Carol, you really got over your cold fast, girl. I'm still worn out, and I think this was more than a cold--a cold for the old. Oh, haha. You're going to movies and out to dinner. I am so jealous, especially about Red Lobster. I don't know if ours is still open. And I'm amazed those blasted spots have almost disappeared. Congrats. Maybe you were allergic to colds. Thanks about the roses. As much as I want blooms velly soon, I need time to get chores done, and I am so behind. I'm not going to worry about Martha at this point. Diane

We're still worn out. The smallest thing is tiring. We always go to Red Lobster when we have something important to talk about. We've done that since we were married. He's been so stressed and coughing nonstop (mainly from stress). I sat him down and said, maybe it's time to retire. He wanted to wait until we had a certain amount of money so he'd never have to worry about it. I think we have enough. So he went to see a retirement planner, and it's probably going to be a go!! We're making lists of things we must have in the future and things we can't have. On the must list, Don put that I can do anything in the backyard I want. :) :) I'm really excited about him retiring. He's still pretty nervous about walking away from incoming money. Someone from his small company of 5 members had a stroke and has to relearn how to walk, etc. We need time together with him not working. He needs to relax. He's thinking of retiring in August. So exciting!!

Diane,

More lovely Rougies & Augustas!

Carol,

57F is great! Any day I gave warmth I cherish! Enjoy! More warmth is just around the corner!

Windowsill,

Judi,

I simply love your minis! Wish to add a few when I am in ONE! Sorry about Edelwiess. Cyclamen is going to be beautiful! Warmth for you & I is coming! I probably just have more bulbs to pop then most parks, LOL! And my tulips coming up are new from last year. My older tulips have not sprouted yet. I

I’ll chat more later… must clean… showing house today. Kitchen renovations necessary. Wall issues need new drywall & new fresh paint. The only room not refreshed & painted in house. Realtor & I agree that bringing kitchen up to finished , same as rest of finished home, will speed it selling-much needed. (I have renovated many homes & leaving one room unfinished, but having rest of home finished, can slow selling.)

I have renovated, flipped 7 other homes. If you add fancy unecessary extras sometimes they may not add capital to your sale. if you add fancy gardening, it can perk up the looks of the home, but may not add to the worth of the sale. However, painting often prompts a sale and can definitely add worth to a sale. REALTOR ADVISE: The idea is to make the home enjoyable and have the “buyer fall in love with it! “ Fresh paint really helps do the trick! Fresh paint has speeded many sales of my homes before!

In historic homes, all the walls in my home have been refurbished by me in past years, but kitchen.

It’s an old fashioned historic kitchen with 5 doors. Doors to outside, basement, to hallway, staircase & a closet. I did some wood filler & sanding yesterday. I will finish wood filler & some painting of those doors today. I will be working on doors for the next few days. New drywall in kitchen at end of mobth & then I paint rest of kitchen. All necessary.

I get that, Kitty, about feeling the need to freshen up the kitchen before putting it on the market. When we were thinking of selling and moving from Sacramento, we had a realtor come visit and walk through the house with us and point out the things that most needed attention to make our house appeal to buyers. He said that the kitchen and master bath are what sell the house, because that’s what matters most to women and women usually influence the sale the most. We went by his word…. Granted, our kitchen was in bad shape, not just in need of a small refresh. We put a lot of work and money into the kitchen and I felt very gratified when the realtor came and said I had “ nailed it”. We took out walls and redesigned the whole thing and it really made it feel like a completely different place. We definitely felt it was worth it and we sold at a good price.

Diane -- Edwards sounds wonderful. I'd love to go to a place like that to just walk around (though, who am I kidding, I know I'd want to buy something too). Must be especially nice to have a place like that since you can't get plants shipped in soil to Idaho. It occurs to me that most of the independent nurseries I've been to out here are attached to farms that grow fruits and vegetables, though there must be some standalone nurseries/growers, too. The Parma violets are supposed to ship April 12, though I emailed Select Seeds and asked if they could move up the ship date to late March (though really, it doesn't make much of a difference). It's been enjoyable to have this new little Alpine project to work on. That windowsill was mostly dedicated to air plants previously, and they were easy to relocate. I think your Augusta Louise and Evelyn are going to have to duke it out for the title of prima ballerina in your garden. I'm so looking forward to photos of your blooms this spring/summer.

Carol -- That's really wonderful news. Everyone needs a Don in their life who is so supportive and tells them they can do whatever they like with the backyard! And great that you got some solid information from the planner. My brother-in-law recently arranged for a financial planner to meet with my partner and me, and it was reassuring to know that we're actually doing everything right for our eventual retirement (I really had no idea). I'm picturing you and post-retirement Don happily enjoying your summer garden with Teddy and Sugar by your sides. (Oh, and a cheddar biscuit is essential, hives or no hives! Could never pass up one of those.)

Kitty -- I think I'm already seeing signs of improvement in Bolero since the root trimming and refreshing of the potting soil, so I'm going to do that with a couple other plants today. (I needed that final bit of encouragement from you to stop being lazy and just do it already.) I'm finally seeing daffodils popping up everywhere, so that's been making me happy. I'm seeing now that all that heavy wet snow from the recent blizzard caused damage to so many trees and shrubs around here. But plants are resilient. Good luck with all your renovations!

Trish -- I had to laugh a little bit at our local gum tree when I saw it this morning. If there was ever a winter to test its hardiness, it was this one! Hope the poor little guy pulls through.

A sight for sore eyes. I don't think I've ever been happier to see daffodils emerging.

Spring is coming!

The fig is figging! (Diane, I think I'll put Munstead Wood in that empty pot to the side of it.)

Windowsill, your baby figs make me so happy, just looking at them! I hope they grow well and ripen into sweet little snacks for you. I love, love figs. I was in Texas visiting my parents for a week in January and my Dad sent home a wee little plant I Texas Everbearing fig for me. It’s really putting on new growth so I’m excited to see what it will do this year. My three other figs all have live trunks this year due to our mild winter, so I’m hoping to get them to really put on trunk thickness this growing season to prepare them for next winter. Eventually I’ll hopefully be able to expect only the smaller branches to die back every winter and the rest continue from year to year. As I’ve said before, I want fig trees, not bushes.

Judi -- I'd remembered you saying a few months back that you wanted to protect the trunks to get trees, rather than bushes that die down to the ground every year. Seems like that's off to a good start! I'd incorrectly told you while back that there were ones growing like trees at the Brooklyn Botanic. When I visited most recently, I realized they have some growing both in front of and on top of a high retaining wall, giving the illusion of one large tree as the plants all blended together (and because I didn't look more closely).

I looked up Texas Everbearing and see they are also called Brown Turkey, which is my favorite type of fig for eating. Wonderful flavor, and I imagine even better when you grow them yourself rather than get them at the grocery story. My variety is Fignomenal, which is a sport of Chicago Hardy. The flavor is pretty good. Last year, some ripened, and some didn't. We'll see what happens this year.

