Diane, I had a rose bloom this Spring in one of my beds I did not recognize either. Nature has mysterious ways. I am cutting my euphorbia heads off. They are beautiful in Spring but need trimming after blooming, so I find that tedious.

Carol -- I'm really sorry about Irish Hope. I'm guessing that was another own-root from Heirloom? I hope you find a rose you love when you go shopping. There's definitely nothing like the thrill of picking up a lush, budded-up plant from the store. And yes, I wish we could send our heat your way! That's great news about Fontaine aux Perles. Wasn't that one your were concerned about? I may be mixing up varieties. I love your little Morden Sunrise plants, and they look determined to thrive. Oh, I think you might be right about Prospero; the bloom form really does look similar. Yeah, I understand about Austins. Around here, so many of the DA varieties look like a hot mess by mid-summer. But I always make a mental note of the exceptions in case I ever get an outdoor garden. After my bare root issues earlier this spring, I'm amazed by how well The Alnwick Rose bare root is doing, sending out multiple basals and growth from most nodes. I'm really impressed.

Diane -- Celebrity is the variety my mom buys for her potted vegetable garden, as well. She really likes it, and as you say, it doesn't become a behemoth. I think I told you last year that a Campari seed germinated in her kitchen sink. Well, it turned into a rather huge plant and she got a lot of tomatoes from it. This year, Campari volunteers have popped up, so she's growing it again. I guess it's determined to be part of her garden. I'm sorry about the blasted wind! Garden work is hard enough even in good conditions. Oh your Jude bloom is fabulous. I was hoping to maybe make it to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden this week to see if their Jude and other DA roses as well as OGRs had started blooming, but I experienced horrendous back muscle spasms on Friday so have just been resting up to get better for my trip to CA; I fly out tomorrow. Luckily, I think I'm in pretty decent shape. After my trip, I'll start physical therapy, which I know is way overdue. I always hope problems will just go away on their own, but that's rarely how it works, right?

Kitty -- Your children do a wonderful job of showing they care! And yes, your daughter must have known you needed some R&R. I can't remember, will your move to the PNW put you closer to her, as well? That would be so nice, if so. Love the cheerful faces of those pansies, and I can't wait to see all your florist roses blooming. Those red DA roses are growing in a narrow garden bed on the side of an apartment building, so they must get at least some care.

Bougie blooms for Diane. There are only a few blooms at the top of the plant currently, but I see it's putting out some new growth, so hopefully I'll get more of a real flush soon.

My first bloom from the mini rose Carmela. For some reason, some of the outer petals are a bit browned. Really loving this shade of pink, though.

The streptocarpus is starting to put on a nice show.

Carol,

I am hopeful since several of my all black caned roses have sent up new basal canes with green leaves! I waited 4 weeks so far after last April 20th frost to see new growth. I have 2 other roses I am hoping may recover which I keep nursing w/ fish fertilizer. I recommend you wait 4-6 weeks after last frost leaving roses outside in the sun to grow to see what may survive. if you have time, I would give fish fertiluzer to all of them in addition to Osmocote. Osmocote is slow time release. You cannot over do organic fertilizers I have heard. Adding fish fert. is just immediate food to energize them. I do a combination of fertilizers. Sorry about your Irish Hope-the grafted rose. I lost several grafted, but w/ all black canes, I didnt wish to see Dr Huey resurrect itself, LOL! Best wishes with your own roots rebirth! How was Home Depot today? Any new roses? Canadian tire sounds fun for thursday! Maybe keep your thought open to new roses? I love composting now!!! vermicomposting must be great for your roses, too! Bye, bye my gorgeous 20 florist roses-although that was a very freak winter. Killed my Bolero, too! Almost did in Francis Meilland with 6 ft thick canes, but sge now has 2 feet new thick canes-she is doing well! . My roses that didnt make it were too young, bought in larer summer, new in buried pots-they really needed super thick roots/canes to survive last winter. WOW! . If they had been older, bigger, they may have survived.

Anyway, very excited about rises that are now basking in the sun! 89F today w/ AC. Sweaty when I turn AC off. LOL! 78F at 9pm & 70F tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow 68F cooler. For next 5 days cooler 58-71F. Enjoy a little spring left.

