Thanks, Deborah. What was the problem with the dud plant? Apparently, astrantia like some shade, of which I do have a few spots.. I would only buy local from Edwards when it comes to a plant like that. And Idaho won't allow potted plants into the state, so I don't see how I could order astrantia on that count alone. I know Bluestone only sells them potted, and they are a very trustworthy seller. Have fun working....... Do you have any ideas where I might get the rose Versigny? Thanks. Diane

Took me forever to find the photo - but I had fun strolling down memory lane: a cat I saw in the airport; astrantia; yummies; my much missed companion.

Thanks again, Deborah. Astrantia is a lovely plant and the Brits seem to love it. Yours is lovely, too. That kitty must have been tranquilized, seriously. Well, I had yummies today, too. Two big chocolate iced donuts. Ate them both. Spoiled my dinner. What a sweet photo of Sum Sum. Diane

Hi Diane -- to answer your question -- the dud from Jackson & Perkins arrived as an odd sort of bare root brown thing, but I put it in a pot and waited a couple of months, and nothing happened. I had also ordered an oriental poppy, beauty of livermere? and that did nothing. J&P used to be AMAZING, then had trouble and went down hill and then was reinvigorated, but now seems going downhill again. A major grower local to us has closed up shop and new housing will be built where the growers used to be. So that will mean, probably, less variety and more expensive plants at local nurseries.

Back to Astrantia -- I wonder if it is supposed to need cold, so not rated for zone 10? Or maybe people think it will be too hot? I don't know, but mine is on year 3 and still lovely. When all the old spent flowerheads get ugly I trim them off and it starts over. I wish I had more of it.

Thanks re Summer Nights! I actually had a good cry when I posted that. Hard to work on the computer when you can't focus the eyeballs! BTW - the treats above were from my birthday last year when 3 girlfriends hosted a "tea" in my honor! I think I posted that before.

My roses in back are pruned, I replaced the irrigation back there, threw out the worm and chicken poops and the "landscape mix" of alfalfa, bone meal, etc. Then covered it all with shredded cedar. Got it down by Sunday evening (took a week), but I still have my front yard to do yet. Good thing we have a holiday weekend coming up and sunny weather ahead. School started yesterday, met 2 of my classes today, so I'm a bit beat. I'm always hopeful the first day...

Enjoy your donut coma. Trish -- you are in my thoughts.

Carol, you must have an amazing insurance company (or policy) for them to cover all of what you described. But of course, you're in Canada, so it's probably better. I've had the same insurance company for >50 years, and they were always considered one of the best for claims, but they have been a big problem for the folks affected by the two big fires in Los Angeles last January. Sad...

Deborah, when they announced the new housing project, San Marcos growers said they'd still keep some of their nursery growing area... but that seemed unlikely. I thought they were still operating now. Kudos on your progress with winter chores... I've pruned 95 as of yesterday. So ~70 in big pots to go, and ~10 in the ground. Then the fertilizing, similar to what you described. Working on a wonky hip the past two weeks, so keeping my fingers crossed!

Diane - I really envy you and others for the lower prices on the Tone fertilizers. Man, oh, man! Oh, no, you're getting Idaho smog? You need a nice sunny day. Calgary, as I've said before, is the sunshine capital of Canada. Ooooh!!! I'm in love with your 2nd pic of The Prince!!! That near petal transparency is wowza!! Do you use your transferware plates? I have no idea if it's expensive and pretty or just pretty. :)

Trish - That's frustrating to spend money on stakes and have them too short!! I've done that with stakes being too thin. Gah! Showpiece Berry is fragrant, too? Oh my!!!

Diane - that stunningly, gorgeous rose has got to be Boscobel?? I think you showed one like that before, and I guessed Boscobel and was wrong. PAOK?? GASP and SWOOOOOOOON!!!! Oh, yes!!! I loooove that RAspberry Swirl!!! That color is fabulous!! Love that BB!!! I want one. Drat. :) Well, at least your Blueberry Hill rose was a good bloomer. :)

I gotta go to bed. Exhausted. Night everyone...or good morning when most of you read this. :)

I'm going to bed now, too, Carol, so I'll just say that rose you were guessing at was Heirloom, and you're the only one to try to guess it. Hope house repairs go well. When does that start? Oh, the transferware is an only piece, so it's just for decorative use. I've got a ton of different kinds of the stuff. Raspberry Swirl is still being sold, I think. Thanks about it. Diane

Sisters Fairy Tale and snaps

The chair again

Dwarf Shasta Daisies

Diane,

BEAUTIFUL ROSES & FLOWERS! I am so grateful you decorate our forum in winter & keep this thread thriving with your lovely garden! Ahhhhhhhhhh……. to think of gardening…. to take a minute of repose……such a nice leisure activity. I don’t have much time for leisure right now…..hmmmm. It is a such a joy!

I am amazed at your weather this winter. Accuweather forecast that during “days” you only had a day or so of 35F low this whole winter, but mostly had 40s-50sF, not counting nightly freezes. Your warmth in the days and no snow is unbelievable for this whole winter. Are winters always like this for you? Pretty nice to me, but no one likes the mud that follows these days. Love your photography, though!

Carol,

Wow! You have quite a bit of construction to do, too! I missed that you had a leak? Your whole living room , kitchen ceilings & bathroom tiles & shower head! You have a big decision about dogs in a hotel or rent a vavation home?. I recommend the bigger space rental for your 2 big dogs. I lived in a hotel a week before with just 2 cats & family-we had adjoining rooms, home restoration, but not space for a dog to run. I did spend overnights with Anastasia in a hotel room-but one night was not much. The vacation home sounds more spacious for your dogs.

Back to weather….

I guess I’ll have mud with rain in Bremerton., WA, but it’s 52F right now there….. soooooooo nice! I plan to grass much of the property and have a few a few cement steps/walkways so able to walk in the rain,. Probably I will need boots to walk Anastasia outside.

Today is 45F high, my last warm day for a month in NY. No snow. Then it dips to 29-13F in days for next 4 weeks possibly. The coldest part of winter here. However, in mid-Feb. it starts warming!!! YAY!

i am preparing to give some house items to Goodwill. Now done with construction almost, so really need to clear house out. Much to do…. I still have a house & closets full of furniture & stuff. i may paint outside of home and newly carpet front porch March 1st-Clean it up good after winter. Put new flowers/plants on porch.

Trish,

Staking your dahlias! They must be beautiful! I love dahlias! I used to use trellises & the fence to stake them. Bamboo poles sound like a good idea! You must have beautuful potted flowers right now and lovely warm weather! I can only think of future beauty this spring when it warms. I still light the Christmas tree to see beauty indoors!

