I have to really think about HT's so I will add same in next post, in case anyone is interested. However, I am up North here in Nova Scotia where temps can go down to -18C and Spring arrives late here if it arrives at all. LOL. Having said that, I want to mention two rose categories, of which I can speak from experience, bearing in mind, that if they are hardy and disease free here, most likely they will be where you are, unless you may be in a colder area. Note: All my suggestions are repeat/constant blooming. While "beauty" is in the eyes of the beholder, thus very subjective, hardiness and disease-free status are very easily judged appropriately.

Climbers:

Cl. "Dublin Bay" - RED - absolutely the best red climber I have ever grown, (and I have a lot of Cl.reds).
Cl. "Kordes Golden Gate" - YELLOW- hands down, absolutely the best yellow I have ever grown.
Cl. "Ilse Krohn Superior" - WHITE, high-pointed blooms, just beautiful!
Note: The canes on these climbers should be stretched out horizontally, to encourage flowering at most nodes.

Shrub Roses:

Without question, the "Carpet Rose" series. Unbelievably hardy, totally disease-free, always with unbelievable amounts of cupped blooms, never flat like "Knockout" (and I have both side-by-side) in one bed. About eight colours available, just a winner, period!

I grow Ilse Krohn Superior here in AZ; and I was wowed by it when I saw it growing in a park in NJ. The flowers are not huge, but the form is totally gorgeous: nicely reflexed with pointy tips. There's a hint of fragrance. The plant is easy enough to keep in bounds even though it is quite vigorous. (Palatine)

Thanks for the suggestions I'm compiling a list based on them. I'd also like to try some container roses. My idea is to keep some of them on the deck and perhaps put some of them in the ground if I think they'll work out well enough. Iv'e never tried container roses I hope I get them to survive the winter!

Steve, I did have Cherry Parfait and it was healthy and very pretty, but in it's second year it was the only rose that succumbed to a spring frost and the only one that has ever perished although it's noted to be very hardy and strong in many climates. Playboy sounds like an option, thank you.

Margie, thank you, I tried to order from Regan before and I tried to figure out their shipping periods, seems they're closed as of now until 2019. Roses are sentimental to me too because I grew up with them. The grandest was an absolutely gorgeous red climber that went all the way up the house to the second floor window. However, I was never interested in gardening myself , but when my grandfather passed away I wanted to keep the yard up. It was a big yard with bushes, trees, and of course roses and other plants. Working over there is what actually got me interested. I marvel how clean everything was including the grass, he did it all on his own and I found it to be a struggle and challenging! I figured I had an 'edge' having the net but I still couldn't master what he did by himself and in such a large space. But it's worth the challenge and I truly enjoy it.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions! I'd like to narrow it down to at least 3 roses from my list below:

South Africa
Brass Band
Rainbow Sorbet
Playboy
Betty Boop
Electron
Music Box
Sheila's perfume
Sunset Celebration
Yabba Dabba Doo
Colorific (a rose I had in mind)

I grow Colorific here.I find it to be reasonably vigorous and capable of putting on a unique show of color; but I do find it to be among the more disease prone roses in my garden. I simply cannot get Sheila's Perfume to grow here. I failed in NJ with Betty Boop and Sunset Celebration, but I can imagine that better gardeners would have different experiences. FWIW.

If I were starting a garden in the NE, I'd go for South Africa, Playboy, and either Brass Band or Electron.

BTW, I'd love to grow a whole bed of Brass Band roses. I'd go to some bother to create a good space for them... Are they available right now?

Steve812 said:

BTW, I'd love to grow a whole bed of Brass Band roses. I'd go to some bother to create a good space for them... Are they available right now?

Steve, I obtained my own root Brass Band rose from Rogue Valley Roses. I was on their waiting list for only a couple of months when they notified me a plant was available.

Steve, Roses Unlimited has it listed in it's catalog.

I think I'll go with Playboy, Rainbow Sorbet and South Africa. Jackson and Perkins sells South Africa in a 1 gallon. I also have my eye on Day Breaker. Thank you!

Good Luck, Mari!

P.S. I've had excellent results with Day Breaker.

I live in Zone 7b Chillicothe Texas---dry hot summers
Knock Out RadRazz (the original) is GREAT.
Every Feb, I use hedge clippers on it (gasp!) and it performs beautifully.
Old Blush is also a wonderful performer here.

I grew Old Blush when I lived in Austin, TX and I loved it.

I have Double Delight in my garden that is super. It's low growing about 4' tall and is one of the fullest disease resistant roses in my garden.