Windowsill,

Lovely blooms! Your bouganvillea is soooo beautiful! Itvastoubds me that it blooms in a home! I truly love your mini Carnelua rose! How pretty! I almost boughtva mini cream rose at the groceryvstore, but I already have too many roses to take to the PNW! I am excited I will be able to have minis in the future! I used to have minis, but tgey don’t do well in NY winters. In the PNW, I will have mini roses, again! Woohoo! Oooooooo! Your Step is beautiful & really thriving! Wowza! It’s a nice size with many blooms! How how was it for you this week? It was nice like summer & I am weating shorts today! My fave attire! Will it be cool now for the next few days for you?

Diane,

Yumm bananas! I really bought a few bunches….so I will have peels for fertiluzer & yummy treats! Will you use your banana peels to fertilize, too? I am thinking I have been wasteful in past tossing out my kitchen spoiled greens/fruits when my garden would have lived them! Why pay to toss them when our garden loves them & pay more for packaged processed organic fertilizers? LOL!

Your Karl Rosenfield peony must be gorgeous. Sorry it is drowning under Julias. I hope the winds die down soon. You deserve to have a beautiful serene day to enjoy your gardens. The blooms mist be gorgeous & could make some lovely bouquets.

Mine is the Japanese Snowball which does well in the NE, very cold hardy. Btw, it lost 3 black canes. A couple of my Vanilla Strawberry Panicle Hydrangeas also lost a few canes in my winter. I lost one full VS Panicle hydrangea, too-I have 4 VS Panicle hydrangeas that survived. . I have a favorite Blue Lace hydrangea, about 1 foot next to west side of home, sheltered-it had all dead canes, but has a few new leaves now-YAY! It made it! What a winter!!

Today I hunted for apartments all day & finally received a good response.. I haveca couple first choices…. I’m looking into my land purchase, too. I hope things will move quickly forward now. Home selling time is here! My gardener came & mowed my lawn to look good for Memorial Day Weekend-coming up-Open House!

I need to weed garden in cooler weather tomorrow. Exciting gardening! LOL! Actually a bubble bath & Choc Silk Pie sounds good!

Time to celebrate!

A word on home improvements:

Btw, I found staining the front door, porch & touching up the woodwork in the home was easy! Much easier than I expected. i highly recommend doing it! i wish I did it year ago! Actually was fun! I used a paint brush for stains. I used an oil stain for doors & indoor woodwork, & minetal spirits to wash brush easy!

I used an other stain mixed for me at Lowes for back porch-washed brush out w/ soap /water! Super easy.

Also, painting the desk w/ the flat cream wall oaint was an easy quick bonus. It was just a little scratched & cream already. I changed it’s color to a slight deeper cream w/ new paint-done in 30 min paint job.

Sone home renovations are easy! I covered up dog scratches w/ wood filler & few coats of stain. Niceeeeeee! Try it?

I'm finally up to posting after working for hours outside. I came in about 7:30, and I think my brain can produce a post. The wind died down to a breeze, so I planted penstemon and prepared the raised bed which takes some time and slow watering. I did take some photos, but between the sun in the wrong spot and gusts of breeze, I don't think they're going to be that great. I am most impressed with my Orange Dude, which is going to challenge Julia Child, I think. He's over 5 feet and growing, and about the same wide. And covered with blooms. I like his soft color which is more an apricot rather than a bright orange, though it varies. All the online rose sellers have their roses drastically reduced in price right now, and J&P has Double Easy Orange bare root, grafted priced at $19,95, and the grafted tree form is about $25.95. But it most areas, it's past bare root season, though there are some zones cool enough now to still plant bare root roses.

Windowsill, love your bougie and appreciate the photo. And that abutilon you mentioned you were interested in was the one I liked best when I checked on Logee's. They had the cold hardiness information I was after. Both bougainvillea and abutilon need zones 9 or 10, so they are way too tender for my zone 7 garden. I was not surprised about this. We eat the Compari tomatoes, too, which Trader Joe's sells here. They are a hybrid, so volunteers will not breed true, though your mom may get some good tomatoes from them. We've got a box of Compari right now, and I'm sorely tempted to plant a few seeds, Just for the fun of it. Your new rose bloom from Carmela is so lovely with its delicate shade of almost pink. I hope you get lots of blooms from this plant. I totally forgot to look and maybe buy a grocery store Mother's Day rose plant. Just too many other gardening things on my mind. My grocery store mini maxi is about 7 feet now, and I'll get some pics tomorrow. I ran out of steam today. This rose is in a big flush right now.... And your streptocarpus is just adorably perfect. Love it...... I'm sorry about the back problems, which I hope go away soon. I had bad back issues when I was in my 30s and two things really got rid of the pain and spasms. Ib*pr*fen, which was prescribed by a ne*rologist way back then. About a year later, it became an over the counter dr*g. It took a while, but that stuff knocked out the back pain. It did mess up my st*mach, though, and now patients are cautioned about that, which they didn't do decades ago. The other thing that helped was using long, fairly heavy body pillows if you're a side sleeper. They keep your spine aligned, and you can avoid sci*tica with them. Sorry for the asterisks. I don't trust Houzz. Have a wonderful trip to California and eat tomatoes.

