No I do not like my zone. The winter is too long and too cold. I am not a cold-weather person.

Summers are fantastic, and I live only about a mile from the sea. But both fall and spring are too short.

Believe it or not, I really like it here in zone 4. Oh, don't get me wrong - I do get rose envy, esp. when it comes to climbers - but I really like winter and I love our cooler summers. I can't take heat at all (Florida is my worst nightmare.) My DH would like to move south, but I've never been anywhere in this great country that I love as much as northern Michigan. I think it's wonderful that most posters to this thread are indicating that they are happy right where they are! (And to those who are not, I certainly hope the future brings you what you wish for.)

Anne

Yes, I really like where I am. Any further south and the winters are too cold; any further south and the summers are too hot. I lived in PA for 3 years, and although I loved all of the snow (the wildflowers were unbelievable), I couldn't wait to get back here. In May the temps were still only in the '50's. What kind of a May is that? lol I couldn't get used to it, I expected warm and balmy weather in May.

What I like best about this zone is that there is no down time. In the NC piedmont there is something in bloom year round. Even when the weather gets very hot here, I can always get up early or work at dusk or stay in the shade.

Patrick the Ireland like weather is restricted to the coastline in Mendocino County. My friends there can have a bit of trouble with their roses. Here 20 miles inland we have more warmth. The fog will come to visit us many mornings in the spring and a few days in the summer to cool us off after a heat spell. At 1800 feet we get enough winter chill and a better summer climate than the Ukiah Valley. Personally I prefer the fresh coast but my roses love this climate.

Well I felt like Boston summers were too hot and humid for me so you can only imagine here in MidSouth. The Summers are long and excrutiating. Also I feel like it is not enough of a trade-off, as there is still a chilly Winter.

I always love snow but as I get older, I can't imagine being of retirement age in many years and dealing with cold and snow. I would love to be one of those 2 property people with a Summer place or a Winter place to go. But who would take care of the garden?

I'm with Veilchen...have lived most of my life in central New York State...moved to Texas for 7 years (in the early '80's), then came back here because family lived here

I love changing seasons, but our winters are way too long. I could handle 2 months of snow, but get so tired of it after January.

My husband has to work outside in the elements for 12 hours at a time all year long, and I'd rather see him come home a little sunburned and able to walk through the gardens for relaxation, than chilled to the bone and then have to shovel the driveway (if I haven't gotten to it first). The older he gets, the more he detests winter!

:0) Phyl

What I have right now is pretty nice. Here in the Bay Area we have a warm dry summer and a cool, rainy, cloudy winter. At least that is what we hope for. Some winters it gets cool and cloudy but the rains fail us. I like the warm dry summers but I wish we had a more reliable rain, and would be willing to pay for it with a bit more cold in winter. Not too much, mind you. I would not be pleased with the snowy blizzards and below zero temperatures I grew up with in western Pennsylvania.

I dream of moving a bit north, perhaps somewhere further north in California or maybe to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I once considered Washington State, and have a daughter living there, but wonder if I could tolerate the long, dark winters. Of course it gets gloomy in winter here, too, but we get bright days now and then to cheer us up.

Rosefolly

I have lived alot of places in my life. I have done the deep south, Florida, SF bay area, South west Kentucky(loved it there) Long Island, Even England north of London and too many other places to list, but it was the PNW I came back to when I had a choice. I also like 4 seasons which are fairly evenly divided here. We seldom get too much of anything. I miss those Appalachian springs-so like the ones in England-it smells like things are growing...but the winters....Well we do get too much rain in the spring..just when everything is in full bloom it starts to rain and there goes the spring bloom again. There is something everywhere. It is dark in the winter but that is when you update your lists and read. I could wish for a little more heat in summer a little earlier so Teas would grow here like they do down in the Seattle area. Oh well....

patricia

I like Sacramento, zone 9a, except for the triple-digit temps in the summer. No matter how dry the heat, it's still too much. The only other thing I really don't like is the winter's ground fog, which used to hide the sun and cancel airplane flights for weeks on end. It is less now that much of the valley is paved over. We get Delta breezes that cool most summer evenings to the 60s, and blue morning skies that lift my heart. I wouldn't be happy living where it's overcast, rainy or foggy most of the time. We have to scrape ice off the cars sometimes, and have frost and occasional hard freezes, which I don't mind. Have never had real winter damage on any roses, including rooted cuttings.

