty Corning or sweet autumn. There are a lot of really lovely deep purple clematis such as Viola, Jackmanii, Etoile Violette, and Polish Spirit, all of which bloom midsummer. In general the summer bloomers (hard prune AKA type 3) are a bit easier than the large-flowered spring bloomers (type 2) but currently most of my spring blooming roses only overlap with my summer blooming clematis for a short time. Of those I listed, I only have experience with Viola, and it would be fine with a rose IME. If you are interested in other color clematis, I'd look at various online nurseries to see what is available. I've ordered from Brushwood, Joy Creek, Bluestone, Hummingbird Farm, and Silver Star Vinery. Each has a different selection, and some send quarts or smaller while others send gallons. In a more urban area than mine you might have a larger selection available at local nurseries, but IME most of what is available here are spring bloomers since that is when most folks shop for plants, and blooming plants usually sell better than bare vines.