Rose bush in the mail!

Someone recently gifted us with a rose bush a few days ago which arrived in a box in the mail (it amazes me that plants can be sent in the mail). The instructions said to immediately let it soak in water for 12-24 hours. Coincidentally, I had plenty of options for doing this as I already had bins and buckets outside catching the water that overflows out of our faulty gutters!

Rose bush soaking in rain water.

I let it soak for what turned out to be 36 hours or so (directions said 12-24 hours) before I could call them and ask what to do after that, but before planting. They said to stop soaking it and just keep the roots wet and that we'd have up to 2 weeks to plant it. So, it is now sitting next to the bin with the roots wrapped in wet paper towels until we decide where to plant it.

And that is the big question, and the big struggle for me entering this growing season. I don't know in the slightest how to plan a garden. Part of the problem is that I don't know what areas of the yard get the most light. That would at least help to narrow the options for this bush, but in general, I don't have the knowledge or vision to plan a garden. In any case, I must make a decision soon.

I have a few ideas. The rose bush needs 4-6 hours of sun, so I can easily rule out the backyard and sides based on that. It also grows to 3'6" wide and 5'6" tall. That really narrows it to these two locations to the left or right of the front step:

Two placement options for the rose bush.

On the right is some sort of holly bush and on the left is what looks like it might be a creeping juniper or some type of low evergreen plant, so one of these would need to go. I wouldn't be opposed to removing either of them as neither of them look that great, but they aren't too bad either. We are leaning toward replacing the holly bush with it, though, as I think it will have a similar shape. However, the other side likely gets more sun, but perhaps not significantly much more.

Weather permitting, I'll be taking on this project this Sunday.