This is rose heaven. Few diseases, chilly enough for OGRs, mild enough for Asian roses and climbers, no Japanese beetles, no RRD. Good water (melted Sierra snow), good river bottom soil in my part of town. I started out growing roses just because they were so easy, and that's still one main reason that I have them in my garden.

I'm not surprised that most of us like our climate zone. As gardeners, we know the value of blooming where we're planted!
Anita

I like our zone too, as we get the benefit of 4 fairly distinct seasons (in my particular spot, there's less winter in the surrounding areas that I get here), and generally a decent enough amount of rain in winter. It's cold enough that all roses get enough winter chill, yet not so cold that any are damaged in winter. It's cold enough for lilacs, peonies (and my long-wished for plant, blue poppies that both bloomed for me this past year), yet we easily grow camellias. It is a little too cold for some south African natives, or in fact, many of the flowering plants native to southern California or any citrus, but I can live with that. We probably average around 90-100 nights of frost, with at least a few in the low 20s or upper teens, so I guess that makes our zone typically 8b or 9a (8b is safer to assume, it was 20° F. this morning when I checked). We only rarely get snow, apparently about as often as we ever got it in Texas where I used to live. I've lived in SE Texas, central Tennessee, central Florida, southern California, central valley California, and now northern California, and I prefer this climate the best.

But, as Anita says, we gardeners are pretty good at blooming where we're planted.

--Ron

I love central Illinois except from November-March, so I guess that pretty much makes it 50/50. The gardening season is waaay too short for me.... especially competing with the dumb JBs for rose blossoms. Just as the roses are looking their best and looking full and pretty, it's September and sometimes we have our first frost.

Being in Zone 5 means I'm able to grow a lot of plants that don't do well in warmer climates such as hostas, heucheras, tulips, etc. So there are some advantages, I guess.

A big advantage (at least to me) is that a cold winter means a lot of bugs die off and there aren't any poisonous snakes here. A good thing since I have a BIG SNAKE phobia. DH and I have talked about where to retire and that's a big consideration .... bugs and snakes. Shudder!!

Terry

If I did get that slightly cooler and much rainier winter climate I want, I would have a little attached greenhouse for potted dwarf citrus. I'm really spoiled by having lemons half the year, and all the oranges and kumquats I can eat right off the tree all year round. That is a really nice feature, and one I would miss. Thank you for reminding me of that, Ron.

Rosefolly

Love the way the consistently moderate-to-cool weather brings out the color in the roses. Hate the not-enough-heat for SDLM summers (struggling to grow her anyway.)

Colleen

I love, love, LOVE spring, summer and fall here in central New Jersey. Spring and fall are just plain glorious. Summer is beach-fantastic - hot but usually not too humid. Winter here is kind of a misnomer. We do get some Canadian cold snaps and Nor'easters that blow through, but the snow just doesn't stick for long. Sometimes it seems more like the rainy, grey, muddy season than a real winter. I shouldn't complain though. We do get some snow, so for a few days of the year we do have that whole winter wonderland feeling. And plants definitely appreciate this climate.
Lisa

Climate zones I have known and loved;
I lived in Seattle for years and liked the rain, spent summer vacations in B.C. and Alberta , Canada. Went 3 times to England, Loved London til my visas ran out. ( can't travel yet, I've been in the hospital, so getting a pink Mohawk to celebrate the 2008 New Year) As a child my family nearly moved to Australia, had visas et cet. Dad's illness stopped that, 2 months before we were to leave, but I came close to being an Aussie. Roses all year, someday I might go there.
LIved in San Francisco, now in Emeryville across the Bay.
This week of the New Year, "Marie Pavie" is in full bloom as well as "Mutabilis" "Ducher" and "Angels Camp Tea" (which blooms as often as a China).
If I could live wherever I wanted I'd spend spring in S.W. Canada,( and grow H.P.s and wild roses) summers in London and Scotland,( Scotch Burnets) and winters in N.California ( just about all rose classes) India was too hot for me, I like warm summers and cool winters, though I do miss a few weeks of snow each year.

Luxrosa

I LOVE very much where I live! It can be a little rainy but that's what makes it so lush and beautiful here.
We are sometimes compared to England's climate.
The coloring the roses get in our weather is amazing! :o)

I'm originally from the SF Bay Area which is a wonderful climate as well.

