When I was decided what orangy rose to use in the front yard it was a toss up between Lady Emma or Lady of Shallot . I really went back and forth between the two but in the end chose Lady of Shallot. I guess that I made the right choice.

Sometimes roses just don't work out and sometimes they get the pot and sometimes they get the shovel.

Kristine !!!! Yes !! Lady emma is getting a second chance I hear she performs better in pots so now she can be potted so I can smell her . In her spot I putt a second PAOK next to PAOK for major impact I love that rose color ....

Kenneth, that’s a gorgeous picture.

Jim, Happy Belated Birthday, so glad things are looking up for you.

I agree with Seil, I’m ready for spring too!

I’m not a pet owner, that’s by choice. Not because I dislike them, I’ve never thought I could devote the time needed to properly care for them, I do enjoy everyone showing theirs though.

I was so happy for my nephew, he lost his beloved dog about six months ago that had a cancerous tumor on its heart and recently adopted one from the Houston SPCA, a Lab/Australian Cattle Dog. He named him Doby. Those ears are something else!

Super cute doggie!

Kenneth, wow!! What a fabulous bloom. Isnt that color something else!

Do you grow Boscobel ? I have that one coming. Just wondering how it does for you if you grow it

Kristine, Lady of Shalott is a lovely rose, it must do good for you. I love the blooms, but mine isn’t overly vigorous, neither is Darcey Bussell, which is planted close by. I’ll be glad when I figure those Austins out, so far I’ve been pleased with Munstead Wood. I do hope I’ll be pleased with the ones I ordered for 2020.

Sara Ann everything you grow is perfection! I bet your Austins will do well for you

My Darcy is doing ok, by no means my favorite rose

My Lady of Shalott looks great, at least plant wise. One of the few that stayed evergreen here with nice healthy leaves. A lot tried to stay evergreen but looked like crap.

My main concern with this one is that her color will be too vibrant for her location and that I will be disappointed with her fragrance.

That’s a cute pup, Sara Ann. I’m glad your nephew has a buddy again.

That PAOK is so beautiful, Kenneth! I wish I had the space for more roses, but my rose buying days are pretty much over. I’m all full up.

I meant to post a picture or two of the kids from Friday. Lilyfinch has two very well behaved kids! They really were no trouble at all, and we shopped much longer than we had planned.

Lucia was my little shopping buddy.

He’s growing so fast! (Plus, look at all the roses behind us.

Lucia and Elijah are adorable, I love seeing the little ones growing up. Doesn’t seem very long ago that Lucia was just a baby. It’s obvious that Lilyfinch is a good mother. It’s great that you live close enough to each other that you can get together occasionally.

Lisa, hope everything is going good with your daughter. And also with your niece and sister. And of course, you as well, and all your family. You’re going to be a young looking grandma!

Lisa, you are going to have the time of your life with a grand baby. You might even say, 'who has time for roses!'. Probably not, but grands can fill your life with more joy and fun and snuggles and slobbery kisses than you can imagine. They fill your heart and turn it into mush.

I agree Lilyfinch's two are darling, and know they are well behaved and happy little people.

Lilyfinch, I am waiting to see pics of that gorgeous Nicole Carol Miller growing in your garden. All of her parents are z7, so doubtful she would survive here. She reminds me of English Perfume. Do you grow that one? I think Sara Ann grows it.

Kristine, all I can say is what you already know - she's worth every ounce of fight you have in you, but I pray it doesn't come to that. No court with a grain of sense would award that baby to her bio dad.

Trish, I've been reading about the torrential rain you're getting in places. From one extreme to the other! I'm thinking of you and your daughter and her friend.

Kenneth, Royal America is new to me, and I am crazy about it. I wonder if it's hardy in cold zones.

Happy birthday, Jim. Things have surely taken a turn for the better. Good for you!

Great to see the photos of your day out with lilyfinch, Lisa. Sweet looking children, Jen, and well-behaved! A credit to you. Lisa, I was struck by how well you look - not frail at all. So I hope the photo is representative.

Kenneth, you grow some lovely roses. Lady Emma Hamilton is gorgeous. Pity she's fussy. She's The Teddington Gardener's favourite rose, I think.