Happy spring everyone! look what I found at Costco!! $16.99 for two!!I took all 4 packs that I could found,

Kitty - good luck with the home viewing. Crossing my fingers for a sale. :) I didn't know that you've flipped houses before. Wow! You're a very impressive person!!

Windowsill - thanks!! :) :) I'm like you, I have no idea about our finances. But Don's going to teach me, in case something happens to him. Good thing that you're on the right financial path, too. :) Retirement is going to be so good for Don. Hives are back, yay (sarcastic). Was it the cheese or the heat? I'll find out soon. We should have a bet on what's causing the hives. Winner gets to host the summer thread. lol Wonderful about daffodils popping up and trees getting leaves. We're so far away from that. That spring green is so uplifting for the soul. Maybe figgy pudding is in the offing. Just kidding.

Judi - fig trees!! Wonderful!! I don't ever remember seeing figs at the store. I had them once at a restaurant where they were cooked with bacon. Delicious!!

Summers - good for you!! Scentuous on hmf has got excellent reviews!! Score!

Windowsill and Carol, No figgy pudding! You know my story. Great all the figs are popping, though. But don't bother with figgy pudding. I Love how spring is setting in both inside and outside for you. It's gloomy today, but 66F tomorrow here. Must drag myself outside for sure.

Carol, it's cheese for my 2 dollare bet. I didn't realize how much you wanted Don to retire, but it sounds like a great idea for him. Do you have plans for your "new" back yard now? I'm excited for you. I wish I could send you some plants.

Summers, nice to see you posting, and you scored a real hit. Scentuous is one I've wanted for ages, but gave up finding it. How are you doing?

Judi, hope you get your fig trees going not bushes. Diane

Eglantyne wants be Prima Ballerina, too.

Late October

June

Thanks Diane and Carol. DH was in a motorcycle accident last Sep, broke his right leg pretty badly, he couldn’t walk for months. I was super busy with my work and also taking care of everything. He finally can walk now without any support. What a journey! I was glad I knew how to use different lawn equipment to take care the properties, have been a handy woman for a half year. Glad to be back here.

@judijunebugarizonazn8

You truly nailed it! The kitchen & bathrooms sell the home-they need to pop! They need to peak the attention, usually of a woman-to fall in love eith the home!

Diane,

Eglantine is so beautuful! She didn’t like the constant rain in NY & I gave her away.

Windowsill,

Yay! Bolero lves her new soil & trim! The rest of your roses will enjoy fresh soil & root trims if needed. Yes, our wibter really caused black canes, but so far I may not have lost any roses. I will check again, tomorrow! I’m so excited you see daffs poppibg up! It us soooooo exciting! It’s not to lare to order bulbs if you olant them now…. some will be ready to come up soon. Your fig tree is remarkable having yummy figs now! Wow!

Summersrhythm,

Winderful to heR from you! Wow! So you have 4 new double roses, for that price! Amazing!!!

Today I walked 45 min. with Anastasia, after cleaning house & showing my home at 12 Noon! Then I sanded 2 complete doors & painted them in kitchen. Finished by 8pm.

What a day!

1. I want to finish 2 more kitchen doors in next 2 days.

2. Then Tuesday, it will be warm so I can spread soil on front lawn. 2 fur trees for porch coming, too.

3. Next to stain front door (and porch if warm.)

4. I may power wash porch carpet now because its too wet to install a new caroet right now.

5. I will be ordering a new porch wreath, too.

And as soon as Lowes nursery opens, potted bulbs/flowers for porch!

-—

6. Then I wait for contractors to do walls.in kitchen near March end.

AND…..

7. Pruning, fertiluzing rosrs coming up. And digging up-potting 30-59 roses & plants coming soon.

Kitty -- I'll remember all the work you are doing whenever I feel too lazy to repot a plant! I actually don't mind the process; I just hate the cleanup in an apartment afterward. Yeah, it's been such a cold winter. I wonder if the mophead hydrangeas around here have died down to the ground. That hasn't happened in a long while in our area.

Diane -- OK, I think Eglantyne actually take the prima prize for me. I hadn't thought before about how her blooms are that classic ballet pink. Plus her petals seems to have a sort of movement to them. We are going to hit 60 for the first time in ages tomorrow, but it'll only stay warm for a few days.

Carol -- Haha at least you are good-humored about the hives, but I like you being our host of the seasons!

An aging Bistra bloom. They take on a sort of apricot hue and fluffy form as they age. The bloom is quite large for a "mini" at 3 1/2 inches across.

Kitty, of course I had no idea that you had previously flipped seven houses... so please ignore my concerns from above! Judi, great story about the major kitchen reno.

Windowsill, so glad that Bolero is responding well (and quickly) to the root trim and new soil. But I can imagine the mess it makes doing it in your apartment... I make a giant mess outside doing it.

Summers, our Costco had those two-for pots last time I was there in early February... such a deal.

The last of my daffodils faded this past week. The narcissus bloom in December, and the daffs bloomed all through February into early March, when we had a mini heat wave. We've had a lot of mini heat waves this winter... my yard currently looks more like the first week of April rather than the second week of March :-D

Windowsill & Susan,

Thank you! Kitchen renovations are underway! Actually, I flipped 8 housrscand this us my 9th home to flip! Wow! My last house I am building and it will be built by builders, not me!!! LOL!

Windowsill, Lovely Bistra! Sweet mini! Love your hycinth behind her!

It’s 54F today, Sunday, & rained a lot last night. Yesterday, a quick doggie walk in evening in siggy rain! . However, M, T, W ate all 69F-70F!!! Nice warm painting & garden days! Today, I clean back porch in prep of soon to stain it. Off to Lowes for more compound & wood filler for kitchen doors.

Fun! LOL!

Diane,

Ate you fully healthy now? Is it warmer and are your fardening now?

Carol,

How is your health? Is tye foctor vusit soon? Any warm coming your way?

Anastasia wants a walk in the dry warmth, if any dry ground today ?

Is it chocolare mousse or baked choc mouseeeday? Maybe? What treats shall we bake? Any suggestions? What’s in your spring menu?

Bake cottage cheese, powder Hershey Cacao and honey for ”Lava Mousee Cake dish.”

Well, we're having a snowmaggedon now with wind gusts up to 64 kph/50 mph. It's a good day to stay inside. We're only expecting 3 inches, but it looks way worse than that outside.

Diane - Yes, no figgy pudding. Blech. Good that you'll be having some warmth outside tomorrow. Here it'll be -1C/30F. This week won't be great, but the next should be a lot better. :) You think it's cheese. Sure could be. It started with the brie, as far as I can tell. I'll write you down as cheese. :) The only plans are to fix some things. The shed is falling apart, one side of the deck needs to be raised, and we want to put a cement walkway from the driveway to the backyard. There's a part by the gate where grass won't grow, and it gets muddy there. Dang, I noticed that Phoenix Perennials has Martha Stewart, now I wish I had gotten it. They just put out a list of roses (lots of ramblers) that are rare, and I was looking through their list again and noticed Martha Stewart. SWOOOON over your Eglantyne blooms!!! The petals are so luxuriously placed. :) :)

Summers - what a tough time you've had. And a motorcycle accident could have been much worse, though breaking a leg was bad enough. Has your hubby given up motorcycles? Scary! I'm glad you're back!