I'm going to come down on the side of yes. I can't imagine living without a change of seasons, and summer is usually comfortable here, spring is GLORIOUS, and fall is breathtakingly beautiful with the changing leaves. Winter is the only sticking point. I really don't mind snow, and now that we have a snowblower, it's even less of a pain, but winter just lasts a month or two too long for me. The upside of the cold, though, as Terryjean said, is no cockroaches, or poisonous snakes. The fact that 100% of both of our families are within 30 miles of us (and some a lot closer than that) is the factor that tips me over into a yes.

I just don't miss the cold.My sil sent picture post card photos of her NH home. NO, not tempted. Here I sit, roses 9 months is just fine with me. I grew up in Spokane--oh so cold in winter--frozen pipes, snowplows,icy roads, frostbite etc. Lived in Portland--dark and rainy way too long-so green and beautiful. I like it here.
la

I live in the Central Texas hill country. We had our 500 year floods in '07 and didn't have to water which is a switch. We normally don't get a frost until after Thanksgiving and gets hot again in March. And snow, what's that? Most of my roses are still blooming. Most years it barely freezes and the grasshoppers are terrible but other than that I hardly have any pests. And poisonous snakes, I've lived here for 25 years and have only seen and killed two rattlesnakes on this rocky hillside (bluff).
Most summers get and stay in the triple digits but I only have to water once a week, sometimes ever five days. Add horse manure and mulch and you can grow just about anything. I really like it here.

I sometimes whine about not being able to grow peonies, and whine about it being really hot during the summer here.
But the truth is, I despise cold weather and never want to live any further north than where I am. I love our winters here. The only climate in North America that I would prefer over where I am is California ... every season I've visited there, I have seen near perfect weather.

Randy

Randy, I'm curious. What part of California would you want to be in? Having been in 4 distinct California climates, I know they're all quite different (2 in the LA area were as different as can be).

--Ron

I've lived where it was colder (Nebraska and Oklahoma) and I've lived where it was a lot warmer (Georgia and Florida) and I have to say that I prefer the more temperant zones I've lived in during the last 20 years (TN and NC - zones 7a and 7b respectively). Long growing seasons, springs that with an almost overabundance of bloom, incredible falls and short, mild winters. You can grow so much stuff here, its in many ways a gardner's paradise, good enough to make up for the end of the season swelters (mid July through August). I use that as down time and do stuff indoors - enjoy the garden in the early morning.

Ron,

I'm not Randy but I have given your particular question some thought. If I lived in Northern Califoria it would be on a cliff perched over the Pacific, somewhere close to Mendocino and far away from the city traffic. In such a place I could grow English cottage flowers to perfection (i.e. delphiniums, etc.). I'm Irish, so the damp isn't an issue.

Someplace like this (pay particular attention to the private beach and island, not to mention the mountainous backdrop, sigh ... only in my dreams),

{{gwi:208503}}

Ron, I loved what I saw in San Diego during visits there. Just perfect.
It's a little too crowded for me in the LA area, but the weather seemed pretty nice there too when I've visited.
I've never been to northern California, but hope to some day ... especially if I can see some scenery such as what Patrick posted above.

Randy

Patrick, I completely concur with your view of the ideal California climate. And, that picture looks just like up in Mendocino county. No place in Mendocino county is overly crowded, and personally I think it is the most beautiful county in California (even nicer than my own beloved county, Sonoma), and like you, the damp doesn't bother me at all (Scottish background and all that for me). And, coastal Mendocino does let you grow great flowers of all sorts, as it does here in my own place. Much of California can have delphiniums as perennial (they definitely are here in Sonoma county), as well as peonies, poppies, etc.

Randy, San Diego has truly wonderful weather, in fact, one of my aunts (who lives in Arkansas), always checks the San Diego weather as she considers it the best in the world (she's been there many times and would like to live there). My problem with Socal is just the lack of rain, they get droughts just too often for me. Even the bad droughts in California didn't have such a drastic effect up here starting in Sonoma county and going north (Marin, the county just south of us, did suffer badly from what I understand).

This is a very interesting and fun discussion. I'm think I'm going to take Paula's suggestion and put some smaller potted citrus in our greenhouse. I've considered putting a satsuma next to the house, since they're the hardiest of the sweet citrus.