Sara Ann, love that pup! And congratulations on that weight loss. That's inspiring.

flowers, it sure did rain! There's an Australian poem that has the line 'land...... of drought and flooding rains'. In previous years, when I had a cottage in the country, I've seen the country turn from brown to green overnight.

That said, with all the rain, I hope to have some roses to show in a week or two!

Well we went into the deep freeze for a couple days but 40's come back tomorrow! :-)

Wonderful photos!

Thank you Kristine, Trish and Lisa.

Yesterday I received the shovel that Lilyfinch recommended, looks like it’s very well made, I’m looking forward to trying it out.

I used mine today! It was great! Had a bit of a struggle with all the tree roots AND all the horrible weed barrier fabric but that’s not the shovel’s fault. I have to say it felt so good to move stuff around and get dirty.

Probably should have just focused on weeding but that’s no fun!

Lisa Adamswhat nursery are you two visiting in that photo?

I hate that fabric weed barrier

It is so hard to cut into it to add a plant

I love the fabric but I take it out after a whole season .

Kimberly, we were at Green Thumb in San Marcos in the first picture (Lucia), and Walter Anderson’s in Poway in the second (Elijah). We had so much fun. It’s so nice to be with someone that gets as absorbed in looking at plants as I do.

Thanks for saying that Trish. I must have been having a good day:) I’m so glad the fires are finally under control. Now the damage assessment begins. I’m looking forward to seeing your roses! Thinking of you and your family.

I’m getting very excited about that granddaughter! I went to her ultrasound last Wednesday, and it makes it all more real to me. She’s had a few complications, but they’re following her very closely to make sure all goes well. My neice is doing alright, but waiting on insurance approval for treatment. My sister is having a very difficult time with it. She feels so powerless.

I’m still slowly pruning my roses. I guess some will have a delayed spring flush, at this rate. I went to deadhead a daffodil bloom from under a pruned rose the other day. Somehow, I gave the spent bloom a mighty yank in an awkward position. I banged my thumb hard into a rose trunk with wicked thorns. I think a thorn went up under my thumb nail. I don’t see anything under the nail, but it hurts like something is under there. Just another excuse to slack off. Lisa

Well, I dug up some “lawn” today for a new bed, primarily roses.

I’m attempting to make a hedge along both sides of the driveway.

Photos don’t display depth well, but the driveway is very long and this might be 20ft or so on either side.

Evelyn

Teasing Georgia

Dee Lish

Tiffany

Fighting Temeraire

Cinco de Mayo

Chianti and Royal America surround the mailbox- they should* drape over it and a holly hedge.

Covered the bed in leaves and will hope for the best this year. Still waiting on 7 of those to arrive and plant.

I feel accomplished.

also, my climbers planted around a bunch of trees are doing ok.

Here’s the best of the bunch.

Amadeus looks very strong- I pegged it last year and our warm week has caused it to put out about 10 laterals already!

White Dawn is more sprawling, but I’m trying to train it upwards more. It had been very healthy.

Don Juan is the tallest and probably has a 4/5ft cane. it’s still doing well even though it’s not in “full” sun.

These ones are going according to plan so far!

Ughh! It's going to be beautiful. Are you using the same roses and pattern on each side?

vapor-

Sort of.

Different reds and whites with Veilchenblau as the "blue".

2-3 at the base of all the perimter trees though. 10 trees total.

Let me see if I can remember which ones are where.

1- New Dawn (it's the most shaded)

2- Veilchenblau and Tess of the D'Urbervilles

3- Veilchenblau and Cl Crimson Glory and Oklahoma

4- Don Juan and White Dawn and Amadeus

5- Veilchenblau with an extended bed of Oklahoma, Chrysler Imperial, Mister Lincoln, and Black Magic. Also red azalea and little lime hydrangeas. This is actually two trees growing close together on the corner of two streets.

6- Veilchenblau and Ramblin Red and White Dawn

7- Veilchenblau and Sally Holmes and Don Juan

8- Veilchenblau and Sally Holmes

9- Sally Holmes and Don Juan

10- Sally Holmes and Red Fountain

I was warned about tree root competition and too much shade and so far, those warnings have been right on.

The ones with the most sun, save 1 are the best performers so far.