Kitty - Good to hear that your roses all survived. :) Yee gads, you're a busy and talented woman!! Impressive!

Windowsill - lovely weather for tomorrow for you! :) Yes, I don't mind being the host, lol Wow!! I love that Bistra bloom!! It has such an interesting petal formation. Very old rose-ish. It looks extra beautiful near the muscari (do I have that right?).

Susan - hard to believe your daffs are past their prime already while we're having a snowmaggedon. lol

Oh, Kitty, that lava cake looks divine!!! I want one so badly!!! I'm doing well. :) Yup, the allergist appointment is on Wed. :)

Glad you are back Summers.

Carol,

Bundle-up and stay warm! A snowmmaggedon! ☃️🥀 Boooo! Baking indoors time-how about peanutbutter or chocolate chip cookies! YAY! Wed. doctor visit for you! How about a movie, cozy on couch & popcorn later?

I stained small back 8 ft porch, a cedar color. . It was so warm yesterday. i need to stain it again, today. Today is 68-70F! Boiler man is coming to “tune-up,” my boiler heater.

I still need to go to Lowes for compound & wood filler to finish kitchen doors. FUN! LOL!

Kitty - Ooooh, I love both of those types of cookies!! You are still so busy!! More snow today for us.

Kitty -- The warm weather feels glorious, doesn't it? Wasn't it in the single digits just a few weeks ago? I'm not complaining. This microwave sticky toffee pudding has been on my "must make soon" list: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026585-microwave-sticky-toffee-pudding?unlocked_article_code=1.R1A.gwFq.-lRto0X2RcJT&smid=share-url

Carol -- I hope you get some clarity at your appointment on Wednesday. Yup, those were some muscari I got at the grocery store. Your cold weather sounds brutal!

Diane -- Hope you're continuing to feel better and can start to enjoy early spring. I'm picturing you like a ballet mistress, tapping her wooden teacher's stick on the ground, and summoning her corps de ballet of roses to come into bud and then bloom, Fantasia-style. (Thanks for indulging my flights of fancy, haha.) I know in reality, it's a lot of compost spreading, weeding, pruning, etc.

Summers -- I'm not sure if our paths have ever crossed on this forum before, but I'm glad you've gotten through a difficult period and that things are looking up for you now. Caretaking is such hard work.

Windowsill, thanks for the good wishes. I'm not doing so well, but I will spare you the gory details. At least I got the poor birds fed today. Things look awful outside. What a mess, so no ballet class yet, although Royal Bonica is leafing out. It's a sport of Meilland's Bonica. I'm wondering if any of these roses are going to be pruned at this point. The antique daffodils are indeed blooming like I predicted--Mar 8 or 9.. They are short and grow on a slope, and so are difficult to photograph. Tomorrow, I'm cutting a little bouquet to make a daffy plonk to photograph. I have very few pics of this plant. I've told this story before, but these daffodils are a multi-passalong plant, found growing in front of an abandoned miner's cabin in the mountain backwoods of Idaho by a friend's husband while he was on horseback in the back country......Your Bistra bloom is so beautiful and large. I wonder if it would become a minimaxi if it were planted in the ground in the sun. It would be stunning. We're having colder temps today and tomorrow, along with biting cold breeze. I hope this doesn't damage the big magnolia buds that are going to open before long. We get down to 32F tonight after a long time with no freezing temps. I hope your warm temps continue and all your plants burst forth with more blooms.

Back later. Must rest. Diane

Magnolia

Minimaxi has about 3 inch blooms. When the heat is on, they shrink in size and darken some. Then they look more like a mini. When the heat lessens in fall, the blooms increase in size again.

It will be a while. Karl Rosenfield peony.

Coral Charm peony.

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt. Could she be the ballerina assoluta?

Carol - listened to Holly! Thx for link. She was great! Hope doc appt is helpful & congrats for getting on same pg for retirement.
Summers - ditto what windowsill said - hard work - glad you’re on other side of it!
Diane - I hope you start feeling well again. Gorgeous photos. No, orange dude is a little guy. I have one tree, planted last fall, queen of elegance.
I need to make a longer post soon - remind me to tell you about Francis Meilland.
Kitty - I’m new at dahlias & no idea how many will wake up, but may have some tubers for you! But do you want them before a move?
I’ll try to post some pics & come back to post tomorrow.

Plonk, distant thunder, distant drums, princesse cdm flanked by Evelyns.

Sorry this is sideways. This has Love Song, Sespe Sunrise, Gabriel Oak, Tower Bridge, and Distant Thunder. I love the color of Gabriel Oak, but next to Tower BRidge he looks a bit washed out.

Distant Thunder

Distant Drums

The Princesse Charlene de Monaco, flanked by her Evelyn guards.

We're back on water restrictions. Yay!! Ugh.

I'm covered in hives. double ugh. We ordered pizza the other day, and I totally forgot about the potential cheese allergy. Yes, I did. lol

Windowsill - thanks, I'm sure they'll figure it out for me. Fantasia style rose magic for Diane. Love that!

Diane - so are you still sick, or is it something else? I'd like to know, unless you don't feel like sharing. :) Awww, good that you fed the birds. :) That's a great story about your daffs. Was it Elaine's husband? So sweet that he brought them back. :) Darn about your cold temps. That's wacko considering what your temps have been. I love your Magnolia blooms. :) That's a tree we don't get here. They're so pretty. Karl is looking very handsome. But none can surpass the Divine Sarah. :) I can almost smell her just by looking at your pic. :)

Deborah - thanks about Holly. :) I'll share your comment with her. I'm sure the doctor will figure it out. Thank heavens it's almost here. Yes!! Retirement!! He'll be my garden slave...he sort of is now, already. lol

We just got a licence plate for the car that Don's mom gave us. She's retiring from driving as she's almost 93. The licence plate is such a coincidence. The odds are incredible. I can't tell you the exact number because I don't want it to be on the internet, but CN are my initials, and lets pretend my birthday is October 19th and that I was born in 1977. The Licence plate is CYN 7719. So it's my initials, plus the year I was born, plus the day of my birth. Totally weird!! And the woman just pulled a licence plate out at random.

Hi Carol, shame on you eating pizza with lots of cheese. Did it make your hives worse? That might be a clue. Can you take a pic of your arm so we can get an idea of this hive business? Aren't I awful? No, my ailment is no big secret, just boring. I keep having relapses and am just wiped out. I feel pretty good now, so I'm overdoing it, and will be sick tomorrow. I also couldn't eat much for a couple of days, and that didn't help. I would give mucho dinero to have a garden slave. Yes, that's weird about the license plate numbers. Did your MIL do that on purpose? I can't believe that was a coincidence, or that she was driving at 93 years. She must have been the town terror on wheels. I don't care if my dates are on the internet. My name is all over the internet anyway. Plus, Houzz screwed up my username. Are we waging bets on what you're allergic to? I said cheez and I'm betting $2 on that. Are you the bookie?......No, that wasn't Elaine's husband, it was a friend who lives up the mountain in a back of beyond development called Wilderness Ranch. It really is on a mountain and heck to get to. Thanks about the peonies. I should do an album of Sarah B. You know she was really called The Divine Sarah. She even played Hamlet in a stage performance. Not the peony--haha. Take care and lay off the cheese. I can't wait to know if the doc comes up with anything to help you.