ROSES TO PONDER……

I have a few roses ordered coming in spring…

back ordered Charming Corneille, Villa Lilla, & Victorian Secret. VC comes in mid-Feb. in NY maybe when it’s warmer The other 2 will maybe be shipped to PNW in later spring.

Victorian Secret

Diane -- That corner of dwarf shasta daisies is divine! Just perfection. Will catch up and write more later.

Diane, Versigny is available from a reputable seller in the USA. Roses Unlimited carries it, but it’s hard to snag one from her, because she sells out of that in as fast as she can root it. It’s not grafted, but I hear it grows well own root. I tried three years to get it and always missed. Finally this past fall I managed to reserve one for myself and it’s scheduled to arrive this spring. I hope she doesn’t sell it out from under me again and she did once before, but this time I paid in advance so that she for sure puts my name on one! I’ve been drooling over that rose for years.

Deborah, I’m happy to hear that your astrantia grows well! I’m thinking it might be worth a trial here.

Judi, thanks and I'll be interested if you finally get that Versigny and it's a good one. I doubt I would go through so much to get this rose, At my age, waiting for years isn't an option, and I'm short on space, too. I'm hoping Edwards has some astrantia because I can't order in plants in pots since Idaho regulations are again forbidding this.

Windowsill, thanks. Those Shastas are ancient and still around. My big problem with them is they hate the heat, and the blooms last maybe a week and a half. For years, I've been telling myself to dig the blasted things up. In 2024, they didn't even bloom, it was so hot. They are over 20 years old.

Kitty, thank you so much about my photos. It's been fun seeing those oldies again after they were compressed for a while. You are a bit warmer in the daytime that we are right now, but then ugh, a month of cold for you. February warms up pretty fast here, but there are exceptions. Generally, our winters are pretty mild, but colder lows than we're having this year. Again, there are exceptionally freak cold years. I'll never forget 2016.....Ah, good old Good Will. I have so many bags of books for them. Good luck with selling your furniture. I have some to sell, too......I think your mud in Washington will be confined to flower beds if you have a lot of grass. Our bird feeders are out in a muddy area and not grassed in, plus the slope has many bare spots, too. My lavender plants have helped a lot on the slope and nothing eats them. Hope all is smooth running from now on in your moving activities.

I got a bunch of seeds in the mail yesterday from Swallowtail Gardens, a long time favorite seed seller of mine. I don't think they send out catalogs. But check out their website for a look at their offerings: swallowtailgardenseeds.com

I got several of the Madame Butterfly snapdragons colors. These are the double open azalea type snaps. Also shorter Candy Tops red snaps which were pelleted, and Twinny Violet snaps seeds. I've grown the 12 inch Twinny series several times before. They are the azalea type snaps, too. I'm looking forward to a violet colored snapdragon. I got tons of alyssum seeds, which I do every year, and Swallowtail is a good source for them. I'm getting some new varieties of calendula for the quail to eat, and an interesting mix of Rudbeckia called All Sorts. I want to introduce new genetic variability to my Rudbeckia which grow everywhere and need some new colors. And, of course, the ultimate quail food, a shorter cosmos called Purple Shades, which I hope to grow a few of in front where the quail don't hang out. Fools rush in......Diane

More oldies Caramel Antique

Looking paler

Two kinds of Calendula below is C carpatica

C plestovani, Get Mee

Purple poppy and Asiatic lillies

Diane, your perennials are just beautiful. I know there's a few you don't have anymore, but a treat to see the photos anyway. I love how they grow in perfect mounds for you. I'm so grateful I don't have to contend with deer. I'd be very sad (and mad) about that lovely dianthus.

Deborah, thanks. It's such a wrench losing a pet. Summer Nights was so lucky to be loved so much.

Carol, it was my own fault for buying those surrounds. A moron would have realised they'd be too short!

I put my hand on the top of a pillar next to some steps this morning and the whole thing collapsed! Fortunately nothing landed on me. The perils of gardening!

Trish, what kind of pillar do you mean--something substantial like Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian? Sorry. But I think of pillars as holding up porches. That could have been dangerous. Hope all is OK. Right now, my worst perils involve mud. It's still muddy as heck, and I need to do some cleanup, so I can get the last of my compost spread on peonies, hibiscus, and clematis. Then I'll be ready for the Plant Tone, 50 pounds of which arrived today. Got another 50 in the garage. Thank you so much about the perennials. They grew in perfect mounds 15-20 years ago, and now everything is wild around here. I can't keep up with it all in my old age, I guess. I'm more worried about voles right now than anything, though having no snow for them to tunnel in does really help. I'd try that dianthus again, but for some reason, the deer loved that one. It's the only dianthus I've grown that the deer ever ate. Weird. They would ignore other dianthus a few feet away and pick on Raspberry Swirl. I still wonder about that. I hope Rosie continues to enjoy life and flat walks. Diane

Ascot, of course.

Hibiscus Luna Red

Hibiscus Fantasia

Diane - calendula or campanula? Maybe this weekend I’ll tell you about our roof leak & summer weather & confused plants. I had crazy dreams last night that firemen came to put out a fire my husband started, but I put out, but they wanted to get him so I was trying to cover for him but then tanks rolled into my garden and I was surrounded by agents about to beat me up for lying to federal agents. Too much crazy news for my brain to sort out so I end up w stressful dreams? Hope I dream of flowers tonight! Carol - did you decide on hotel or house? If it were just me, I might opt hotel, but w animals id probably opt house… gorgeous ascot, Diane. Do you just throw them out? I think your friend used to start them for you…

Deborah - I looked at your Astrantia and thought, isn't that Masterwort? I googled, and they're the same plant. :) I had a burgundy Masterwort at one of my other houses. Oh, your Summer was such a beautiful dog. And Shelties are so in tune with their owners. They bond so deeply, which makes it even harder when they're gone. I had my first poodle, Jellybean, reach out and touch my arm with her cold nose (like she always did when I was reading) after she had passed. I totally know we'll meet them again. Your lovely tea setting drew my eyes right to the only chocolate...the pretzels. lol We had a local greenhouse close-up (retirement), and it really affected what is offered here. I'm still disappointed that it's gone. You've done a lot of work for the garden. It took a week!! My goodness. Oh, but you still work, so that makes it hard to find time. I can't remember what subject you teach. Can you remind me?

Diane - yum on the chocolate iced donut!! I made a crab quiche tonight. It was soooo yummy!

Susan - yes, we're pretty well insured here in Canada. :) I don't know what a person would do with the loss of a house and insurance bailing on you. Wow!! I'm totally exhausted when I prune my 50 some roses over a week. Ninety-five would be a nightmare. Good luck with your wonky hip. I hope it gets better.

