I have just recently become intrigued by roses after believing forever that they were too hard to grow (put that in the file of 'lies my mother told me'). I garden on a typical quarter acre block with my front garden overshadowed by two very large gum trees. There is a patch in the middle which receives probably the most consistent sunlight of all the garden, and in the middle of the patch stands a stump! It is, I think, a turpentine which was probably cut down in the late seventies when the house was built. It it about 5 and a half to 6 foot high and about 3 feet across. For the last eight years or so, it has been covered by ivy which some nong encouraged to grow there (it was me). Now that I can see the ivy growing three houses up the street, I have decided to dispose of the evidence and have been left with a bare but sunny stump. I have a Crepuscule in a pot which I would like to plant in this sunny spot. Would you knowledgeable gardeners remove the stump and grow the rose on a pillar/obelisk or would you let the rose grow on the stump? I have an idea of the Crepuscule on the sunniest side and a couple of clematis on the shadier sides. My garden is extremely informal as all my gardening skills have been learned at the School of Plonk. Do you think the rose would grow better on a pillar?

I would most appreciate anyone's thoughts or experiences.

Juliet

Other suggestions - Mons. Tillier, Anna Olivier, Jean Ducher, Mrs. B.R. Cant, Souvenir de Mme L. Viennot, Sombreuil. These tea roses are vigorous and wide spreading and most of them have a much stronger perfume than Crepescule.

Cheers
Barb