I have only been on this forum a short time.... but welcome back!

Well, good luck! I hope you'll find that the roses do most of the work.

Sorry for all your trials and wishing you sucess with some nice rose choices. Is this Ingrid?

Yes, whoever this is, welcome back, and good luck! Houzz just gave us an anonymous number, instead of your screen name, so we're in the dark as to who our new-found old comrade might be ;) My first thought was that it might be Ingrid as well. But again, whoever you are, welcome back.

ARE is still quite a reliable source for quality roses (but getting more expensive, like everything). So you made a good choice. I grow Lamarque, Aloha, and Star of the Republic. SotR is one of the top two or three roses bred by ARE. Gorgeous blooms. ARE's photo does NOT do it justice. Wonderful changing scent, sometimes myrrh-ish, other times old rose, always with a peppery undertone. Odd, but intriguing. I love it, though it was a bit gangly the first couple of years. But what adolescent isn't? It *is* a good grower.

John

Well, I don't think you could go wrong, ordering from ARE, And while I don't know the rest you mentioned, I DO applaud your choice of Lamarque. Is it one of the roses you enjoyed before disaster struck?

But just so we can torture you with additional suggestions, Tell us where you are located.

And welcome back to the party!

Sweet Francis is the only one of your choices I have . It goes through phases; light peach buds, then very pale bloom. Finishes a white, very old fashioned looking bloom. It took on some mildew in the shade and would do better in a sunnier spot. The nearly thornless quality is wonderful.

Hurrah, I guessed right! Welcome back, Ingrid, and I hope your new roses prove easy to grow for you and beautiful, of course. Diane

That makes us all very happy to hear from you Ingrid . I wonder if Antique rose Emporium could send you smaller size plants. That probably sounds contrary to what most people would want. David Austin sent me a few giant rooted grafted roses that were very difficult for me to dig a deep hole to get them in. I love High Country Roses little bands that slip right into the ground without a thorny fight.

Oh, Ingrid!!!!! I’m so very happy you’re back!!!!!

I knew it was you! I'm so happy you have returned And return to roses. I hope both you and your husband are doing better.

Oh my, it's so good to see some familiar names. Diane, I will forever remember you for having introduced me to Evelyn, a rose that I truly cherished in my garden. Jeri, you were one of the premier mentors who fostered my passion for roses, and especially the old ones. I've never had Lamarque, and chose it partly because ARE was sold out of Reve d'Or, a rose that I did have and loved so much. I've always admired the bloom form of Lamarque and hope it will be happy in my garden. I love in the hills in northeast San Diego County, with soil that is largely decomposed granite and which needs a lot of enrichment. My biggest challenge now is finding some gardening help as my husband has contracted an extremely rare brain disease which has left him rather weak and shaky, so that we are quite the pair. However, having a project which promises some beauty and fragrance in the garden has given us both a lift, and it will be exciting to look forward to growth and flowers by next spring.

So wonderful to see you posting again Ingrid. I sure hope that you have wonderful success with your new roses.

Things change. My husband was badly injured not three months back, so our garden is more of a jungle than it has been in the past. And then, there's the water shortage. But we move ahead.

As to Lamarque . . . There is (or was) one in the Sacramento City Cemetery which grew like a modest shrub. No one knows whether it's a sport, or just has been repeatedly chopped back . . . but there it is.

Yay! Ingrid's back! This is so exciting. I always enjoyed your posts. Do you still have SdlM? I remember that one was a very favorite of yours. So happy to see you posting again! Looking forward to hearing about all your upcoming choices.

So good to have you back , Ingrid! I saw the post and hoped that it is you. Wishing you and your husband the best of health and gardening.

Welcome back Ingrid! I too have dropped out and only check in now and then. Had all but 6 of my roses removed a while back as I can’t take care of them. My ‘Angel neighbor’ does all of my outside work so I didn’t feel it was right to keep them. Being a pre world war II child leaves one with very little energy….. lol

Thank you so much, everyone. I literally got goose bumps seeing some more wonderfully familiar names. Jeri, I'm so very sorry to hear about your husband. I wish him a speedy recovery. I know what a partner he was in your rose endeavors and hope that very soon he will be again. belle, I no longer have SdlM or any other rose, except for one almost dead Wild Edric in the back that I'm trying to nurse along. I'm going to try to put in some pictures of our present situation.