Diane - Are we thinking of the same rose? Heirloom? I didn't think Heirloom had such a full, luscious look. My goodness!!!! Well, the house repairs have slowly started. They've been drying out the area with heaters. I'm not sure what's next. Oh, your transferware is decorative. :) It sure is. :) I really love your Sisters Fairy Tale!! Dwarf Shasta Daisies look so tiny compared to mine. So cute!

Kitty - Yes, I think we'll go with a home when the time comes. I think you and Don are right, even though I'd rather go to a hotel and be pampered. lol Yes, our toilet leaked upstairs. Anastasia is going to be a very wet and muddy dog, being that she's white. But she'll enjoy the warmer weather. Can you believe it's 17C/63F here!! It's a record! Very windy with the Chinooks. We're cooling off tomorrow down to 4C/39F, which is still above normal. Wow, we'll still be warmer than you will be with both of our dips in temperature. Unreal. Oh, you're making me tired with all of the work you have to do. :) :) Ugh, I'm soooo glad it's not me moving. Ooooh!!! Victorian Secret is such a beauty!!! The color is amazing!!! I'm happy you're getting one.

Judy - lucky you to be getting a Versigny!! :) :)

Diane - I especially love your last picture with the poppies. Such a beautiful color!! :) :) I'm excited to see your new Snapdragon colors when you grow them this summer! You made me laugh with your comment about getting new varieties of calendual for the quail to eat. lol :) Caramel Antique is a beauty!!

Trish - I'm glad you didn't get hurt when the post collapsed. The dangers of gardening, indeed. :)

Carol,

I’m glad you decided in a vaca home-best for pooches. They will be happy. Although, hotel pampering is heavenly. Just order for delivery & pick-up a lot and hire a housekeeper-have fun! LOL! I hope Anastasia will not be muddy-I will keep her on leash on grass as I do now. White dogs & mud do not mix. LOL! You had 63F!!!!!!! That’s unreal! Funny, I get the freezing polar cold, instead! And when I move to Bremerton I get ” your glacial till soil, too.” However I have plans to already build raused beds enough to hold a hundred roses eventually. Today is a lovely 24F & sprinkle of snow. (I look forward to 1 day-Sat. ofcwarming to 38F! Yay! And freezibg days for a minth, now….Boo! However, I need to pack & clean out house so the snow makes the outside of home look nice until I can garden & fix it up again. Pretty roses coming is a joy to look forward to. When do you start the restoration project & enjoy the vacation home? You could turn it into a real vacation? Go out to dinner, too? Plan outtings? Movies? It’s amazing how much water damage can be caused by a singie toilet.

Your vaca house should be a fun adventure.

Diane - 100 lbs of Rose Tone here would be astronomically expensive. At least I have my worm compost. That's good stuff. They're eating up a storm in my garage. :) Since October, the food in the composter has gone down a foot, which is a lot for the little guys when it's not warm. That is weird about Raspberry Swirl being the only dianthus the deer will eat. Ooooh!!!! That 2nd picture of Ascot is da bomb!!! What a beauty!!! My fave of the Hibiscus is Luna Red. mmmmm :) In the plonk picture you show those white hearts on their sides. What are those? Do they open?

Deborah - yes, too much crazy news. It's quite stressful, even all the way in Canada. Yes, we opted for a house. Not sure when that will be.

Kitty - Really? Bremerton has glacial till, too? I'm surprised by that. We had a someone come by with a big, rideable machine with a huge auger on it, and he had trouble getting down deep enough to put in post holes for our deck. It almost couldn't be done. Raised beds sound like a good solution. Yes, you still have lots of work ahead of you. I hope this is your last move so you don't have to go through this again. My hubby is so busy with work that he'll be spending most of his time by his computer. And I don't drive anymore, so we probably won't have outings. lol Maybe swimming again. Still haven't started that. Thanks for loaning me your optimism about the renovation move. :) :)

Diane, I couldn't think what to call the structure beside the steps. It was only a couple of feet tall. Still, there are a lot of large stones tumbled below. Yes, Rosie is still enjoying her flat walks, thanks.

Deborah, what a horrible dream, but understandable. It must be very unsettling. I even feel it from this distance.

Carol, I'm amazed at your temperatures.

There was thunder not far from here last night and I was hopeful we'd get some rain, but we didn't, so back to watering for me today. It's cloudy and coolish so it won't evaporate much.

Trish, I'm glad all is OK, and Rosie is still having those flats. Boise smog, The Inversion, is really getting bad. We were boxed in all day with smog, and this keeps the temps down and everything soggy. Soon, we will have hoarfrost--oh, the excitement. I hope you get some honest rain which your garden must need. The garlic chives are growing like mad and have produced new bulbs. They are nuts and need to be in a bigger container. They'll have to wait, the fools. I've got lilies than need division and replanting, same for my antique daffodils, and the neighbor's iris which have been pawned off onto me. These are chores I hate, and I don't even like dealing with iris. They bloom for a week and a half like my Shastas. They don't earn their keep. Grumble. Being a winter shut in is not making me sweet.

Carol, actually, I have about 110 pounds of Plant Tone. I would have preferred a little less, but the best deals by far are the large bags. And no postage. They had to lose money on this sale. I agree with Kitty and Don that a house B&B is what you need with two large dogs and doggy bathroom issues, which I can't imagine dealing with in a hotel room. I want your 63F even for just one day. I hope you're enjoying your balmy weather.......The white hearts are both boxes, plus there are two flat white hearts. All are designs of mine in my special white work embroidery, and all were either featured in magazines or books. The boxes can be opened. I'll try to get some better photos, along with more of my jewelry collection. Where is that photo located? I went up the thread and couldn't find it. I was going to point out the cutest porcelain white bunny amongst the white things. It's Royal Copenhagen and my mother bought it in Denmark on one of her trips. It's a favorite piece of mine now. Yes, that rose is Heirloom, an oldie hybrized around 1972. It hated our heat. Thanks so much about the poppies--notice the lilies which now have to be divided and dug up. I hate to overdo Ascot, but Clare took a lot of pics of him, and so do I, and he pops off often. Diane

Nothing but pink.......Evelyn

Quit crowding in front of me, you rude......

Ballerina, she's not rude.

Ashley

Change of light....

Carol -- glad you've decided and let the work commence! Trish - glad you're okay. That could have been a bad accident. Susan -- I'm sorry your hip is wonky. I hope you get your roses done. Diane -- I would think that Boise would be smog free? Is it something about the geography combined with weather? Yes, I read that astrantia is also called Masterwort, but I don't like the wort part of that name. Sounds like a giant wart lording it over others. that shivers my timbers.