--Ron

Yep I like zone 7 Cold enough for lilac, peonies and many bulbs warm enough for all roses and climber with little or no die back. I remember it reaching near zero a couple of times in my life but it's a rareity here,

There are payoffs and drawbacks for each place, aren't there? I absolutely love my climate. Copious amounts of rain, 75 degree days in the middle of the winter, insane amounts of humidity which is good for the hair and skin, Spanish moss and magnolias, sultry summer nights that are the things of which good southern novels are written, and almost year-round gardening with just a month or two that you can rest if you would like...yes, I love it.

The weather forecast provides dire warnings California both north and south is going to get pasted this weekend by winter. Good luck and batten down the hatches ... 240 km / winds ???

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A fierce arctic storm lashed California on Friday, toppling trees, soaking a coastal landscape already charred by wildfires and threatening to paralyze the mountains with deep snow.

The northern half of the state was being hit with heavy rain and winds of up to 135 kilometres an hour wind, while heavy snow fell in the Sierra Nevada, said Andrew Rorke of the U.S. National Weather Service.

In Southern California, the storm was gathering strength off the coast and was expected to strike the region by mid-afternoon, Rorke said.

"We're watching it really blossom on satellite," he said.

Homeowners rushed to stack sandbags around houses lying below fire-ravaged hillsides in Southern California.

Those in Northern California residents - like those along the Gulf Coast before a hurricane - scurried to stock up on last-minute provisions.

We have battened down every hatch in Sacramento, and are watching an incredible rainstorm. I have done all that I can to clear rain gutters, make sure that the street storm drains are open (my street tends to flood), and cut back some of my tall roses and tied the overgrown climbers into place. We have a row of flashlights at the ready in case the power goes out. They say this is the storm of the decade. In years past, we've had storms carrying more rain, but the combination of wind and rain is awesome.

We're wondering about the 130+ year old elm trees in the cemetery, and its tall roses and rebar structures. Whatever damage is going to occur, can't be helped.

I still like my climate zone - but this is not a day in Paradise! I pray for the people in danger of landslides, and for people who have to travel today.
Anita

This is a great question, i've been thinking about it lately as well. I also love my 4 seasons, and so many of the roses and other plants that need a winter-dormant period. I, myself, need a winter-dormant period :) But I get rose envy as well - there are some beautiful teas that I wish I could grow, some climbers. I see photos of how large and lush the roses get down south and I just wish . . . I think ideal conditions would be zone 6B or northern zone 7 - cool enough to grow some gallicas and winter plants, and warm enough to get some teas and large climbers in.

Then again, I protected the hell out of my Celine Forestier this winter and if she survives, I'll be trying some other zone-pushing roses as well!

Sometimes I miss the snow in Upstate NY, but not enough to go back to several months of absolute gloom. A visit here and there usually satifies my cravings.

I suppose we all at some time or another think another area is "better". Sometimes it is, but usually it's just the wanderlust that's in most of us. Most of the time I really enjoy Florida. Our winters are glorious. We can grow so many things that would do marginally well, or not at all, somewhere else. Summers can be tough for outdoor work, but that's when we should just go swimming. I need to remind myself of that when I start whining next summer. As far as cockroaches and poison snakes go, I had more bugs to deal with living in the country in Upstate NY, though we didn't have any poisonous snakes. If you keep your home clean down here, and have a couple of cats in the house, bugs are no problem at all. The only roaches I see are in my mulch in the rose beds. They really are no more disgusting than a large beetle is, BUT, they are not in my food, either. I've learned what the poisonous snakes look like, and I've only seen them on some of the bicycle trails I ride on, usually sunning themselves. They don't like us anymore than we like them, and as long as some respect is payed, there is no issue. I DO wear gardening gloves and closed shoes when puttering in the yard though.

I suppose my "ideal" place might be in the vicinity of the Smokey mountains. I LOVE the mountains. Any mountains. We toy with the idea, but we've put down so many roots, and I've poured so much love into my home and yard, that the thought of leaving it is not appealing. I guess I'm blooming where I planted myself. I just wish more of my family were nearby.

Sandy

Yes

Oh, I could never live where there are poisonous or rattle snakes "puttering" around -- ack -- another reason i'm mainly happy where I am and would only move about a zone south. I am in absolute awe of those of you who can/will/have the guts to shoot a rattlesnake with a shotgun. I can't even imagine it. I get shivers just thinking about coming face to face with a dangerous snake. Or any snake, come to think of it. I am most impressed, as I could never do that!