Deborah, it's so lovely to see your roses, and I'm impressed. Distant Thunder looks like porcelain bisque, and should be called something exquisite and French to match the rose and those colors. What an amazingly beautiful bloom Princesse Charlene de Monaco is. She looks about 8 inches across and puts Evelyn to shame. I hope I don't have those roses mixed up. Yes, come back tomorrow. See you then. Diane

Angel Face

Ascot

Well, I'll continue on from last night and hope someone joins me here.

Deborah, I was so curious about the Distant Thunder name that I checked it out on HMF. It's a John Clements' rose that was a seedling of Distant Drums, so the name makes sense. I still don't like it. Deborah, your bloom photo should be posted on HMF because it beats the competition. I did notice a lot of color and bloom structure variety with Distant Thunder. Next, I checked PCdM, and yes, she's big and very pretty, but I think Evelyn still has her beat on looks.

Can any of you verify what I conclude? The daily email from Grace Rose Farm was pushing the rose, Juliet, as the world's most beloved rose. First of all, it's a ringer for Evelyn, so I concluded that it was Austin's florist Evelyn copy, and it's available as an expensive bouquet, which I will not buy, of Juliet, which is hardly the world's most beloved rose. Evelyn might be, but not Juliet.

Kitty, I hope all is proceeding smoothly getting all those chores done. I still think Lowe's should give you a discount. I'm feeling pretty good, but haven't been gardening. Tomorrow I make two kinds of Minestrone which have to be babysat all afternoon, and that's probably all I'll do. I noticed that I have alyssum coming up and blooming, plus some self-seeded seedlings began their journey last fall, sat calmly all winter until a week ago, and are now growing. I plan to pick a small bunch of daffodils later. I'm moving slowly. Our lowest temps of the week are today, but it quickly warms up starting tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. Spring is almost officially here, and I'm waiting for winter. Diane

Not Juliet.

Looking a bit white from strong sun.

Diane -- I do think David Austin has bred some extraordinary florist roses that, in some ways, capture the look and spirit of the roses they sell to be grown in gardens. I believe Juliet was the first florist rose that DA offered, and it was dubbed the "£3 million rose" because of how much DA spent on its development. Because the DA florist roses are so closely tied to the wedding industry, I can understand how some of those varieties become so well-known outside of gardening circles. I've also heard GRF refer to Evelyn as the "garden version" of Juliet, maybe back during the pandemic when she was selling Evelyn as a cut rose. Juliet has little scent, sadly. Your Evelyn pics are as wonderful as ever. Hope you were able to get that daffodil plonk. The daffodils around here seem very behind; only just starting to poke through the soil. I still don't see a crocus or iris reticulata anywhere; sometimes I see them starting in late February. My mom is visiting in a little over three weeks, just for a day on a layover, and I really want her to see an early East Coast spring for the first time in a long time for her!

Deborah -- Gorgeous blooms! I've been curious about Distant Thunder ever since I first noticed it on the Heirloom website years ago but have never known anyone who has grown it. Very beautiful. Speaking of Heirloom, my Martha Stewart from them arrived today looking good, though with a basal snapped off right above the soil level. Aaahhh! But what can you do? They are fragile, and the rose was packaged well (I pay for the $1 plastic pot).

Carol -- I'll be hoping the for best for your doctor's visit. It's always a relief to have answers. I'd have a really hard time avoiding cheese myself. Hopefully the hives will just be a distant memory at some point.

Diane -- I know I over-post the bougie, but I also know you like the bougie! It was looking particularly vibrant today, so here it is. The blooms always look much softer in color on my camera phone than they are in real life, though.

Windowsill, thanks for the info on Juliet. Evelyn came out a number of years before Juliet. I checked Juliet,and I can see she doesn't have Evelyn's coloring or quite the same bloom structure. Evelyn is starting her 22nd year this month in my garden. Not bad. Thanks, too, for another photo of bougie. And I like him so much. Edwards does sell bougainvillea, but it's way too tender for outside. Did yours bloom the first year you grew it? If it did, I could grow it as an annual outside maybe, which would be really blowing some bucks. I can't wait to see how Martha does for you. I really shouldn't add a single new rose to my garden this year. Boy, are the roses starting to leaf out. Most advanced are Morden Sunrise and Royal Bonica with others not far behind. I'm in pruning trouble and not just roses. My buddleia should have been pruned at least a month ago. Diane

Isn't there anybody who is going to respond to the post of our fellow Roses Forum member, Brandon Garner? He made an AI assisted video, and is waiting for our comments.

Moses.

Sorry for my very abbreviated contributions yesterday. I think I've explained before that I am a super slow typer on iphone/pad. A student said I text like his grandma! But with a real keyboard I'm pretty fast.

Diane -- I hope and pray you are feeling better. And that the minestrone turned out well. I've never made minestrone. I wish I could grow peonies here. Yours are lovely.

Carol -- you have your doctor visit tomorrow, yes? I hope you get answers and relief. I think I've only had hives with poison oak. At the doctor's office I was saying that it was really unfair that I tended my poison oak perfectly correctly but it was still spreading everywhere, even places I hadn't touched -- and the doctor explained that my poison oak hadn't spread, but I was so allergic I had hives all over my body as part of my reaction to the poison oak. So I took steroids to calm it all down. My reactions to poison oak have got worse and worse over the years. I'm VERY careful nowadays when doing the brush clearing. That's so "woowoo" about your license plate! Maybe you should run out and play the lottery!

Diane -- did you post photos of your daffodils? I think I've seen them before, but it would be fun to see again. I paid a small fortune for "special" daffodils this year -- a batch of 6, I think. I've not seen them yet. So not sure if they were duds or just really late. Yes, Distant Thunder comes from Distant Drums, but it's supposed to be more fragrant. Nothing beats Distant Drums for color, though. And my bushes are so vigorous. I have one in front that I started from a cutting, and that one is more vigorous than the grafted parent or the own-root from Heirloom. Speaking of cuttings, Young Lycidas is also quite vigorous and already a bit of a bloom machine. I took your advice and he is in a huge pot. He was only a little cutting a year ago Thanksgiving. My Princess CdM is a big bush and healthy, though can be prone to a bit of PM, but doesn't bloom as often as I'd like. Your Angel Face is so ruffly. Love it. Your Evelyn (and Augusta Luise and Rouge Royale...) is why I had to get my own! Mine (Evelyn) is in the 2nd year now, and shot up some very tall canes. Looks like it will be as big as the Princesse CdM, though some of the canes are a bit on the spindly side.