I just realized that i have a holiday on Monday, so I might be able to get all the roses finished. Though I should be doing something civic-minded on Monday...maybe I'll prune like a madwoman on Saturday and Sunday and relax on Monday. I just realized I won't have a weekend free (after this one) for 6 weeks. So I plan to make the most of this one.

Susan -- do you feel bad trimming all your roses? that very early, substantial rain woke my roses up and I'm getting so many blooms and new growth on the ones in the front yard. I already heartlessly pruned the ones in back, and they are already pushing lots of new growth. I read that someone in So Cal considers late summer their dormant period. I think I have to start thinking that way, too. For the rest of you -- we've had balmy, sunny weather after all the crazy rain, and at my house it's been over 80 every day this week, and on the hot cement south facing patio its been over 90. But I'm running all over a hilly campus trying to look professional and not enjoying the heat. It's still chilly at night, so still have my flannel sheets on the bed.

So...we had a roof leak that came through the wall into our guest bedroom. I discovered it when a pillow was wet, and I felt around, and it was sopping wet under a bookcase, so I had to remove all the books and then move the bookcase, and then I found mold on the wall. I thought it was a faulty gutter, but that guy couldn't come out right away, so had plumber out just in case it was a plumbing leak in the wall, and he opened up the drywall. The insulation was dripping wet, so that came out, and we could see the leak was coming from up top. So then gutter guy came out and proved to me that my gutters were working just fine, and explained that the "valley" between two parts of the roof just had a lot of water that wasn't being directed into a gutter, so was going down the wall and wreaking havoc. Then we had unusual storms to add to the mess. So then I had the guy who did our roof come out, and he's a very hearty, blustery, hail-fellow-well-met sort of guy who kind of wanted to tell me it's just that we had a lot of rain, but I was firm that we've lived her for over 26 years now, and we've had some good rains, and we never had this problem until the roof was replaced, and possibly there used to be a metal thing that directed the water that didn't get replaced...this is the same roofing company that broke one of our solar panels...Anyway -- he said he'd get someone out. I will have to keep on top of this. Hopefully he follows through without me having to...well...get all legalistic and point out codes and such. I've already read up on them, so I'm prepared! Once that's patched, we'll have to replace insulation and drywall and maybe carpet. Ugh. Then paint. Not sure how much he's going to want to cover. We shall see.

ANYWAY -- I made chili beans last night, so just had a big bowl for dinner. I had bought everything to make it when it was still cold out! Well, it will get cold again.

Wonderful roses today -- Climbing Butterscotch, Climbing Pearly Gates, Our Lady of Guadalupe. I'll see if I can post photos.

Carol -- I have not been feeding my worms enough, and now I've taken most of their "soil" away...but I bought some coconut coir to put in for them, and will eat some bananas or make banana bread this week to give them (and soil) some potassium (via peels). When it rains I walk around and try to save any drying/drowning worms and put them in my regular compost bin and/or my worm bin.

the pesky ground squirrel is back in the area he keeps digging out under my house. I've tried several deterrents and nothing has worked. He uses that location to pop out and vandalize my raised bed on the front porch. And the stupid hawk just watches it while it eats lizards. I want my lizards! Stop eating the lizards! Eat the squirrel!

Anyway -- back to the salt mines.

Diane -- just reloaded page to see your lovely photos. as usual. you don't give me a complex at all! Your ballerina is very sweet. And of course your Evelyn is just beyond...as Carol would say, gasp and swoon. :-)

Deborah, nope... don't feel bad pruning at all... okay maybe a little! I chopped down a fully blooming Trumpeter yesterday, but brought in one gorgeous Gingersnap on Monday. Regarding your leak: In 2013, we had a major project of replacing the carpet and painting the entire inside carefully planned in advance for the week my DH took off of work... he worked nights, so scheduling was a big deal. When we moved a bookcase in the master bedroom, we discovered wet carpet. Turns out the shower pan had been leaking for awhile, so we had to have the entire shower demolished and replaced. This while the painters were working... a complete nightmare. So just saying that I feel your (and Carol's) pain.

At least here's Gingersnap on my kitchen counter from a few days ago :-D

The roses I mentioned (above) plus a great little kids book! I may have shared that a few years ago. Found it again when emptying book case.

Roses & lovely little children’s book.

Deborah, you knew exactly what those plants were--Campanula, of course. Trying to embarrass me, eh? And yes, it's Boise's and surrounding area's geography that makes it a little San Fernando Valley. This area is sort of a bowl surrounded by mountains, and as warmer air rises, it presses down on the cold air below it that has become trapped in the "bowl". Nothing moves, and the stagnation worsens, and voila, it's Boise smog, or the inversion, which can last up to six miserable weeks. The hoarfrost builds up and is quite stunning, but nothing else is...... I am so sorry about the roof mess. I would not want to go up against you, so that roof guy better have done his homework. We had a roof mess several years ago. It seems to be a fairly common thing. So I hope this gets cleared up fast for you. I totally cracked up about the scary Master Wort. I hate that name, too, and will research the language origins of wort, just for fun. Glad you reminded me there is a holiday Monday, though it makes no difference in my schedule, it's nice for you. And why are the next six weekends all busy for you, if I might ask. No answer required.......I'm thinking I'd better send you some Kaput for that awful ground squirrel, though the state of California might throw me in the clink. I was just reading some news about an outbreak of rats in a town a few miles away. Ack. I have never had to deal with those, but Kaput works on those vermin, too. Oh, last night I made a big batch of my All Saints Bean Soup and have tons left over. Beans must be on our brains. Can't believe your hot temps. And I hope to see your rose photos.

Susan, what a mess for you, too. I'm glad that's over. Striking and lovely Gingersnap bloom. Enjoy the warm weather. Diane

Old photos. I'm looking for calendula. This is Young Lycidas, I think, and friends. The pink photos above were from 2025.

Strange natural hybrid snap.

A lizard for Deborah. Our hawks would prefer the ground squirrel, I'd bet.

To cleanse the palate......who else but Ascot

And Dainty Bess

You can see Dara, the wild purple carrot at the bottom of this photo. It's brownish, not purple.

Well, pooh, the calendula has all gone to seed in this little wildflower patch.

Wow, we had winds today of 80 kph/50mph. I was almost blown over, but thankfully, I had my walking stick with a nail at the bottom. Phew!

Trish - you need some of Diane's rain. :) I just looked at the forecast, and our cold weather is coming back. Not too bad, though at -15C/5F. We've been spoiled by our wonderful weather, well, except for the wind.