Cziga, I fully agree with sandy808 in her comments about snakes. Shooting them with a gun doesn't take any courage and is very unfair to an animal that is only trying to survive like any other living creature. There have been quite a few times when my former husband and I captured rattlesnakes that we found on our property and transported them to a wild area nearby that had no houses. I wouldn't encourage anyone else to do this and it probably isn't even necessary since most snakes are great travelers and you'll almost never see them in the same spot twice. I'm not trying to make light of your fear of snakes, but perhaps it will help you to think of them as creatures who want nothing more than to be left alone to live their lives, and who have been persecuted mercilessly, largely because of their appearance, over which they have no control.

Regards,

Ingrid

I've lived in the south almost my whole life, and I've never been bitten by a snake.
But freezing cold weather would bite me every day, all day, all winter long.

Randy

Randy, that's exactly what I was thinking. As snakes go, I'm all for live-and-let-live...until I have a cottonmouth on my patio and a two-year-old that plays in the yard. Yeah, he had to go, and a hoe did a pretty good job.

Flat shovels work nicely too ... or so I'm told :-)

Randy

Every area has some sort of wildlife that could prove dangerous if not handled properly and with the respect they deserve. They all have a positive purpose of one thing or another in nature, and help keep things balanced. Well, on second thought, I haven't thought of a purpose that mosquitoes have been given, except to drive anything with a bloodstream nuts.

However, I'm with redbirds on the issue of a dangerous snake where her family is trying to play. If a person is not trained in how to capture such a creature, then you have to draw the line and make sure your home is safe. A choice between a human life and an animal is a no-brainer.

I've had to educate my neighbors to leave the black snakes alone. They don't harm anyone. I've watched these snakes go after rodents and all sorts of bugs. They sure keep things cleaned up of what I consider "undesireables". I was kind of annoyed when I watched one slither through my camellias eating all my banana spiders though.

The diversity of the weather and the wildlife is what makes this country so fascinating. I wish I could divide myself and live all over the place. Think of the variety of roses we could grow!

Sandy

I love four distinct seasons, and they don't get much more distinct than around here! So yes, 5 is the zone for me and my gallicas (and DAs and Bourbons and Albas). Having said that though, thanks Molineaux for the, for me, nostalgic description of DC area weather. I grew up in Alexandra, VA and can still smell the yellow climber that my dad trained up the chimney on the south wall of our house. It's probably that fragrance that is responsible for my present rose obsession. The smell acts on me the way the taste of the madaleine and tea acted on Proust.

Riku, as for the Northern California weather, I think the storms must have come during a news lull, because it was really hyped up. Yes, there was wind damage, and yes there were power outages, and yes landslides were a genuine concern, though I think people were lucky this time. But the truth is, that rain was desperately needed and universally welcomed. Last year northern California had a drought, and southern California has had one for the past two years.

Rosefolly

Rosefolly, I agree that the news exaggerates things, sometimes.
The rain in Southern California was most welcome and for the
most part, we're normal rainstorms. It was being billed as the
biggest storms of the last three years.

Even the wildfires, as bad as they we're this time, did not
mean all of So. Cal was on fire. The national media, made it
seem like there was nowhere to run. Only 3000 homes we're
threatened, bad yes, but there are a million homes in this part
of the state. Most people, do not live in the canyons that are
most at risk. I am not judging where people live and I hope
this threat does not happen again, anytime soon, just making
a point of the media, not putting things into perspective.

The problem I have is I go stir crazy November-Mid March.
I love the spring summer and fall here in wisconsin but after all you can only order only so many roses.
I do like the fact that I can grow other roses that others can not and I can and do push the zones by planting in pots and winterizing in a big hole in the back yard.
I have tried lots of crazy things during the winter time like growing roses inside and hydroponic rose growing in my basement.
All can be done if you really want to.

This winter I decided to take a break but that may not last long,I just may be starting some bare root roses soon in my basement.

Stan C

:::Flat shovels work nicely too ... or so I'm told :-) :::

I used a snow shovel on a copperhead once...worked just fine.

I know I'm late coming in on this one but I love the weather where I am now. I grew up in the NY/NJ area and hated the long, gray winters. Sure it gets hot down here during the summer (this past August was miserable) but I'd rather that than ice and dirty snow.

But with that said I don't think I'd move any farther south. Florida is just too hot for my taste. I nearly melted once in Tampa during September.

The thing I particularly like is that I never have to consider the hardiness of a rose...if I like it I plant it. No such thing as winter protection. We had fresh cut roses in the house for Thanksgiving.