Kitty, what a delightful bunny pic, though I'm perturbed at the rabbit that was hanging around my garden a while back. It chewed on Ashley and Angel Face. Angel Face has regained buds, but Ashley hasn't produced any of her huge buds to replace the lost ones. Darn. I'll take some of that pie, too. Your painting suggestions are great, but I've got all I can do with gardening. We need some repainting done, too. How cold did it get for you this past winter? It must really have been bad for so much damage. We've had just one bad winter in the last 21 years. Jude suffered cold damage that year because he's my wimpiest Austin rose. That was the winter of 2016-7...... I'm excited for your open house and I hope you get a good buyer. Diane

Jude the Obscure at his tiniest in June 2017, after the terrible previous winter. He's 9 feet tall now.

First blooms on widdle Jude in July 2017.

A few years later.

Ascot a couple of years ago. I've got to get my new pics up and running.

Home Depot only had 4 varieties of hardy roses. That's it. Drat. It's so hard to find tender roses here. Canadian Tire on Thursday. I sent an email to Hortico to see if they're still sending roses out. They've got Gabriel Oak (got rid of it due to Downy Mildew, but I loved that rose) and Pink Peace...ditto. They also have a Chandos Beauty, but I have one from last year..still pretty small. I haven't been too happy with Hortico in the past, but I really want some more roses.

Windowsill - thanks about Irish Hope. It wasn't a very good rose for me. Last summer was it's 2nd year, and I still never got any blooms on it. Yes, it was from Heirloom. So I won't miss it. I didn't find any roses, darn...but I'm still hopeful about Canadian Tire. I got some more perennials from Wildwood, and they're tiny, puny things. The roots in baggies don't appear to have any plant matter in them...just pathetic roots. Drat. Oh well, they may do well. Yes La Fountaine aux Perles (spelling?) was one I really, really wanted to do well. So I'm very happy it's starting to grow. :) :) Good for you that your The Alnwick Rose is doing well!! Happy, happy. :) Oh, I'm really sorry about your muscle spasms. That can really be terrible. Tylenol may help? Rest is good. Gosh, your bougie has such huge stamens! Beautiful blooms!! Carmela has a very pretty bloom, and I'm really impressed with your Streptocarpus!!! Well done!

I'm pretty tired. I'll say more tomorrow. :)

Carol,

Chandos Beauty & Pink Peace are great roses. Chandos B. is a Harkness rose, very hardy. I had Pink Peace-it did prettyvwell, but needed a sunnier spot. Gabriel Oaks can be lovely! Are you thinking to try them again? You may not have BS each year if it’s drier. I tolerate a few varieties that get BS in the fall as long as it’s not too much. Last spring &fall I had all types of fungus & year before-those years had unusual wet rainy weather. . This spring it’s drier & no fungus on roses!!! It is heavenly to see my roses have nice healthy leaves. How are your roses doing this spring-healthier?

Diane,

Hoping your weather soon improves. It can’t be blowing in the morning still? I hope your photos are good.

Maybe that bunny will not show up again. Sorry Ashley is still recovering. Maybe giver her some Fertilizer & a banana peel w/ phosphorous & potassium to help it bloom! . I may give a small baby rose a salmon steak-I have 2 large trays of salmon steaks, but I kniw Anastasia wants one first! My Ashley is still small, but has more canes than last year-she is filling out leaves and canes well now. I expect our Ashleys to do well in the future-it takes awhile for own roots to become established. . My Ashley needs more sun, but she will get it when moved to PNW.

It was the coldest winter here in many decades hitting 1F many times. Most rose canes on most roses above ground, above mounding soil, died back black. However, John Davis &OGRs had almost all canes green after winter. To my surprize, 2 Chantal Merieux & Cream Verandas had almost-all green canes left, too. Morden Blushes were greatly green, also. Between the excessive rain & unusual fungus spring & fall and harsh winter, it was not a year for roses. I am glad I still have many roses left. I am happy to buy new ones for the PNW and start anew in milder weather.