Diane - Oh, you're in the inversion state of winter. We had that in Fort McMurray a lot. It gets depressing. I loooove irises...in catalogues. lol I have some in the garden, and they're just leaves, they never flower anymore. So I dug them up and divided them. Still, just leaves. I think they're going bye-bye this year. Wow, I'm so envious of your Plant Tone. :) Yeah, a house it shall be. I don't want one with beautiful flooring, though. My dogs will just scratch it up. Going to be tricky getting the right place. Our warm weather is gone. It was atrocious with the wind we had today. And the snow melted a bit and then froze, so I had to wear my cleats. I loooove those cleats...they're made for walking on ice for ice fishermen. I thought those might be boxes. I love boxes. I really do. :) Can you do a close up picture of your boxes and hearts so we can see your work better? Oh, you just said you would. Excellent!! I'd love to see the bunny, too. You can never overdo a beautiful rose. They lighten the heart and bring a smile to our faces. :) Gah!!! Your Evelyn pictures are sublime!!! The blooms are incurved like Jude's are. I love that!! That may be the best photo of Ballerina!!! Ashley is a diva (in a very good way) in your garden!!! Happy, happy rose dance!!

Deborah - wow!! Your weather is wonderful!!! We can only dream. Oh, I want summer warmth so badly. :) Oh, Deborah. What a huge mess!! It does sound like they forgot to put back some kind of water diverter. They're sure not going to want to pay for the repair. Ugh. I wish you the best of luck with that. Keep us posted. Good for you for reading up on your rights as a homeowner. So, that's the way to get hot weather....make chili beans? Oh, right, correlation does not mean causation. lol Something you can do for your worms is to give them some grit. I blend up some eggshells to a nice grit. It's good for their digestion. I'll take your banana bread. lol Do you find that the "outside" worms do well in your worm bin? I thought they were only good for red wigglers. Beats me. :) Isn't that the way. The hawk eats the critters you want and ignores the squirrel. Maybe you should borrow one of our coyotes that range all over Calgary. GAsp and Swoon, lol.

Susan - Susan, ugh. Maybe we should all buy those moisture sensors that the contractors use and go over our house once a week. Oh, what a beauty!!! I love your Gingersnap!!! Wowza!! Is Gingersnap also the first rose in your 2nd posting of pics? I love that one!!!

Diane - I love your beautiful snap!!! Wonderful coloring on it. :) I think it would be so strange to have lizards running about.

From many years ago...All American Magic. Great r ose, but no fragrance.

Lobelia in a container that has fallen apart from rust. I loved this planter.

I didn’t finish comments yesterday….& now sooooo much has happened on this thread! Lovely and very lively photos, Friends Friends! Beautiful Ascot, Ashley, poppies, Calendula, Evelyn, Ballerina roses & Gingersnap! and lizard and sooo much more! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous gardens Diane, Deborah, and Susan.

Diane,

Your winters are way milder than I exoected. No need to protect your roses. I see a few black canes on 3 of my roses which I am going to protect with the new cloth bags-they need more protection from my freezes now. Today is a high of 28F-HA! .. Tomorrow it is 38F-the warmest it may be until mid-Feb. Now all is covered in snow. You ordered a plethora of seeds and I know they will be gorgeous snap varieties such as Madame Butterfly.. Really a joy seeing all your colorful snaps & variety of bloom!

CLEANING HOUSE

I stuffed 6 bags & 4 boxes of china/breakables and clothing for Goodwill along with choosing smaller furniture & stuff for Tuesday pick-up. The house clearing has only begun. I cleaned out 2 dressers and paper files yesterday, too. Today I clean 2 closets! YAY!

Your bird feeder area is difficult to maneuver w/ mud and your hill! Can you plant more lavendar or grass it, too? I heavily seed grass so I have a lawn in 1 month to walk on. Just an idea. Much gardening for you coming up! When do you start planting?

BTW,

When I type on Houzz w/ I phone, it either gives me a totally different word or adds all sorts of extra strange letters. It bounces around and It is the most difficult to type i normal sentence. HOUZZ is crazy!

Carol,

The Puget Sound area has glacial till on the hills/mountains mainly from historic glacers in past. The Seattle area, Bremerton & metro areas can have glacial till. The level land sometimes has glacial till, too and sonetimes, not. However, it keeps the hills/mountains from less land slides-good!

I see my PNW neighbor has raised beds, too. Raised bed soil is nice to work in-so pure & soft!

Swimming sounds great! You can still order out for vacation home? I love AirB&Bs!

Deborah,

To garden now in January seems unreal to me, but that’s sunny CA! I hope you are able to get it done. I used to have a big flush of rose blooms when I lived in Los Angeles in mid-March. When do you have your first flush of rose blooms? I am sorry about your leaks. Will insurance take care of redoing the inside of home? Sounds like faulty roof construction. If you had another couple of roofers assess then you would know why it is leaking and what to fix. Possibly get estimates from original company & other 2 roofers. Then you can conpare what needs fixed. If original company doesn’t want to fix it to code, then you have other professionals to stand behind you.

I had a faulty chimney & roof repair from roofers & I had to call in 2 licensed chimney companies which both assessed it was ”not repaired to code/not functional either. ” I had one of the new chinmey companies repair it to code afterwards, because the roofers did not know how to fix it to code. Now it is fixed to code & functioning well.

A code officer can come out and assess it, too, as a second opinion, to help you. If you spray a ”bleach cleaner,” on mold it makes it dissappear instantly. . i wish you the best!

Deborah, Your squirrel sounds pretty crafty sneaking to your porch! And the hawk doesn’t care & eats your lizards, instead. I have a few squirrels who dig up holes in my beds after tulip bulbs and they like planting black walnut trees for me. My squirrels would like me to have a forest of black walnut trees growing in my beds, but I always pull out the trees they plant. LOL!

Anastasia when I grew her hair longer.

Double pony tail.

Blushing Parasol summer 2025. She is a big rose bush this winter with large green canes. She is doing well over the winter snow season. Plesant light rosy fragrance.

BLUSHING PARASOL SPRAY

This coming season 2026 it should bloom in clusters of 10-20 blooms on a single stem-gorgeous! You tube video photos shows it bloom in clusters…

1 srem full if blooms-enough for a vase!

Now I'm the one behind, as usual.

