I'm looking to add 7-10 roses to a new bed I'm working on.

I was looking at Regan's list (about 45 minutes away from me), and am considering these... and would love feedback. I like my roses to have fragrance and not be excessively thorny-or at least not nasty thorns. Getting chewed up in pruning season used to be some sort of weird badge of honor, that I'm over now Highest on my list:
Sheila's Perfume
Easy Does It
Twilight Zone or Ebb Tide
Bolero
Sexy Rexy
Marilyn Monroe (St Patrick, a parent, does very well here)
Tahitian Sunset

some others:
Peace (just because...)
Dream Come True
Elle
Liv Tyler
Sunset Celebration
Passionate Kisses
Sugar Moon

I have all of these but Bolero and Sugar Moon, and while they all have thorns, they're not excessively thorny, nothing like the monstrous thorns of New Dawn, George Burns, Snowfire, or Tabris.

I personally would buy Ebb Tide instead of Twilight Zone. My Twilight Zone is a runty plant with an almost solid-colored bloom. I prefer the color highlights of Ebb Tide. (Or maybe I'm just annoyed that Twilight Zone co-opted the name of one of my favorite J.B. Williams roses, which I would love to replace if I could find another in commerce. )

Also, just on the basis of personal experience, I wouldn't buy Marilyn Monroe and Dream Come True again. Both are about 7 feet tall and produce most of their blooms way at the top, where I can barely see them.

Liv Tyler, too, has grown too large for my taste. It's not that tall, but it sends out long, thick canes in every direction, invading the space I've allotted to other roses.

Marilyn Monroe has horrible thorns. It's gorgeous, smells wonderful, but the thorns.. yikes.

Thank-you Zuzu.. good information to have. Funny, I don't think of New Dawn as being really thorny.
You'd think with the name Marilyn Monroe, she'd be smooth as silk..

I have the first Twilight Zone. It's a lovely, beautiful flower, but the runtiest rose I have. It's on it's own roots and should have probably been grafted.

Your Twilight Zone must be different than mine. Sure, mine's runty too, but much much much darker.

There are two roses named Twilight Zone, Toni, and both are runty, but one's much prettier.

I stopped off at one of the nurseries in town and saw that they had all their leftover roses on sale. They had 'Dream Come True', and thanks to your comments, I passed on it.. It was thorny to beat all get out. They had nothing else that was terribly interesting, which is just as well.

Funny, I don't think of New Dawn as excessively thorny. Mermaid, Happenstance, Ballerina all used to shred my arms and anything else they could grab on to.. Fortuniana manages to nail me pretty bad on a regular basis.. Maybe it's not so much the quantity, but the shape.

I have all but 2 that are on your list, and what I would suggest is to buy 7 Easy Does It roses!
If you buy Easy Does It and some of the others, it will make the others look bad because it is just that good.

It's high on my list Cindi.. Great to have another endorsement!... but I plant in broad drifts of one I think I saw it at a nursery over the weekend, and may go back and get it even though I'm not quite ready.. What is your profile picture?

Sherry, I think it may be Ketchup & Mustard

Yes, it's the one good bloom I've gotten from 2 K&M plants. What a disappointment that one is.
I need to change that picture to something that deserves endorsement!
Sherry, I also plant in drifts of one, collector-style. If I have two of anything, it is because I thought the original was dead and replaced it before digging out the first. Easy Does It is the exception. I have multiples of it, and I'm thinking about ordering it from Palatine just to see how it grows on multiflora roots, and from Chamblee to see how it grows own-root.
oh, wait a minute. I do have a hedge of double pink Knock Out, another bank of Pink Drift, and a large bed bordered by 9 Coral Drift roses. And a hillside covered with Sea Foam. My "drifts" are like, here's 20 different Austins, then this area is 20 different Kordes, or Bucks, that sort. One bed is all red and white roses, each different.
Bolero is not available around here for some reason. I saw it many places in California and it was stunning. Easter Basket, Colette, and Mother of Pearl were others I saw in CA that I can't seem to find anywhere else.
You are so lucky to have rose nurseries within driving distance.
On your choices, I think Ebb Tibe, Easy Does It, and Tahitian Sunset would be a pretty blend of colors.

Ketchup and Mustard was one that was highly recommended by a friend. In my mind, I couldn't work that color blend into the garden.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with drifts of one. As a designer, I know better, but can't seem to help myself where my own garden is concerned.

Drifts are supposed to have more than one? Who knew?

porkpal said:Drifts are supposed to have more than one? Who knew?

I stopped off at a Nursery in Corralitos on my way back from the radio station yesterday. They have a large stock of roses on hand. This time of year, most of the nurseries have their roses on sale, this place is the exception, I guess. But I did find several 'Easy Does It' standards to choose from, and also 'Sunset Celebration'. Sunset magazine's headquarters and garden were in my neighborhood up until I moved to Santa Cruz 18 years ago. So, even if the flower isn't outstanding, the name is a bit sentimental for me.

I planted 'Easy Does It' next to the entry steps.. It's visible as you drive in the gate, and also from the front path. I'm pleased with the placement, and patting myself on the back for not torturing it for a year or more before I decided where to put it. I'm thinking 'Sunset Celebration' will go somewhere in the new Iris bed I'm working on.