Hello.

I'm new to this newsgroup, and to gardening. I live in Los Angeles,
and I'd like to plant an old-fashioned climbing rose to replace a
gnarly old bougainvillea climbing up the west wall of my house and
onto a horizontal arbor over a walkway.

I live in Brentwood, about three miles from the beach where it rarely
gets too hot and a "cold" night is somewhere in the '40s. After
looking through some old posts on this newsgroup, it sounds like Mme
Alfred Carriere grows well in this climate, and it's pretty much what
I was looking for, although I'm also tempted by the Eden (Meiviolin)
and the climbing version of Souvenir de la Malmaison, which sound
lovely but less reliable. If anyone has any experience with the
latter two in the L.A. area, I would appreciate any advice.

Also -- how many individual plants should I order to plant together if
I want a nice, big, but not too overwhelming climber?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.