It looks as though I've succeeded. Hopefully you can all see them, as I understand there are some issues with photos showing up properly.

Ingrid! How wonderful to see you here again. All the luck in the world with your new roses. I hope to see more of your beautiful bouquets displayed among your antiques in 2023.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Ingrid. You have no idea how you've made my day. We've missed you.

My Lamarque is the Atmore clone (from Rose Petals, via Malcolm, via Jeri, I think), which is virus free, so probably more vigorous. But L is barely hardy here. I think the two somewhat offset each other, lol. Your mileage may vary a lot, but the canes on mine usually manage about 8 feet, after being pruned by Mother Nature each winter. All I do is trim off the winter dieback, which is usually down to about three feet. It's not as large as I would like, but I'm just thankful it survives. It will never be the monster my MAC was, but I love the blooms, and it does bloom well. I think you could keep it in bounds without much effort. As I said, mine is pruned annually whether I want to or not, and it doesn't seem to mind, lol.

Ingrid and Toolbelt are back!! YES!!! :) :) Ingrid, I felt terrible for you when the critters, etc. were overwhelming and sucked the joy of roses from you. I'm so glad that your conditions have gotten better and that you're going to try again!!!! YAY!!!!! Your husband has a rare brain disorder...terrible...but I think you're right that roses will bring you both some joy. :) :)

Jeri - I'm sorry about your husband's accident. That's tough to bear. And, of course, your garden is a bit of a jungle...life happens. I'm glad you're still marching ahead. :) :)

Okay, now I'm a little teary-eyed because so many of you have responded. I think it's been well over two years since I left, and what a time it's been, in addition to what we all go through in our personal lives. The roses of course make everything better, and even just the hope of having roses has brightened me up. Unfortunately, I'm very late in the year to be ordering and I've been going from one rose nursery to another trying to get the roses I want most, and I'm amazed at how much is sold out across the board. Next year, if all goes well, I'll make sure to order much earlier, although I'm probably getting ahead of myself. Oh well, it costs nothing to dream and I'm having a very good time!

Ingrid, I'm so delighted to see you here again. I've often thought of you and wondered how you were. It's sad to read that the only rose left from your beautiful garden is a poorly Wild Edric. Looking at your photos, those critters ate everything down to nothing. But that does give you lots of space! I hope you get a surge of energy. So sorry too, to read about your husband's illness.

JeriSo sorry to hear about your husband also wishing him a speedy Recovery

Coming in a bit late as usual, but, Ingrid, I'm happy to see you back. I wish you a great success and much happiness with your new roses!! Also I wish you and your husband well; you always wrote so warmly about him and he sounded like such a great guy. Welcome back!

Ingrid , it’s so wonderful to see you posting !

I read here every other day or so but struggle to post so don’t often reply . Hopefully you’ll even remember me .. but I don’t live too far away and I’d be happy to come for a day and plant for you as well as haul around some compost or mulch if you like ! You can feel free to message me privately if you could use the help . I’d be happy to . I ran out of garden room myself so I’d be thrilled to be digging and planting anything! Haha

Jen

Hi, Ingrid! I wish we could get your face and name back too. I am so happy to see your post you have no idea! You have been such an inspiration for me. I have Atmore Lamarque and Star of the Republic and love them.

I'm now to the stage where I have some of the roses we talked about several years older and have more to tell over time.

I have thought of you and Cecil often and hoped you would return. I also miss Lisa too and hope she is coming along too.

It will be great to have your voice here again.

I'm also thrilled to see your faithful frog on his pedestal, Ingrid. A fresh start can be so wonderful!

Welcome back, Ingrid. I am so sorry that your DH is unwell, but it's true that having some plants around the house will cheer both of you a great deal, and the psychological element is so important to health. I wish you both the best. What about including a lot of strongly aromatic plants into the garden scheme? I've read that they tend to keep beasties away, because their strong smell makes it hard for said critters to smell approaching predators...just a thought.I myself love weeping rosemary.