My Cl Crimson Glory is doing really well in a terrible spot. It was own-root and is growing much more quickly than a Veilchenblau and a New Dawn in almost the same conditions.

Congrats jc, on all that hard work.

Lisa, keep an eye on that thumb, not that you need telling, I'm sure, as it must hurt a lot.

Anna Olivier, looking amazingly healthy for a plant that died back to almost nothing last Autumn. I cut her back to the graft, intending to remove her, but after she sent up shoots, I couldn't do it.

Lisa, your thumb incident gave me the hebbie jebbies. Listen to Trish!

Jc, it sounds like your roses are right on schedule. They've still young. You ought to see more growth and blooms this year. They're been busy under ground. I grow a few roses at the base of mature trees, and there is definitely a difference in the same rose, a few feet away, doing much better without the competition.

Trish, it makes me happy to see Anna Oliver doing so well. I hope all your roses and other plants have overcome the 'plague' of the last couple years.

I mean how stunning is bens lady in red ? With that clematis . I am not his friend because as of this morning I got lady in red ;(

Stopped at a Walmart tonight...no Lavender Crush roses but tons of huge Black Buzzards roosting..hmm maybe its an ominous sign lol.. I wish I had my good camera with me instead of my phone camera.

Enjoying looking at all these great photos and reading posts! :-)

Nothing new here...Temps are warming back up again...We have had a very mild winter so far... We only got a total of 3 inches of snow all winter..Lots of rain though...lol...probably will be a early Spring this year... :-)

Have a great day everyone!

Today was beautiful got some tulips potted that have been in the fridge since November finally planted ! I love a little color while the roses grow to give me hope lol I pot them up and them and pick them up after they get fed and let them store some energy & store in my cold front and replant every year lol this year I bought new ones to see what they give lol I have to plant my gladiulous uggh I love those so much !!! Hows everyone doing ?

I have some pink glads that come back reliably every year. I just noticed the other day they are already up and 2ft high. Most of the colors I plant don't return even though its not too cold for them. This unnamed pink one is awesome. I have been calling it The No Tell Frog Motel lol because it usually has frogs deep in each little flower doing their thing haha.

Sultry I don’t know who I like more, the glads or the frogs :)

Me too, Oursteelers! The color of those glads is amazing. Lisa

I love your little stair arrangement, Kenneth—you have a good eye for styling!

Wow, Sultry! Gorgeous glads, and adorable froggies!

I sure hope I’ll see some at my place, because I know they are hungry little boogers and will gobble up bugs.

I think you could publish a book of your flower and frog photos, Sultry! They always make me smile. :-)

Thanks you guys:) Perma, they probably will show up. I had some in Orange Park but not as many as here. I think its due to the waterlily tubs and the woods and nearby river channel. Everything is just wet and thick trees back there and they like it. They have been increasing over the yrs which makes me happy because they are endangered in south and now central parts of FL due to the Cuban Tree Frogs. I had a few CTFs show up in OP but havent seen any here yet but Im sure they are. With global warming they keep moving on up north.

The pink glads came from a bag of mixed glad bulbs frm Walmart. The pink ones returned for whatever reason and the other colors didn't. The next year, I got another mixed bag. Same thing..only the pink return even though it hadn't froze. I have these around part of my veggie garden. I have to tie them to the fence so they dont fall over once they get tall.

That pink is such an incredible color. And those adorable frogs just make me smile .

Took this pic the other day when it was really cold out... Our pets snoozing and staying warm...

Then our weather warmed up...Our cat Lacey wanted me to open the blind so she could see out...Ohhh whats that a feral cat resting outside the window...

ohhhh the feral cat spotted me...LOL

Lots of great pictures! jc, it looks like you have a beautiful yard, with everything in bloom it’s going to be a showstopper!

Trish, so good to see your beautiful Anna Olivier, it looks very healthy!

sultry, those glads are so lovely, what a pretty shade of pink!

Lisa, I do hope your thumb is healing okay, that must have been painful!

The temperatures are up and down here, Sunday and yesterday weren’t too bad, but no sunshine until later in the day. I’m wanting my seedlings to get more sunshine, some of them are looking pretty good though. I need some grow lights!

