Also tempted to remove my very small front lawn and replace it with more lavender. I dunno. :) maybe some low-ground cover roses or something.

I didn't label it but the bigger bush in the front on the left of the photo just below is Bermuda's Kathleen and there is a Baronne Prevost and La Reine next to her, ish.

For good excuse, here's my twins in some Hello Kitty dresses I made them. :)

Trish.

I am not familiar with all of your roses - for the ones which are NOT climbers, for now I would leave them alone to build up into larger shrubs. If you are in zone 9-10 in the South West, I presume you do not get a lot of rain? It turns out that the larger you allow the rose bush to get, the more and deeper roots it will grow, and the less water it will need. Of course you can always prune off dead growth, or the errant cane which is blocking a path or attacking passersby.

I did not prune any of my roses last winter (except the very few HTs), as we got no rain in Oct, Nov, Dec, or Jan. Pruning, if you garden in a warm climate, makes them sprout new growth, which needs more water. Finally, in desperation I got all of my windows washed on Feb 1 (true story). That worked, and it rained buckets all of Feb, and all of March. In the Spring, all of my roses bloomed madly, so they did not miss being pruned at all. If it rains this year in Nov & Dec, then I will prune them in Jan. Otherwise, not.

There are no hard and fast rules - my advice is based mostly on the fact that we are in a severe drought, and the roses will do better if left alone.

Jackie

Is this area a play area that could hurt the children? Is it your responsibility to mow, clip, cut, and support the roses in your spare time?

Felicia and Lydia are Hybrid Musks like Penelope. My Penelope grows to at least 6 feet wide, and I think these other roses will be large also. MAC is huge, isn't it?

Other roses like Archduke Charles may be easier to control.

I don't think you can really control the size of the rose as much as prune it out of your paths, and "keep it clean".

As I look at your twins, I wonder how many soccer balls, big wheels, bikes, etc. will be competing with your garden.

It might be helpful to get the advice of a Consulting Rosarian or Master Gardener in your area.

Your house is likely to have many children around, and these rose might be difficult to control. But if you have people who take care of the grounds, and your work in limited in the garden, then you can do much more than you can do if you have to do all the work yourself.

These are such happy years. Enjoy!

Sammy

The rose will regrow, so don't be afraid to cut. The only thing you don't want is to cut back the main canes length. Either take out older main canes or leave them at full length. Concentrate on cutting back the laterals to lessen the volume of the bush.

Your daughters are adorable. They will be well outfitted with a mother who knows how to sew!

Rosefolly

I like to try to do the rose work myself while our landscape guys do the lawn.

Seems like maybe I should try to find a local rosarian familiar with these slightly older roses to try and teach me how to train/prune properly? I've seen some videos about it… but I just feel a bit like I'd learn better if someone could come out to my house and say "Cut this lateral" on MAC for example.

I understand I might want to let some of them just grow for a while to establish better roots since we don't get much rain here? They all seem to be very healthy and doing well. I think most of them are about 5+ years old now. if that helps at all.

thanks for all your advice ! :)