Lilyfinch, you are one sweet, kind and loving woman!!! Here's wishing you the best, too!

It is great to see you back, Ingrid, and I'm with Sheila about fresh starts, which are especially wonderful when you have a modicum of experience as a backup (oh, the things I would have done differently, like finding a place for 'Lamarque' before it became impossible!).

I join the many voices welcoming you back Ingrid! Your gentle voice and positive spirit are both assets to this forum and we've missed you. I think of you every time I look at Potter and Moore (or I used to before it got RRD) since you had been central in singing its praises.

I'm no help in recommending roses for your climate but I have grown Star of the Republic and Cole's Settlement and they are lovely robust bushes for me (though not entirely hardy in some years).

Jeri - sympathies to your husband and I hope he recovers well. I am sure the process is frustrating for both of you to face the aftermath of a bad accident.

This feels like a family reunion now! I look forward to having your actual name if not photo show up on posts. I clearly haven't figured out the photo part at present...

Cynthia

Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see yet more lovely familiar names. I now realize how much of me I lost when not only the roses were gone but the wonderful community here. Jen, thank you so much for your sweet offer, I appreciate that so much, but I think I may have found someone to help with the planting. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I have now ordered eight roses in total and I'm going to stop there, both because of the work involved and just as much because of the water they will need on my thin soil of decomposed granite. It's so very tempting to keep going with ordering, but so much has changed now and I want to be realistic. The roses I've ordered are:

Lamarque

Aloha

Star of the Republic

Sweet Frances

Cole's Settlement

Caldwell Pink

Duchesse de Brabant

Reine de Violettes (many thanks to the person who mentioned that the ARE variety is the real deal.)

All my roses are from ARE except for Duchesse de Brabant, which is from Chamblees.

I'm so impressed with the many beautiful roses you all still have in spite of climate challenges and just life happening.

My plan is to also plant oleanders, although not in the areas where I'll have the roses. I imagine even the rats and squirrels might leave them alone as they're so poisonous, and of course they need little water. I had thought the critters would leave aromatic plants alone, but no, they gobbled up everything, no matter how nasty some of it must have tasted. These are tough times even for the animals.

Welcome back, Ingrid. Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I hope you have smooth sailing now.

In my experience Reine des Violette is fussy about soil. It wants rich culture and absolutely hates high pH. I mention this only because you are concerned about the quality of your soil. It is a beautiful rose when it is happy, and I love it. However I cannot grow it here.

Rosefolly

Smooth sailing is not in the cards for most of us I'm afraid. I really hope for it too.

Thank you for the heads up regarding RdV, rosefolly. I'll know not to expect too much, although of course I'll make sure the soil in the planting holes is amended. If a rose fails that means an opportunity to try another!

Testing.

I am really pulling for your success, Ingrid.

Miracles happen that I could put a photo up.

My hubby and I got soil amendments today as our garden helpers are coming Saturday, and also a white oleander and a small pink one, in addition to two rose bushes of Intrigue and one of Golden Prosperity. I'd never heard of the latter but I decided that the narrow bed under the kitchen window needed something that wouldn't encroach too much onto the path that leads to the trash cans, so of course I couldn't resist some more roses. The nursery didn't have much in the way of roses as they hadn't gotten their new winter shipment in but I'm happy with what we got. Both of us are achy and tired, but flushed with a feeling of accomplishment. I can hardly believe that the garden is really happening!

I can’t wait to see your new garden unfold!

I can't wait to see pictures either !! i wonder what nursery you visited that had some nice roses if you dont mind sharing ? you always had the most beautiful back drop so im really excited for you !

It's just our small local nursery and they had only a few roses left from last year. Most of my roses, which haven't arrived yet, are from the Texas Rose Emporium, and Duchesse de Brabant will be from Chamblee's.