Windowsill -- so sorry you lost a basal on a young plant! Ugh. I hope you like your Martha. Everyone was gaga over that on some of the rose tours I did last year. Do you get more or less powerful fragrances growing inside? Re the DA florist roses -- I fell in love with Constance (thanks to Ben), so got one (yes, that's how I ended up ordering from an Etsy seller, who I think was later sued by DA, or at least stopped selling the DAs), and the first bloom of the season opened today. What a stunner. I'll post a pic.

Three things to report: 1) ANOTHER HEAT WAVE. Ugh. We need more rain, not more heat. And the heat is too early. Supposed to get up to 90 this week! I don't usually have to water in March (or Feb). But I will have to tomorrow. And the heat brought bugs early, too. 2) I had FOUR students help me on Saturday -- two first year women helped me pull weeds. They were delightful. I don't think they work as fast as I'd like, but they were attentive to detail. and then I had 2 of my older students come later and help me build my new 2x8 ft raised bed. It's not that it's so hard, but it's tedious and awkward. So it went faster with them and they could do all the bending over to do all the little screws (70+ of them!). I started, and then I got oddly lightheaded. 3) Francis Meilland saga. Last year was his 2nd year in the garden, but he bloomed maybe twice. I mean two blooms, once. In January, when I did my pruning, he was pruned like everyone else. But then the new shoots blackened and died!!! I was totally paranoid that it was rose midge, so trimmed those off, but couldn't find any evidence of bugs/larvae. And the top ends of the canes were blackening. Pruned him hard, down to healthy cane. Dug him out, and put him in my recovery area in a big pot. Then he died over the course of about 3-4 weeks. No new growth attempted at all. I pulled him out and uploaded pictures to AI -- first told me it was a crown failure of some kind. Then said it was probably root rot from too much water. But he was on a slope, and the roots weren't slimy or mushy or weird smelling. Anyway -- when it was obvious he died, I took photos of roots, and one AI said root knot nematodes. I put the whole thing in a big plastic bag and took it to my local nursery. The new(ish) owner (still new to me, but I've been going there a long time - yes, Susan, you know the one!) was looking at the roots and said he saw something, so took me over to a microscope! It's something sponsored by Bonide -- you put your thing on the platform, turn on a tv monitor above it, and then you can see this huge picture on the screen of what the microscope is seeing. Wow! it was full of creepy crawlies. DUDE! It was amazing! He wasn't sure if a little piece could have been gall, or if there was evidence of root knot nematodes...so then we packed it all back up and I took it over to the Agriculture office, but they were not very excited about actually running any lab tests. I guess they are super helpful for nurseries -- but less enthused about helping a homeowner with her rose issue. She said they will let me know if they do any follow-up. But she made sure I knew how busy they are. So...may or may not learn anything. It was surrounded by other vigorous, healthy roses, including Love's Promise, Nicole Carol Miller, Angel Face, Moonlight in Paris...and I just put a French Lace in that same spot! I had assumed the rose itself had a problem not my soil...Any thoughts? Okay. Enough rabbiting on. I'll also post a photo of a roadrunner that my husband took on his phone. It was eating a lizard in the garden, and you can see Orange Dude behind him. I've seen the roadrunner way out in the meadow, but not right outside our back door! Poor lizards, between the roadrunner and the red-shouldered hawks in the oak above, they don't stand a chance. I LIKE lizards (and did you know if you have a healthy lizard population they keep Lyme disease in check? True story! Ticks can't transmit it to lizards).

Here is the Roadrunner:

DAs Constance

White Licorice

Moondance

Hot Cocoa

New Raised Bed 2ft wide x 8 ft long x 17" high. Ignore the mess. I'm behind on my chores!

Angel Face

Photo of the Screen for the microscope - bit of root/soil from Francis:

Deborah -- That's quite the typing accomplishment to boast about! I'm imaging what it must have looked like to see you and other typists competing. I took typing in high school and lagged behind and never got to the part of the course where we learned the numbers/symbol in the top row, so I still have to look at the keyboard for those. You'd think I would have forced myself to learn them over the past 20+ years.

Constance is such a beautiful rose. Several years ago, I ordered a bunch of them for my birthday and wow, each bloom was unique and I remember she had a good fragrance. Yeah, "Martha Stewart" isn't a name that makes me feel the warm and fuzzies when I look at a rose, but I'm hoping she does well for me. (Funnily enough, I also have the Martha Stewart begonia that Logee's sells and I think hybridized, and it's very striking.) I know I'm a broken record, but I wish Meilland could just keep the French names for their roses when they introduce them here, but I realize that wouldn't work for marketing reasons. I smell a lot of roses outdoors when I go to gardens and have a quite sensitive nose, and I feel like the scent of my indoor roses doesn't vary much from those grown outdoors. But I have no doubt that a big mature rose bush outdoors is capable of producing much more robust blooms that give off more intense scent. Would love to see that roadrunner.

Diane -- 22 years of Evelyn! How wonderful. The petal structure of Evelyn really is unique. It always makes me think of buttercream frosting that has been swirled in the most wonderful and intricate way. When I got my bougainvillea, it was tiny, practically a plug, but I think it did bloom within a year. I guess one from a nursery would be further along and bloom for you more quickly. But yeah, I understand it'd be hard to justify the price if treating it as an annual. And having to overwinter it would be a chore. Hope you feel back to one-hundred percent soon. I'm sure you'll get to all the pruning when you're able.

Windowsill,

Loving the warm weather! I had MK facials today & sanded a kitchen door. Tomorrow I soread soil on grass area/beds if dry?? Rained a tad this evening. Your bouganvillea an indoir gorgeous bloomer! WOW! Pretty! Love the Tofee-date pudding. I added it to my recipes! live the idea of dares & dark brown sugar & cream! YUM!

Diane,

Lovely peonies! I hope to see multi-peony blooms this season, then I move them to pits to transport to PNW. I love your Magnolia! I need to order another in future. Lovely Angel Face & Ascot! But your queen is exquisite Evelyn! At least the birds were fed-YAY! Weather this time of year is so unpredictable to garden anyway. Love to see your daffs bouquet! Fabulous spring is upon you! I have little runt bulbs still bursting from the earth. Sooooo happy to see any signs of spring! Sorry you keep having relapses. You need to take it easy! Plan a fun day of TV, books, snacks maybe & lounging for a healthy day ior 2 days! Making minestronie soubds like a wonderful plan. If you can sit down often-that would good? Then you can garden and be healthy after a couple lounging days? , too! Love & care for yourself, first! Then gardening couod be a joy, too, later.

Deborah,

Lovely blooming bouquets! Must be a joy already having blooming roses! My fave is P. Charlene-she makescan amazing bouquet! (My roses now-HA!-I have dormant roses waking up w/ many black canes, LOL!) No worries, my roses have green cames way down-so they will be fine once pruned! Chuckling & grateful! ) I’d love any dahlia tubers you may send. You can send them to my NY home, because I may not sell my BY home until spring gardens look good & finish few improvements in couple months-may finally move! I’ll give you my address if you let me know you have tubers to send, in a message. I’d love some dahlias! They are favorite flowers of mine!! .

