I can highly recommend James Galway, an Austin pink climber. This is my first year and it already had to be tied to the railing as one stem is about 5' high. It has loads of flowers, reblooms, great scent, very few thorns and is packed with petals.

It's a real winner in my garden. It also happens to be on Heriloom Roses list of shade tolerant roses (see link below.)

Here is a link that might be useful: heirloom roses list of shade tolerant roses

I believe that it's Madame Alfred Carriere that's happily swallowing a half-shaded garden shed in my front yard, and as far as I know she's never been sprayed.

Hello again, and thanks for the input. Now that it's January, and the garden catalogs are arriving [in droves!] I'm once again thinking about the fence......
view1ny, thanks for the input and the link. I checked it out and really like the website. James Galway does sound like a winner, and I love the Austin roses. How is yours doing this winter? Here, I have lost several roses because of our freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw type of winters. At least, that's what our extension agent and local greenhouse people seem to think. [They break dormancy before they really should.] I've resorted to buying only roses grown on their own roots. I will try to find some own root James Galway roses. I'll need to check the Heirloom Roses website again, it's been awhile.
chickenfreak, does Madame Alfred Carriere have a lot of thorns........and is it fragrant? I really like the OGR's, although I'd prefer some that rebloom along the fence.
Another older variety that I'm considering is Pearl d'or. Has anyone grown that one and would it do well in the hot humid conditions of the Mid Atlantic?
I'm beginning to think about planting an entire border along the fence with a mixture, instead of a single variety, but it would absolutely have to be low maintainence varieties. Watering and composting/mulching are completely reasonable, spraying every other day and constantly fussing are not, especially with that many. I like to enjoy my yard/garden, not be a slave to it!
Thanks for the input!

You should investigate hybrid musk roses, they're shade tolerant and many are remarkably fragrant. Some of the early ones developed by Joseph Pemberton are more susceptible to BS, but others I grow are near-bulletproof, including Buff Beauty, the found HM "Darwin's Enigma" (famous for its fragrance), Ballerina. A wonderfully useful class of roses. You can check out the disease ratings of different cultivars at helpmefind.com/roses

Thanks, SpiderLily!
If Buff Beauty is near-bulletproof, she's worth considering. [Unfortunately, some of the modern disease resistant roses tend to bore me with their typical lack of form and fragrance!] How does this rose do for cutting?
I'm still waiting for some things to get done here in our yard, so that area may not get planted until fall.
I've also been considering Perle D'Or, [looks like the coloring is similar] but I'm not sure it would do as well in a partly shaded location.

Sorry I didn't see your reply earlier, posyplanter. BB's blooms form in heavy trusses, which are magnificent in a large vase. Individual blooms have short necks; ypu'd need to use an old-fashioned vase designed for OGRs or nestle them around the base of an arrangement so the cut ends reach the water. I also have Perle d'Or and she's doing very well for me in a position that gets only morning sun--but bear in mind our sun is more intense down here in south Louisiana.

I have a shady garden and Austin roses love it here. Check out Kim Rupert's Lynnie in HMF. Lynnie is a non-stop blooming, thornless and shade-tolerant rose. It's hardy in my zone 5a.