Ingrid, I have no doubt it will be lush soon, especially with your newly installed drip irrigation. I can see differences in the pictures, particularly with Blush Noisette and Aloha scrambling up that wall. Why did you remove Mutabilis? I'm sure you've said, but I don't remember.

The goldenish glow in the 3rd photo of your triangle bed is lovely.

What do you think of Barronne H de S? I have mulled over getting her over the years. Though probably I will finally get Mme Antoine Mari, if Mme Berkeley fails to perform. She's grown to over 4' in as many months, and is trying to put on a second flush, but I'm not enamoured as yet. I'm trying to be patient, though, as in another thread, Luxrosa says she's one of her 3 favourites. And as she lists Mrs DC as another, I feel I should see what happens........

I may have mentioned previously, that I've installed weeping hoses. Not as good as drip irrigation I expect, but as they have a layer of mulch on top, they should be fairly efficient. Much harder to get a good coverage though. And that mulch just seems to disappear overnight - I hope due to worms, but at the rate it goes, that seems unlikely!

Trish, Mutabilis was really too large for that spot, and with its back to the wall it mildewed quite often, and there was more and more dead wood underneath, with an increasingly thinner canopy of leaves and flowers on top. Some years ago I cut it back and cleaned up all the dead parts, but now I'm no longer able to handle that. I hope that with time Blush Noisette, Duchesse de Brabant and Aloha will put on a nice show, and three smaller roses seem easier to handle (I hope).

Baronne Henriette de Snoy has beautiful foliage but is a slow grower for me with just one bud showing a little color, and I'm beginning to lose hope it will ever open. I'll talk about it next spring, assuming there's much to say.

I'll be curious to see what your Madame Berkeley's final fate will be. It seems quite vigorous for you, and I would wait a while before you make a final decision. Sometimes tea roses can improve drastically.

I've been told repeatedly that I don't have drip irrigation but rather what one Australian told me was spaghetti hoses. These are very thin hoses, cut to the length you need to reach each individual plant, which are inserted into the thick main hose. You get a tiny stream of water, and for big roses you would put in two or three for more even coverage. It was the simplest thing to put together and it seems to work fine. I hope the soaker hoses work for you; I know they do for other people.

I love hearing about your evolving garden, Ingrid. Your stone and site are spectacular and the garden is so interesting with your companion plants. This is all giving me hope for your garden and mine. I love the naturalistic design.

That's going to look lovely. You have a very challenging landscape, but you make the most of it.

I'm looking forward the the spring "resurrection" of your refurbished gardens. I'm sure they will be lovely.

Sometimes our gardens need a re-do--livens things up and we finally get around to moving that bush that we never did like over there--much better over here! Aha!

Kinda like periodically going to the beauty salon and coming out with a brand-new "look"--kinda fun! : )

Kate

Your encouraging words mean a lot to me. Sometimes the process seems so painfully slow, but looking at the triangular bed I do see change. I also have a small bed against the dining room wall but progress there is incredibly slow since at this time of the year it has almost no sun. I do have a single bloom of Heirloom there, the only thing to bloom there in months, but the bed also contains La France, Annie Laurie McDowell and Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux, so I'm hopeful of spring improvements. The area in back of the house is so awful compared to how it's been in the past that I don't have the heart to show it. Three teeny bands have been planted there, Jesse Hildreth, Deanna Krause and Maggie, and a somewhat older Madame Lambard has given me two flowers that were hidden when I was disbudding. This area will not be wonderful come spring but I'm practicing patience!

My single Heirloom bloom. It's frustrating to me that my camera does not correctly pick up purple tones. I even tried another camera, to no avail.

Just for fun, yesterday's little arrangement. Mrs. B.R. Cant bud on the left, Belinda's Dream in front, Rosette Delizy, Mme. de Sombreuil on the right and Madame Lambard hiding in the back.

Ingrid, as usual, there was plenty of "aha!" for us, even though you don't seem to realize what a beautiful garden you truly have ;) Keep the progress reports coming (especially since winter is likely to be dreary and gloomy here).

John

I agree you, John. Ingrid, I think your yard is so lovely. Absolutely beautiful! I love seeing it in all seasons!