Carol,

I hope youvare enjoying some warm baking & inside time during your snow? You had puzza! YUM! Are you ok eating it now? i sure pray cheeses are good for you!

My weather has been good-72F today! Nice walk w/ Anastasia , then neighbors begged me to do ”MK Satin Hands & facials for them this afternnon,” a surprise I squeezed in. Afterwards, I sanded 2 kitchen doors until 8pm and relaxed for the evening. Tomorrow I spread soil & paint the 2 doors-YAY!

I have a few more paint/stain projects to do and soon buying flowers for front porch. 2 little Alberta fur trees dekivered today for front porch. I will pit them & put them in the Talvera oots to look dressy on front porch.

Previous home owner’s dog scratched kitchen painted doors near bottom, severely. They were chipped a lot, too. I did lots of compound, wood filler and sanding. Very happy how flat & smooth it looked when sanded & then I painted. Looks new now….. see my photos below… these are very tall historric doorsi…

Door sanded wood filler at bottom

I painted this door semi-gloss cream.

My son always loved cooking competitions on TV & now I think he’s going to be the chef of the family, LOL LOL! (Actually , all my kids love cooking.) He sends me photos of foods he makes.

But he doesn’t always tell me what he makes?? Guess what this plate of food is below?? I’m not sure, but YUM! (Maybe salmon & cream sauce?)

Love his shrimp stir fry & noodles!

Windowsill -- APOLOGIES! I went back in edited my long post because it was too long and took out the typing bit AND my lack of enthusiasm for Martha because I didn't want to insult your choice! But lo and behold -- you'd already read it. I would love to have a bouquet of Constance. Maybe this year I will. She was a tiny little quart size plant, but this is year 3, I think, so maybe she'll really take off now.

Kitty -- if you don't mind taking a chance on a newbie with dahlias -- I'll send you a tuber of Caitlyn's Joy, a Mocha Jake, and maybe a Cafe au Lait? But none have woken up for me yet. As long as you know that what you get with Deborah's dahlias -- free, but no guarantees! Send me your snail mail address. On that subject -- I'm getting my rooted cuttings this week from Stonehouse Dahlias. If any of you want to drool over pictures of dahlias -- check them out! I have coming: KA Penny Lane, RM Illusion, KA Brittany's Favorite, RM Mirage, RM Peachy Pink, KA Whisper & KA Boho Rose. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. When the roses kind of take a snooze in late summer/early fall, the dahlias are at their peak. Last year I loved Caitlyn's Joy, Mocha Jake, Cafe au Lait, Megan Dean...rabbits kept getting Coralie. Hence my new raised bed for some of these beauties! Okay. Need to log off now. With dahlias dancing in my head.

Keeping this very short. Deborah, just a guess, but I think your dead rose had root knot nematodes, though not from your soil. And ticks only feed on warm blooded animals, so they would not feed on lizards, which are cold blooded. I guess that's how lizards break the tick cycle. We don't have lyme disease around here, but there are lots of ticks about. West Nile virus is a problem with mosquitoes as the vector, mainly in the next county over. What fun topics. Diane

Kedra, my daughter, came over today and said, Mom, you're a wreck. You have hives all over your face. I showed her my back, and she was aghast. Thank heavens the allergist appointment is tomorrow, Wed. I told her about the pizza and the wheezing and coughing fit I had for hours. She said I may have to have an EpiPen with me if this keeps up. Ugh.

Diane - Yes, the pizza made my hives worse. I don't know why I couldn't remember that I'm supposed to stay away from cheese. What a brain I have. Yeesh. I see, you're having trouble with stamina after that rotten bug we both got. I'm still having exhaustion, and I'm younger than you are, so it would hit you even harder. And that's the thing of a gardener, if we feel okay, we have no concept of not overdoing it. I hope you didn't feel too awful today. Yes, a garden slave is a very good thing. I wish I could loan Don to you for a few days. He'd get lots done for you. No, we had to get a new licence plate since we are now owners of the car. The person at the till just reached out to a stack of licence plates and picked that one out. Totally bizarre!! My initials, the year and month of my birth. Weird!! My m-i-law just drove a block to Walmart. I'm really glad she's not driving anymore. Yes, lol, I'm the bookie. I think you're right about the cheese. We'll find out tomorrow/today. Yeah, I knew she was called The Divine Sarah. :) I thought she was a singer. She was an actress? My heavens!! Your last picture of Ascot may rival your emphatically gorgeous Eglantyne and Jude. SWOOOON!! Your Evelyn is a monster bloomer!! Long may she bloom!! Good for Royal Bonica and Morden Sunrise!!

Windowsill - That's a shame about a wonderful basal growth breaking. At least the rest of it looks good. Thanks about the good wishes for my appt. :) Yes, good riddance to the hives. I'm taking Reactine with me so I can have some right after the appointment. Your bougie is enchanting!! It's a showstopper for you!!

Deborah - I'm like you, hopeless on a phone. :) :) Yes, I have an allergist appointment Wed. :) :) I'm so glad the day has finally come. :) :) Thanks for your good wishes. I'm going to take the Reactine with me, so I can get relief quickly. Oh, yes, hives all over your body from just one touch. Steroids were helpful? Hmmm...that's good to know. That's what seems to have happened to me, my reactions to cheese are worsening when I have cheese. D'oh! Stop eating cheese. lol :) Yes, I should go play the Lottery. Woo woo is a perfect way to explain it. :) I'm excited to see your special daffs when they pop up and bloom. :) I got rid of m y PCdM because it got Downy Mildew. I was disappointed, because I really loved that rose. I hope yours starts blooming more. :) I'm sorry about your heat wave. That's rotten, and so are the bugs that came with it. FOUR students!! Way to go!! A few of us have gotten vertigo from bending over in the garden, so be careful of doing too much bending. Good thing you had help. Oh, no!! I have no thoughts on what to do about the crawlies. That sounds terrible since you have other roses around the area. Drat! Why is it so difficult to grow roses? There's always a problem. I hope you find an answer. That's interesting about lizards and Lyme disease. They don't seem to stand much of a chance with the predators around. Lovely little Roadrunner. I didn't know they had blue on the sides of their heads. Constance is a beauty!! My goodness!! Oh, you have White Licorice; she's a favorite of mine. :) Moondance is uber white and so defined. :) :) I've never seen a Hot Cocoa with that coloring...what a beauty!!! Oh my!! Oh, yes, those bugs are everywhere around that plant. I wonder if there's some kind of drench you can pour on the soil where the roses are. I'd love to look at those Dahlias, but it's too late tonight. I'll look at them tomorrow if I remember. :)

Kitty - I'm glad you're enjoying the warm weather!! It was 2C/36F here today, which was wonderful on our walk (see pics below). Make sure you take pics of your peonies for us to see. :) The cheese didn't seem to be good for me. Lots of wheezing. We went out for a walk, and it's so fun there. Busy day for you tomorrow/today. Good for you for fixing that door! You are very good at home repairs. :) That door looks brand new! That is either salmon, chicken, or lobster. See what a big help I was? lol That's great that he loves to cook. :)

Diane - good going on figuring out those are nematodes. Do you know what Deborah should do about them?