This partial shot of Kathleen Harrop shows this rose at its best. This is what I’m anxious for!

The 'wild' Carolina jessamine is blooming everywhere in the woods and behind the barn. Smells good out there.

This pink Jasmine/ Jasminum polyanthum that is in a pot 10ft from my rose arch that I put a bench under and have been using for a potting area, has sneakily creeped up my arbor on top of Crepuscule and started blooming. I was wondering where the lovely fragrance was coming from when I was potting up roses yesterday, then looked up lol :)

Yesterday it was a super foggy morning. Some places had zero visibility around town. We get a lot of fog pockets on our street. I just love Live Oaks with moss hanging in the foggy mornings.

Is this a jungle or what lol. My nanner stand got some frost this winter but are recovering now. Some years they freeze to the ground. If they freeze to the ground, they kinda have to start over again getting enough leaves to set fruit. Since they didnt freeze I should get some nanners this year.

Jc you have a lot of trees have you considered removing some ? If you saw how many trees I have removed to have my roses thrive .

Sultry, I have pink jasmine too and boy is it a clencher! I was out looking at it yesterday and it has wound itself SO tightly around my arbor.

My white jasmine is more of a soft climber, the pink reminds me of a boa constrictor. I hope it doesn’t take apart my arbor. have you ever had that problem?

Decided to start a new thread:

Click below:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5870814/winter-is-here-seasonal-thread-part-8

Thank you everyone for posting photos and awesome conversation!

See you all on the new Winter thread!

oursteelers,I love my pink jasmine but boy does it like to root itself around everywhere! I removed runners from a different pink jasmine plant that was rooted in different spots about 20 feet in every direction and into one of my rose beds.

I am removing the Naughty one in the photo, from the rose arbor because its not supposed to be there lol.

They should all be burst into full bloom in the next week or so! Its one of my favorite jasmine scents. My dh says it smells like cat pee :/ Shows how different scent can be to people lol

I love your photos, sultry, and that one of the live oaks is spoooky. Do ghost froggies live in the scary forest? What different climates we both live in. I can't grow any of the things you just talked about. I would love some bananas for Nana, please. But I'm glad I don't have to dig out those pink jasmine roots.

Sara Ann, your Kathleen Harrop is gorgeous. I need to look it up. Oddly it reminds me of Olivia Rose Austin. Do you grow OLA?

Jim, I love all those pet photos, especially the ones featuring the feral cat lounging in its comfortable living room. Love the cat/dog food sharing. Your pets get along so well. Right now, the coyotes are hunting in the gully in back, and we haven't been able to let our kitties out even for short supervised times. Finn is the scourge of voles, and I'd like him to be doing the hunting, though I expect that the yotes are a scourge on voles, too. Not very long ago, the neighbors lost their wonderful old cat to yotes. The neighbors were a little lax about letting him out too close to dark--they are from Hawaii originally, and are not totally used to our predators. I felt so badly for them.....I see we must move on to the new thread. Thanks for your loyalty, in keeping these threads going. I hope all is well for you as you continue to forge ahead. Diane

Love those pics, sultry... so atmospheric. Jim, I can't get enough of you pet pictures. They made my day along with the little froggies! We're sunny today! Yay! Maybe I'll finish raking my leaves! LOL! (Not kidding! ) :-D

Thank you.

Diane the ghost froggies are still hibernating. I havent seen any lately. They might be out in another month if it keeps warming up. I just hope they show up by the time the thrips do lol.

Jim I love your kitties and doggy. They look pretty comfy.

Sarah Ann I love the color of Kathleen Harrop! It matches my gladiolas lol

kenneth, I know this is heresy, but I actually prefer the mature trees to the roses.

I like the privacy they provide.

It's been about a year since I started constantly soliciting advice from all the rose forum members about what can grow in my yard and how to do it.

The ony place in my 2/3 acre yard that gets "full sun" is maybe a 20x20 circle front and center of the front lawn, and I won't plant anythere there.

JC, I'm with you on the trees. I'm only removing those that are weedy invasive things that blew in and reseed like mad. My biggest shade obstacles are my house and walls.

Went to sams club for dirt and look what I found .

where insides does Sam's Club have those set up? I need to go get diapers and wipes this weekend anyway lol