Carol, what were you doing walking in 80 mph wind? I'm surprised you didn't end up in OZ. I don't think we ever have winds that high--maybe 25 or 30 mph at most, and not very often. Our rain stopped about 2 weeks ago, and now it's just muddy and smoggy. Lovely. .....Your American Magic rose is very pretty. Too bad about no scent. Thanks about snaps and the lizard dude. Actually, we don't have a lot of lizards running around here. They must be hiding. That guy fell into a window well and Ray rescued him and released him. We followed the lizard, and I took a photo before he disappeared into the undergrowth. Animals and birds fall into those death trap window wells, and Ray rescues all of them--baby rabbits, toads, baby quail, snakes, and lizards. He won't even kill a house spider. He escorts them outside. Sadly, house spiders are in the wrong environment outside and probably end up as another spider's lunch.

Deborah, I especially like your Climbing Butterscotch Rose with its pretty color like the candy, which I love, too, of course. I'd never heard of this rose, so that's an extra. The charming book reminds me of some of my children's books featuring badgers. Those guys are mean as !@#$ but have good press, especially in England. I appreciate our local badgers ridding this area of gophers, which are ten times worse than voles. You need a badger for the ground squirrel, but then you might end of with a badger living under your house. Ack!

Kitty, I'll continue in a bit to comment on your post. Diane

Ebb Tide

Karl Rosenfield peonies, Julia C just starting to bloom, and Ebb Tide

Ebb Tide, Twilight Zone, and Karl Rosenfield peonies

Who can forget The Wind in the Willows and Toad Hall? Here's Mr Badger listening to silly Mr Toad.

Well, it's not just raining here - it's a downpour. I'm wishing I'd shut the side door of the downstairs flat. Perhaps I'll put on my swimsuit and duck down! Only two minutes of downpour but now raining softly and supposed to keep going till tomorrow.

Diane, I would hate that smog. How awful to have 6 weeks of it. I love iris but have had no luck with them here. But I certainly wouldn't be bothered with them if they only lasted a week and a half. I had a sandstone path through some yellow ones in a previous garden, with forget-me-nots. Those iris flowered three times a year. How I wish I'd taken some. Beautiful pinks. Ashley looks like a real winner. I can't make head or tail of that lizard! That's so kind of Ray. Wonderful illustration from The Wind in the Willows. I wish I hadn't given my copy away, not that it was illustrated like that, but I'd like to be able to dip into it occasionally.

Deborah, that leak sounds serious. Good luck with your roofer, but you are clearly on the ball. Climbing Butterscotch is lovely - a new one on me too. Love the book cover.

Carol, well done staying upright. That's some wind.

Kitty, you've reminded me: I need to do some throwing out. I did the 'throw 5 things out on a Monday' for a bit, but it's fallen by the wayside. Anastasia's hairdo reminds me of Louis XIV! Not sure that I like it.

Today's plonk for some colour, Forget-Me-Not, Sunny Sky and Tallulah

Trish, I granted your wish for rain and sent ours. And now it's too much rain for you. And you have a swimming suit! That fits! I think the suit that's in my dresser dates to 1989--seriously, and I should try it on or try to it on for laughs. Thank you about the pinks. They and the purples above are from 2025. I think Ive pretty well mined the oldie stuff......Maybe your yellow iris weren't the old standby, bearded iris. There are several types that really like wet environments that are, perhaps, tougher......My Wind in the Willows is the Michael Hague illustrated book. I am a huge fan of his, and have a lot of Hague's work. Not sure if he is still alive...... The lizard is displaying protective coloration against that bright background, but keep trying and you'll see him. He's quite bumpy, too......I laughed aloud at the Louis XlV reference. I know exactly which famous portrait you're referring to--the one with old Louis in high heels, tights to show off his manly legs and posed balletic-ly, mountains of lace all over him, and that gigantic wig looking like the whipped topping on a cake: l'etat c'est moi! Love your little plonk. You use lots of Tallulah, which must mean she blooms often, a good thing. Is Forget-Me-Not the darker pink?

Kitty, your Blushing Parasol is a sumptuous beauty. Are the blooms large? I love the spray type just as much. You'll make gorgeous bouquets with that rose. I hope all the repair work is finally done at your place. And I hope you didn't have to donate a lot of lovely things you don't really want to give away. I did a lot of that, first when I inherited my mother's massive treasures, and then when I last moved. It was kind of painful. Good luck with it all, especially on your nice furniture. You're right. I've never once protected roses against cold. The only winter I had rose cold damage was 2016-7. Just two roses suffered from the terrible cold that winter. Thanks about all the photos I've been posting--maybe a little too many photos. I'm not done--ha. Diane

Tamora 2025

She's truly dependable, nearly 20 years old, and a continuous bloomer right through the heat. From Pickering on multiflora.

Kitty - wow, look at Anastasia's ear hair!! It's so long and well coiffed. That must be really hard to maintain. No wonder you went with an easier clip. :) Your weather sounds good to me. :) Not good for your roses, though. End of next week we'll be down to -17C/1F. It'll be okay as long as it's not too windy. You're still so busy, and you're really downsizing. Good opportunity for that. Ugh for the Houzz problems on your phone. That's true about protection for having landslides. My Teddy, 90 lbs is hard on floors. So I'm worried about the Airbnb. That's good advice about Deborah's leak. Your Blushing Parasol blooms have that lit from within quality, like lite-brite pegs. :) Gorgeous!!

Diane - Well, we were walking in a forested area, a contained area for dogs, so the wind didn't hit us while we were in the trees. :) We get a lot of strong winds, even in the summer, but more in the winter because of the Chinooks. It makes it challenging for me to walk, for sure. Oh, that's good about the rain stopping, but ugh about the mud. Thanks about my American Magic. It was a beauty of a rose! That's just when I started realizing that my roses should be fragrant. We've never had a critter fall into one of our window wells. But then, we don't get many critters. Awww...baby rabbits...adorable!! I saved one from our dogs once. I held it in my hands and helped it get to the next yard. It was soooo sweet! My daughter and husband are like Ray...will never kill anything. I actually let spiders live in my house. lol They're good house helpers. Not that I ever seen them, but if I do, I ignore them. In your last rose picture, are the dark, Goth-type roses Ebb Tide? Soooo dark! Beautiful pics! Oh my!!! I especially love the last 3 pics of Tamora!!! Everything about it is wonderful...the color, the petals, the amount of blooms, the color of the blooms against the green leaves....

Trish - you finally got your rain! That's great! So do Irises do well for any of us? They're so lovely, and there are so many different colors. I'd love for them to do well for me. Oh, you did have some, the yellow ones, that bloomed 3 times/year!! I'm really surprised at that. I've never had an iris rebloom. Yes, if only you'd taken some. I love the pale roses you posted. :) :) It seems you love elephants!

Perfume Factory from 2023.