Deborah,

I’m drooling over your order of dahlias! You are going to love them & have so much fun!!!!

Thank you! I am very excited to have any dahlias this season. The 3 you mentioned, you’d send me, are a treat-I love them! No worries about them growing. They are freebies! LOL! Great experiments!

.

Your dahlias should do fine as long as ”not buried too deep in soil, put eyes on dahlia tubers near soil surface-I suggest inly 1/4 inch below soil. . Keep them moist, but not soggy wet. Check on them daily to see if noist, but not too wet. If too wet they rot. If too dry- they dry up. If eyes burued too low-they cannot make it up to tyecair to grow. They are originally grown in the mountains of Mexico & love it hot and not overly wet. Could you please send me tubers w/ eyes. Without eyes, they will not grow. I’ll message you my address.

Carol,

Oh, My, I wonder why cheese bothers you now, when you had it all your life. I am so sorryvabout your reaction. Please be careful. Yay! Dr appointment today. Today is last day of my very warm weather 70F & rained this morning. Not sure if I can spread any soil now ?? Then it’s 37F tomorrow, but maybe warmer? Then 45-50Fish for 10 days maybe? I keep hoping it will stay warm! Your weather & mine will possibly match for a bit. At least it isb’t freezing & your snow will melt. Tgank you about my oaibtibg doors prohect! It was such a joy to see tgat door resurrected! From really terrible scratched to new & beautiful! . Not sure what food mybson made, but it looks tantalizibg & I am glad to see him eating well & loving cooking! . He’s much taller than me. I’m 5.3 ft and he’s almost 6 ft so he needs to eat a lot!

Well, onto more projects today! Maybe dump soil on lawn area-not sure it will spread-muddy. LOL! And I will paint doors in kitchen.

Deborah,

Love these dahlias!

(2 Internet photos…)

Caitlin’s Joy, 4 inch bloom-gorgeous!

Mocha Jake, 4 inch bloom, great for weddings!

Just a few of my dahlias below from past 2 summers, 2024, 2025.

Cafe Au Lait, Dinnerplate 6-8 inches

(all cream to pink to mocha colors)

Pineland’s Princess Dinnerplate (from Swan Island Dahlias) My photo

Emory Paul Dinnerplate

Labyrinth

Jason Matthew Pom Pom (from Swan Island Dahlias) My photo

Merlot Dinnerplate

Merlot in bouquet

i had many many small dahlias boardering beds , too, last year, from Lowes! They give such a gorgeous splash of color!

I just read that in Seattle, Bremerton areas, PNW, to keep dahlias, I will have to dig them up yearly & store them, to keep them from rotting in cool wet soil. Yep! Well, maybe in my new garden I may save a few next year! Love to order these above, again.

OOPS! It’s raining all day! 70F, no gardening for me. 💧⛈️💦☔️☔️☔️💦💦☔️ 🤪

Maybe it will stay warm & dry in couple days so I can spread soil. Sat/Sun is 37-46F may be dry for spreading soil??? Now raining alternate days. Praying for sun! ☀️🌤️🌺🥀💥⛅️☀️🌹🌸💥😊

Distant Drums, Princesse CdM, Distant Drums w Sespe Sunrise behind, and Orlaya going nutso. B
Thx, Diane for diagnosis. Will order the beneficial nematodes. Already planted marigolds & broccoli everywhere! Carol - a lot (most) creepies good for healthy soil - but I don’t need to see them up close! 🤪 OK - back to work!

Help, I'm drowning in beautiful dahlias. Does DD stand for distant dahlias?

Kitty, when I read about you sanding a door and giving a facial, I thought you were sanding the neighbor's face along with the door. Strange visual.

Windowsill, I've got you all beat. I took typing as a ninth grader in 1960, and learned on a giant Smith Corona. Nothing was electric and when we all hit the return lever, you can't imagine the noise it made. Built muscles, but was slow back then.

Carol, you were heading for anaphylactic shock when you ate that pizza. That's when the allergic response builds up to the point your trachea swells shut and you need a tracheotomy to breath. Plus, it can kill you. I can't wait for you to visit the allergist. Yikes.....I think Bonide makes a granular systemic that kills nematodes. Not absolutely sure on that. This product contains imidacloprid and kills grubs, thrips, and other stuff.....Sarah B was theee actress of the day.

Now, I'm going back up for a more through reading and looking at those dahlias. Diane

Deborah, You should get an in person diagnosis on the nematodes. Plus, a drench would work the fastest, but I hate to see the soil good guys get killed, too. So proceed with caution. As for marigolds, I don't think they do much good. My quail love them and destroy them. And have you ever grown broccoli before? Soak in salt water for a long time before eating to get rid of the cabbage moth larva. The store broccoli is free of this pest, but I remember when my mom always soaked the broccoli in the olden days because it wasn't larva free then. I grew broccoli one year here, and sure enough, it had the larva. I refused to eat it, but my daughter soaked the stuff and did cook and eat the broccoli. I have never smelled such a strong broccoli stench in my life. Much stronger than store broccoli. I am the bearer of good tidings, right? But your Distant Drums is just exquisite with the blended color. Love it.

Kitty, I had no idea you grew such beautiful dahlias for the past two years. I don't remember you sharing those photos. They are fabulous. The bouquet is my favorite.....Food allergies can pop up at odd times. I remember my step dad eating strawberries every day. He grew many strawberry plants. In the winter, he ate the strawberry freezer jam my mom made. He became allergic to strawberries when he was in his seventies. I think he was pretty unhappy to give the berries up. Diane

I might go have a nap, and I'll respond to these later. But....I went to the allergist today! And...I'm not allergic to anything. It is an idiosyncratic thing. I have it written down, but I'm too tired to get up and get it. :) She asked me if i had had stress. I said yes when my daughter went to the hospital. I was losing my mind over that. She said that was it. Lol so I'm to take claritin as it's better for the kidneys long term. After 3 months I stop and reassess. Then take again if hives are still there. Reassess every 3 months. Could last for 3 years. I asked about the wheezing and she gave me a blood req for cheese. Just to be safe. I have a blood work next week already booked. The test she gave me was for milk. So stress. Who knew. I'm not going to eat cheese until after my blood test, just to be safe.

Talk later. Now, snooze. :)

Carol, like Diane, I was really worried when I read about the wheezing. It seems odd that stress could cause that. But what do I know! Hopefully Sheila will chime in. I'm glad you're having the test for cheese.

Diane, gorgeous Evelyn. My roses haven't done all that much this summer. I'm hoping for a better Autumn show.

Lovely dahlias, Kitty. My two short ones are doing well, particularly one of them, but one of the tall ones seems to be diseased. The foliage isn't forming properly at the top of the stems and neither are the blooms. The other tall one is slower but has a question mark over it. Your son's prawn and noodle dish looks very tasty. I've no idea what the other dish is.