Well heya, Ingrid. Another returner here (after a bloody banning, no less, so have been a bit furtive about a big reveal). A terrible shock to see naked soil in your garden - californian poppies are your friends here, along with stylomecons, layia, platystemon...(yep, back on my Californian 'meadow'fantasies after a shocking summer of utter drought). Have been doing terrible things to the roses (with chainsaw in hand) after 2 decades of rampant growth and benign neglect - mostly cos they were too huge and vicious to contend with). Growing older (and madder) by the day.

Courage, dear rosy friend - you were one of the very first to warn me of the crazed obsession, familiar to rose lovers. Did I listen - alas, not.

Hello Ingrid! It's so nice to see you posting, and growing roses again. My new rose garden was taking off just as you took a break from rose growing. Things are going very well here...learning more and more each season. I look forward to hearing about your new garden and the beautiful roses you'll be growing.

rosaprimula, how lovely to see you here. You know, I thought there were plants the ground squirrels wouldn't eat but how wrong I was. They're even shinnying up trees to take the bark off and munch on the leaves. I think we're beginning to see nature in extremis, especially in drought-stricken areas like ours.

Rosylady, I would love to see your garden, and everyone else's too, and I'm so glad that yours is prospering. Some of the areas in the northwest have been through horrendous times, but that's true of so many places that always seemed to be rather benign before. All we can do is look after our own little plots and derive as much happiness from them as we can, for as long as we can.

Sheila,I can't help but agree with you. Let's not go into all the hellish political ,etc stuff that's going on; the weather alone here in Italy has been enough to cause profound anxiety and even fear. The month of October is supposed to be one of the rainiest over here; instead, it has been completly dry and so, so hot...terrifying,especially considering that the past summer was so horrendous,and the preceding fall and winter were far too mild and dry. And I'm here in Tuscany; up north it is far, far worse, I gather...

Yes, Bart. I had a challenging summer with an irrigation water pipe leaking that clogged up my system. I grew plants "hard" in some cases that I wanted to pamper. All survived, thankfully, but I thought often of you and Melissa gardening without irrigation.

I too have anxiety over the political situation.

My garden is both more beautiful and more chaotic than ever and brings me so much joy. I am learning every day. I probably have overwatered some areas and underwatered others.

I really appreciate people here sharing the struggles in their gardens while dealing with their own health and aging challenges.

I worry about the situation for those living and gardening in Europe, with winter coming on and an iffy fuel situation for heating. Fingers crossed for a mild winter this year!

bart, I'm so glad to see you posting as I remember that you had some health challenges when I was last here. I wish you all the best in every way. I know your rose garden is very challenging, and I hope you remember to take care of yourself first and foremost. I've learned that gardens can be very ephemeral, but one can always try again when things don't work out.

Sheila, I'm so sorry that your irrigation system was giving you fits. They can be a challenge but are so necessary in the west. I'm glad that your roses are doing well in spite of this and everything else. The old roses are tough, in addition to being so beautiful

Ingrid,

Delighted to see you posting again and renewing your garden. It is so uplifting despite the difficulties both in the garden and in ourselves. Rejoice in your powers of positivity. I have not seen so many old posters gathered together here ever before.

Wishing you, Cecil and Jeri's husband improved health.

Cath 41

Yes, I wish Clay the best too. Without our hole diggers and fellow gardeners where would we be?

Thank you, Cath! This is a place where we can give each other courage and support through it all. My husband Cecil can no longer dig holes but I would be utterly bereft without him. In spite of not being a rosarian he's really missed the roses and encouraged me to try again. With increased age there's also a bit more money to hire someone for what we can no longer do. My new drip system from Drip Works arrived today along with my roses from ARE, and the gardener will come on Tuesday to finish planting the roses. Of course I expect them to begin blooming immediately!

My own DH has zero time and interest for my garden, yet I would be lost,absolutely nothing, without him and my DS (who,like his dad, has no interest in my garden). In a way, it's how it should be-at heart I'm sort of a hermit and a lone wolf; I wonder what the frack I'll do when I'm too old to do stuff myself. But there's already too much to worry about in the present...

Alas, Ingrid, it is hard to even know what to wish for in these dire staits! True, the unnaturally high temperatures are a help when one considers the fuel aspect, but basically this is an environmental disaster, and if it doesn't start raining seriously soon, we are truly f####d.