Quick post to say to Diane - you mentioned being curious about euphorbia. I like that gophers won’t touch it, it’s adaptable to drought & not drought, and some varieties are very pretty. Will spread, but easy to pull up & not invasive for me. Two new varieties for me are ascot rainbow & miners Merlot, plus a lacy flowery thing that I forget the name of (well, that one is new to me, but may not be new to otters). This pic shows ascot rainbow & the little white flowered one. Also, students had a petting zoo on campus yesterday (!), and I liked this bird’s hairdo.

Deborah,

Love the bird hairdo, too!

Carol,

Maybe get Teddy’s nails clipped before AirB&B? Put out throw blankets? Gate off areas?

Carol, Trish,

Anastasia’s hair was a lot to comb so quite short now. Love to grow it out, again, sometime when not too busy. Maybe need to add a few curls so looks more like Marie Antoniette, so not Louis XIV.

Then add a boat & faux berries. LOL!

Anastasia does love eating cake,! I think bouffant hair dos are the only way to go with her curly strong hair-super fluffy! They could have used her hair to make Marie’s wigs!

Today!

Trish,

I hope the rain was good for your gardens? Yay!

Diane, Carol,

Thank you about Blushing Parasol. She us a favorite! No diseases-a great rose!

Beautiful Parfum Factory! Lots of blooms! She’s recommended as a winderful bloomer & love to smell her fragrance! Ebb Tide & Julia are such gorgeous vibrant roses in your front yard! I cannot see KR peony-a favorite! I’m going to take a few peonies to PNW with me! I so love peonies!

More home reoairs coming…. I’m painting in Master bedroom & a spit in dining room end of month. Then lawn restoration when snow melts. And lots of gardening. Oh, paint outside iof home & new carpet in front porch in Feb/March maybe.

Diane -- I looked up the Madame Butterfly snapdragons and they are gorgeous. I'd seen that style of snapdragon bloom before and didn't know what they were called, but "azalea" makes perfect sense based on the shape. Opera and ballet will be thriving in your yard! Tamora is a truly gorgeous rose. I know one of the gardens I go to has one, but I've never seen it in all its glory. It might be one of those DA roses that, in our climate, only really shows its stuff for the first flush. One of my Boleros and Darcey Bussell have both bitten the dust, but it looks like all the rest will get through winter okay. Darcey's pot was completely filled with roots, so maybe it was just an unsustainable situation. Well, with Munstead on the way this spring, I can't be too sad about loosing its less-scented cousin. I showed my partner photos of Munstead and he was really taken with the dark, velvety blooms. We'll see what materializes indoors, though...

Carol -- I somehow completely missed that you'd had a leak in your house and need repairs. I hope you find an Airbnb or hotel situation that works out well for you. If an Airbnb is pet-friendly, I think they expect a degree of normal wear-and-tear from animals, though of course I try to be as considerate as possible. In any case, I hope it all works out and it can feel a little like a vacation, like Kitty said. And maybe you can send over your construction crew to scrape off the popcorn ceiling in our apartment. ;) I love your lobelia growing in that unusual container.

Deborah -- That duck's hairdo is amazing! And that little goat looks so sweet. I love goats. So nice for the students to have something like that to help them de-stress.

Susan -- That gingersnap bloom is sensational! Out-of-this world color.

Trish -- I hope the rain brings you some relief from the heat. Gorgeous plonk.

Kitty -- A few weeks ago I saw that the Palace of Versailles recently acquired this snuff box that depicts the most fancifully groomed poodle I've ever seen! It immediately made me think of your Anastasia, though I realize you of course style/groom her quite differently. The little "cuffs" of fur on its legs are so funny.

(And for all the cat lovers, there is a very fancy cat depicted on the inside of the lid!)

Here's the link to the original Instagram post if you are curious: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSj1b9mD5Ic/?hl=en&img_index=1

This is my first baby bloom of Discovery, with snowy skies in the background. (In person, the pink has more vibrancy and a bit of a glowy center.) We're having a real winter this year, it seems.

Just a quick check in with something pretty cool about getting rid of weeds naturally. Diane, your nasturtium is one of them. Kitty if you want to preweed your new garden.

Anyone who has invasive plants/weeds like morning glory, etc...these could work. Sunflowers are good too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_DVKj_Eu0g

Kitty, you are a dear. We think Anastasia is wonderful either long haired or with short locks. Goodness she looks regal in that last photo, complete with lamb toy. The other fluffer photos of her are adorable, much cuter than old Louis. Where did you find that great Marie Antoinette photo? Love it. I hope you get a day off this weekend. Monday is a holiday. Still dreary and coldish today, but I don't think the smog will hang around for too many more days. May warmer days come to you.

Deborah, I love Louis the Duck who says, "the petting zoo c'est moi." I've never heard of a college campus petting zoo. Must be finals coming up or just finished. I am amazed at the variety of plants you grow. Did you find all the euphorbia locally? I might try just one for giggles if Edwards carries it. It seems like every UK garden featured in The English Garden Mag has big plantings of euphorbia. It must be their national plant. If it's not invasive in California, it won't be invasive here.

Carol, I'm surprised the trees in the dog park didn't blow over. That's what happens in this area during a windstorm, and people get injured and even killed by falling trees. Glad you are doing fine. Do you have any heavy area rugs you could take to put down in the B&B. We have some here that would be very protective. And they're very decorative......In my last Ebb Tide photo are ET, some Twilight Zone out farther, and one of my Karl Rosenfield peonies. They don't show up very well in that pic. Thank you about Tamora. I wish you and anyone else who likes her looks could find a seller of this rose and grow her. She smells good, too, but does have bad thorns. They don't project out on longer canes like Munstead's, for example, because she stays compact and small. Diane

Here are clearer photos from 2025 that show both Karl Rosenfield peonies in the first pic.

Ebb Tide grows up by the porch. The other Ebb Tide can barely be seen across the sidewalk behind Karl Rosenfield peonies. And it's not spelled Rosenfeld. The garbage can adds a nice touch. Julia has really started to bloom now.

Twilight Zone is over to the left. It's color is really close to ET's.

Karl Rosenfield peony

Trish -- I thought you might appreciate this little bit of Down Under in our city park. They previously grew one in this spot that got quite tall, but it died a couple years back.

I think the label must have a typo -- should be "Omeo Gum."