Deborah, I do like your Distant Drums, and it was interesting to see the roadrunner. Only ever seen the cartoon one. I have Princesse Charlene de Monaco. It's in its second year. Very few blooms on a skinny bush and is around 9' tall. I'll give it another year. Also, lost enthusiasm for it when I read recently about the person's spending habits.

windowsill, I'm gobsmacked that Bistra has such a large bloom. Your boogie is doing very well. Much better than my parsimonious one on the balcony. The two outside my son's place are looking good though.

Trish, what a beautiful bougie. Does your son have more sun? Thanks about Evelyn. Those Evelyn photos are not from 2026! I've been posting old photos because I don't have anything new to show. Except for our cute little bunny that Jemma has just videoed with her fancy camera. He's a pygmy cross, so little and cute. He's been hanging around for about a week......I'm still perplexed at Carol's diagnosis, but will hold off commenting.

Carol, I'm hoping your doc visit helps, but kind of perplexed about the diagnosis. And did your daughter go into the hospital recently? I don't remember you posting about it. I hope she's doing fine. The two minestrone soups were great and worth the effort. Now it's on to doing some clean up tomorrow. I may even prune buddleia. After a couple of cool days, the temps will rise. In about a week, we're supposed to hit 80F. Now that's way too hot for March. I don't want another premature heat wave like last year. So rest up and get back here when you feel good. Diane.

Some oldies. Here is Brother Cadfael with peonies.

Princess Alexandra of Kent

Sarah Bernhardt with her rose attendants.

Sarah B

One monster Evelyn

Carol, I’m so glad to hear you’re not allergic to anything, but how odd to think that a stress reaction could go on for three years. Hopefully you get past this much sooner than that! I don’t know if this is helpful or not, but just a personal experience to share that I know how random these reactions can be: about 15 years ago, I started randomly with hives on my monthly cycle. In a week or less, they went away. Next month, same thing. And the next… it kept up for more than six months and then just as randomly disappeared. I have no explanation. Finding the reason for hives can be an elusive hunt.

Loving all the photos over here! Everything thing from bougainvillea to dahlias to roses and orlaya… gets me impatient for the first flush of roses to begin! I’m reminding myself that it’s only March, for crying out loud. Slow down and enjoy the unfolding of leaves and the wonders of spring. And spring actually feels like spring just now, something that isn’t usually so in Arizona. This time of year our weather can fluctuate wildly between hot and dry and windy to freezing temperatures all in 24 hours time. We did have some hot, windy days for a week or two and then all of a sudden it clouded over and we had some beautiful rain on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The temperature dropped and last night was chilly, even a bit of frost on the rooftops this morning. So it felt really fresh and spring like all day and I spent all afternoon out mowing the pasture and weed eating around fences and trees, etc. I am wiped out and have a headache tonight, but happy to have it done!

Olivia Rose Austin

I'm pretty sure that Carol was searching for the word idiopathic, which is a condition that arises spontaneously and is of unknown origin. That's the doc's answer for the hives, It basically means they don't know where the heck something came from or what to call it. Sheila, please chime in. Sorry Carol. Diane

Trish - Yeah about the wheezing. The Allergist said she didn't know what could be causing this. That's why we're doing the blood test. I'm cautiously excited that I don't have to give up cheese!! :) :) Wow, lots and lots of flowers on that plant!!

Diane - I was confused that the hives didn't appear, because I definitely felt their itchiness. But, idk. I'm back on an antihistamine, thank heavens. She said I can even take them twice a day if needed. Yes, Holly went to the hospital way away in Kitimat exactly when this happened. She almost passed out and had lots of pain. Her blood pressure went really low. They did tests because they thought it had something to do with endometriosis...and my mind went right to cancer since that's what I had. I was straight out panicking for a full day/night. So I can see why stress may have caused this. It was intense. Nice that you have a lot of minnestrone soup. Hopefully it'll last quite a while. Wow, 80F!! That's intense for March. We're going to be below freezing for about 4 days and then next week the roses can go in/out. Could be continuous til summer, maybe? :) :) :) It's amazing how glorious peonies look, especially the divine Sarah!! They put roses in the back seat. Your PAoK blooms are wowza!! Huge!! Evelyn is even better...what a rose!!

Judi - yes, really good news!! I would hate to have to give up cheese. Crossing my fingers over the blood test. :) Three years would be the most extreme, and hopefully that won't be me. Puhleeese!!! lol That's really odd to have hives with your monthly cycle. I've never heard of that. Thankfully, they went away after 6 months and not 3 years. I'll be hoping for closer to your timeline. :) Yes, the unfolding of leaves and the wonders of spring. That is so true!! It's quite a magical time, full of promise. :) Yes, you got a lot done. I'm happy that you're having nice weather, but not too hot.

Diane - lovely, lovely roses!! Your ORA is sooo beautiful!! The full bush shot and the last one are my faves. No wonder you love this rose so much!!! Diane, so true. That's what I meant. I was totally done in from being out for so long. We went for lunch and went to a used book store. I've basically been semi asleep all afternoon and evening. This cold really has done a number on all of us.

Here's Brent's Woods, where we walk. Wouldn't you know it, I caught Sugar taking a dump. Please, give her some privacy. lol

Here's Teddy there.

It's such a beautiful place

Oh boy, Carol, stress can surely bring things on. You must have been beside yourself about Holly. Do you have any answers about her? Thinking of you and hoping you get some answers for you too. The woods are lovely.

Diane, I realised those photos weren't current. My son does have more sun! But I think the bougie on my balcony is just a dud. All your roses and peonies are just beautiful and such pretty china too.

Trish -- That bougainvillea in the golden sunlight is extraordinary! How beautiful. I love it when they are a frothy mass of blooms like that; something I often see when I visit California.

Echo (I think her username was Echo Texas?), who used to post more often here, said on Instagram that she's started to train her Princess Charlene de Monaco as a short climber, bending the canes horizontally, and is now getting way more buds on the lateral shoots. I think your issue with PCdM is a common one, based on comments about that rose on these forums. My mom can't get blooms on her PCdM beyond its first spring flush.

Carol -- It sounds like overall you got some good information from your visit. I started googling hives and saw a lot about how chronic hives can mysteriously linger for up to a few years. I'll be hoping that yours go away much sooner. Take care of yourself! I totally understand getting stressed about the health scares of a loved ones. Brent's Woods looks like such a magical place for hiking with the dogs!

Diane -- If I could have any bouquet in the world, it'd be that one of your peonies with the dark red roses mixed in. It's perfection to me! Olivia Rose Austin sure was pretty for you.

Kitty -- It was crazy warm, wasn't it? It got up to around 80 degrees around here a couple days ago, while there were still big piles of snow in some parking lots. Back to the cold now, but that's okay; I don't want to see fried daffodils. The work you did on that door looks beautiful. I sure do love solid old wooden doors like that. The ones in my apartment feel like they are made of cardboard lol. I've always loved those crystal-style knobs, too. My aunt's pre-war apartment has them, and I always admired their jewel-like quality when I'd visit as a kid.

A plonk, but not my own. My mom's Fragrant Cloud out in CA. I really like the unique color.