Carole

I believe I live in Rose heaven, but not having lived anywhere else, I can only guess. I do hate the long dark wet winters, but would really hate it if it was colder or snowed all the time. And the showery springs, glorious summers and long warm dry autumns make up for the winter. I wish it was over now....I am ready to get out there and dig, and the soil is mush after all this rain. Oh well, spring will come. I have enjoyed reading about all your climates.
Kathy

Having grown up on the coast in northern California with fog all summer and rain all winter I am very happy here with our winters that are really winters and our cool dry summers. I also enjoy the challenge of growing roses here and donÂt know what I would do if I had to face the unlimited choices that you in the south have. I have memories of helping my grandmother prune a monstrous white rambler that tried to take over the garden a couple of times a year. That is a problem that I will never have here. Then where else would I have such a view from my kitchen window. That is 'Therese Bugnet' in the front and 'Louis Riel'in the back.
Leo

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:327942}}

Leo, beautiful woods picture. Although we have a lot of taupe in the winter here in NC, mediated by all of the pine trees, we've had so much sun and warmth this winter that it's lovely. Not good for drought conditions though.

Molineux, I have to tell you how much I have been enjoying the picture you posted of the coast near Mendocino. I had fogotten just how beautiful it is. I don't think I could live there because Highway 1 has some (for me) really, really scary curves, especially around Jenner. But it really is a most beautiful place, and I thank you for reminding me of that.

Rosefolly

Molineux - I love living in California, though like you, I would prefer being closer to the coast. I sometimes tire of the intense summer heat here in the Sacramento valley. The roses just stop in July and August and the blooms that manage to open usually fry by the end of the day. Even so, I'm grateful for no longer living in snow country. I used to be a Minnesota girl.

I'm sorry to tell you that delphiniums are a challenge here. The snails and slugs just love 'em and I've given up on the constant baiting. There are enough plants to choose from that they don't devour...

BettyN

I am not overly thrilled with the climate here at all. We do have 4 distinct seasons, but they don't always occur in the same order. The weather here is really quite fickle. Spring and fall can be quite nice if we don't have an extra winter thrown into the middle of them with freak storms. Summer is beastly hot most of the time. We did have one really nice year, 2004. It was ideal. We had good rain and moderate temperatures all spring and summer and into fall. I wish we had more like that. But, we are out here in tornado alley with some wild storms from time to time. If you are a weather watcher you don't have to go too far to find some. It can be interesting; I wish I had pictures. I would rather live in western Washington or Oregon. It is easier to grow things there than here.

leo_prairie_view, I was curious where you are that you would say "our winters that are really winters", so I peaked at your bio. MANITOBA!!! ZONE 2B!!! Your winter wonderland is beautiful but... not for me!

Snow and icy cold is long ago and far away for me. Being one who shivers in August eating ice cream, I like my climate just fine. The seasons change here ... a little ... enough. I'm just greedy and spoiled. I like beautiful ALL the time. And I just recently discovered winter gardening when we can grow things like hollyhocks and larkspur that would melt in the hot months. We have wonderful gullywashers and thunderboomers that shake the house regularly from June through October (but not so much this year.) We are mostly green most of the year. February is our dreariest month but don't tell the snowbirds. The bad part of winter is losing daylight savings time when it gets dark at 6pm. It's awful to have to go in while the temperature is so nice. My DH just moved our lamp post from the front to the back yard, so now I can garden under the lights! (Haven't yet though.) But the days are getting longer. It's light till 6:15 now! Did I say I like green? I love everything to be green - evergreen and not just pine trees. I love my Chinas and Teas, and though I never thought about climbers being a problem is colder areas, I will love having big, blooming climbers (they haven't arrived yet.) It's amazing how MANY classes of roses we CAN'T grow here! But until this year I didn't know we could grow ANY! Thanks to this Forum I have a rose garden that will bloom practically year round. I never paid much attention to roses and plants up in SW Conn. But now it looks so strange and even shocking to see photos of leafless rose bushes and bare twigs wrapped around arbors in snowy winter scenes. It's amazing what longitude and latitude does and how what grows in a place can thrive in that place because it's adapted perfectly. That way we can ALL like our climate because we adapt, too. We can't complain too much about what we can't grow because we're busy growing what we CAN grow.

Once you get used to the heat, it's not too bad. And mid-October is wonderful when the humidity just goes away ...

Sherry