Windowsill, I love all your photos posted. First of all, I was entranced by the Discovery rose, so I immediately checked HMF, and "discovered" it was bred by John Clements, the original owner of Heirloom Roses. It's one luscious, gorgeous rose. All the photos on HMF show that. I also loved those snuff boxes. I have a little enamel rose box, so I'm a fan of those small beauties. I noticed in back of Discovery was your plant solarium looking very good, and the snow scene certainly looks prettier than our smog. The "Omen" gum is a surprise. Of course, I thought of the scary movie. I am sorry the poor tree died. Back to Heirloom Roses--I visited there a few times when Clements was still alive. They favored a lot of antique roses and the British roses from hybridizer, Harkness, who even visited Heirloom in person. I first saw Jude the Obscure in their test garden with just a number and no name. I vowed to grow that rose. I hope you eventually grow Madame Butterfly snaps in your future cottage garden. They'll be beautiful for you. I'm sorry about Darcey, poor thing, but happy you'll be growing Munstead. She's a slow grower with bad thorns, but if you get her to bloom inside, she'll be wonderful. Good luck. Oh, I'm now on Versailles' cookie list or whatever. Diane

Light pink azalea type snaps, probably Madame Butterfly

Normie snapdragon

Close up of azalea type.

Very rare purple azalea type with Ballerina.

Windowsill, a typo on purpose. It's more interesting as Omen.

Deborah, I couldn't resist a little research on "wort", a plant traditionally used for medicinal purposes. Some of my favorites are: lungwort, lousewort, liverwort, and the best, pilewort. So masterwort must have ruled as a curative for everything. I wonder if there was a wartwort. I need to dust. Diane

Oh, yes, pilewort is also called American Bumweed. I am not kidding. Somebody give me something to do. Diane

Diane, I enjoy your interesting finds when you research plants. Please don’t worry about the dusting.

Deborah, I am all ears for whatever you can tell me about growing Euphorbia. I have been looking at the many different types and varieties because I want to grow some. At one time I thought of them as ugly plants, but I have changed my mind and been looking at some of the chartreuse ones like the dwarf one Annie’s Annuals sells as well as one called Snow on the Mountain.

Well, Judi, I took your advice and didn't do any dusting. Just read some more The English Garden Magazine. Today, I got a notice from Austin about their new rose Penelope Lively. She was very pretty, so I checked HMF and saw some more lovely examples. Is anyone here growing her yet? Interestingly, Penelope L was a found rose and found by an English gardener who turned her over to David Austin, so Austin didn't breed PL. She is named after a British author, and I realized I had a book of her garden memories and thoughts, etc on gardening. The book is "Life in the Garden", and I was about to donate my copy, which I read back in 2017 when it was published. I'm going to read it again. I think there's a pretty good chance that Edwards will be selling Penelope L this spring and also Martha Stewart, another rose I like. If anyone comes across Hidcote Pink penstemon, grab it and grow it. It's beautiful and popular with British gardeners. I know Digging Dog nursery sells it, but I can't afford that place. Diane

Deborah - that duck's head is so cute. :) :) Shhh...don't tell her, she's too proud to be cute :) When students were new to campus or during exams, I would walk my 3 standard poodles around campus, and they got so many hugs and some tears from those missing home and a little unnerved. My dogs loved it.

Kitty - Those are good ideas. Bringing rugs...we have a lot, would be a great idea. Oh, don't forget pearls to drape through Anastasia's hair. lol She's got the really curly coat, yes, wouldn't a Marie Antoinette costume be great for her for Halloween? :) :) Awww...I love the picture of her with the Teddybear and the pink ponytail holders. Awwww :) :) Thanks about my Perfume Factory. She did have disease this past summer. I can't remember if I kept her or not. I'm determined not to keep disease-prone roses. Sheesh, your work never ends. And then when you get there, you'll probably paint walls there, too. Plus all the gardening work. Too much...overload...ack! :)

Windowsill - My Bolero died the first summer I got it. Yeah, sounds like Darcy is too vigorous for your pots. But you enjoyed it for a while. I'm glad the rest are okay. Hopefully Munstead will be better. That's another one that died for me. I'm a mass killer of roses. Yes, it would be nice to have a bit of a vacation. I'm warming up to the idea. No construction crew for your ceiling...you just need Kitty. She'll pop over one weekend. :) Thanks about my lobelia and container. I guess I should have sprayed that "pot" so it was more waterproof. That snuffbox is a beautiful find. I have never seen that type of style on a poodle. Very different. The hair was trimmed down around his eyes and the leg trimming was unusual. That was very interesting! The cat picture is very nice. I love cats. I have a daily cat calendar that I chose over a dog one because cats are so beautiful. That's a beautiful Discovery bloom. I saw Penny lying down by the window wondering if she was going to be in the picture. :)

Diane - The trees were strong evergreen trees, and they seemed fine. Me, on the other hand, once we left the security of the trees...yikes! :) I think taking some rugs would be a great idea. :) We'll do that. I don't mind thorns, but I don't think I'll ever get another Austin rose. I've killed too many of them. My, oh, my, your Julia Child roses are incredible!! Happy Sigh. Meh, garbage can...who would focus on that instead of the beauty of your roses? :) :) All of that purple and yellow...wowza!! Oh, you went to Heirloom Roses!! That sounds magical. :) And you saw Jude growing in their test garden! That is really cool!! Oh, I love that azalea-type snap!! Masterwort, wartwart...I love your sense of humor!! Oh, I laughed and laughed over pilewort!!!

Good Morning,

Judi & Diane,

Penelope Lively sounds so interesting. Diane, I can’t believe you have a book by her! You are such a wealth of knowledge.

Beautiful garden photos! Gorgeous Karl R. peony! Looking forward to seeing spring peonies bloom! I planted about 15 peonies and shall only keep a few???

Carol,

I’m glad you may be bringing rugs-helps with dogs at the AirB&B. It can be a fun trip! . Great ideas for Anastasia on Halloween. Love the pearls idea. . I’ll need to make a Marie Antoniette dress for her & grow her hair!

PLANS

I think once I have plans to finish construction & gardens on this property & the next property, then it is moving along nicely! My plans are all in place. So it is all good. Electrical work should be done on kitchen next week.

Yesterday I washed down my driveway as it was 40 F outside. I raked the neighbors leaves off the front of my property, too. Gas pipe workers muddied my driveway. It looks sparkling clean now.

I am ordering new soil & grass seed on Feb 1st for seeding lawn in front of home.Gas Co. is supposed to pay for clean-up & to reseed lawn so they may reimburse me. I have pots to transplant roses. I will order pot soil Feb, too.

I am painting bedroom ceiling & one dining room wall first week in Feb.

In March 1st week when warmer, I'll add new carpet to porch. Near March end or April when warm I'll paint front of home. In March I'll add flower pots to front porch when warm and transolant roses to pots. . I begin rose pruning, too.

April begins seeding grass, fixing soil in beds and & final pruning and fertilizer. Hope to move in April maybe.

I already have plans for the new property ready to start when I move. Woohoo! I think it’s fun to finish these projects keeping me busy! Something to check-off daily! 🌺🌸🥀😊