If I had stayed in NY, maybe many of the new roses would grow a few years and get more established in case we had a year with tough weather. Last year certainly was not the norm. This season it is prime weather for roses and they are doing very well!

TODAY

66F today! It still feels hot upstairs from last night , though. Lol! Wearing shorts still.

Weeding time coming up today! FUN! Maybe I’ll give the 2 smallest roses, Effie & Yves Rouge de Parfum banana peels & a salmon steak. LOL! The gardener mowed so should be nice for photos.

I mentioned my blue Lace Cap-Pop Star Hydrangea survived winter, just barely. It has a couple new sprouts & few leaves only! Soooo happy to see her survive! My Pink Twist n Shou—Lace Cap Hydrangea did pretty well having many stems alive w/ lots of leaves. (Pop Star & Twist n Shout can be blue in acudic soil or pink in alkaline soil.) ,

2026 Season photos Hydrangeas:

Blue -Pop Star-Lace Cap Hydrangea

Pink, Twist n Shout-Lace Cap Hydrangea

Endless Summer-Bloom Struck Hydrangea is doing well, too! It can turn pink to bluish, too. I like it pink & slight blue at same time

Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea tree

Japanese Snowball Hydrangea

I plan to take my 5 hydrangeas above with me to PNW. However, I have 4 Vanilla Strawberriy hydrangeas, and I will only take one SV hydrangea in a smaller bush form, not the tree. I have limelight hydrangeas, but I won’t be taking them. I have a few more colorful hydrangeas, too.-tyey can’t come, either -too many plants. 🤪🥀😊😇.

Limelight Hydrangea tree

Blushing Bride Hydrangea (not going to PNW)

I have a firelight & 2 other hydrangeas not going either. I can’t take everything! 🤪😇🥀

Diane,

Jude at her smallest looks like many of my roses 2-3ft, LOL! Ascot was always a dreamy rose! I hope your new photos load. Using my iPhone 15Plus- Pro Max photos is easy & inmediate. It only cost me anot $10 a month-2 year plan At&T has great deals. .

My lighter lilac that blooms a couple times in spring-summer. I’d like to taje her to PNW, but too rooted.

“Boomerang,” reblooming lilac

It’s a round smaller bush meant to bloom through the season.

Carol, I'm glad to see your post, but your rose search is discouraging, I agree. I will now call you Canadian Hope. I remember Irish Hope from many years ago being sold by John Clements, the original owner of Heirloom. I loved it, thought it was beautiful, and really wanted to order it. Clements put out the nicest big catalogs of the roses he offered. His bred some of his own, and favored English Rose breeder Harkness. I visited the old Heirloom a few times in southern Oregon, and it was there I saw Jude the Obscure being tested for Austin. They used numbers only for these tests. I vowed to grow Jude, the number, and I did start growing Jude a few years later. They had display gardens, too......more stories from the geezer past. I got some of my best roses years ago from Hortico, back when they sold really unusual plants, normally available only in Europe. These included Tantau roses. My first were Bernstein-Rose in around 2008 before I was on this forum. I got Augusta Luise and Royal Bonica in 2013 before Palatine, or anyone else had Tantaus in the US. I tried to convince Palatine to sell Augusta, but got shot down by the owner's wife. A year or two later, they offered Augusta, hahaha. Sorry for all the stories. I loved the Canadian rose sellers, and it's a shame you're having such a hard time getting the roses you want now. Hortico is just a shadow of itself with its current offerings, sad to say. Rest up. I'm going outside to do some chores. So far, just a little breeze, but I don't trust it.

Kitty, your hydrangeas and lilacs are stupendous. I would love to grow them all. Diane

I'll be taking more photos of Munstead and Twilight Zone today, I hope.

It's a rainy day, so the roses are staying inside today. Which is good for me, as I'm totally exhausted. Usually, I only help bring the roses in/out once/day, but I've been helping twice/day now since Don has only 10 more working days, and he has a lot of work to get done. Man, I'm tired to the bone.

Kitty - really? I always thought black-caned roses were done for. ?? I guess I was wrong. Sheesh. It took 4 weeks for you to see new growth. It's been longer than that for my roses, but I'll keep hoping. I'm not giving my roses Osmocote, just my hardy roses in the front bed...Morden Sunrise. The other ones I like to have something physical to do, toting buckets around, so I fertilize with other things weakly, weekly. I just fertilized with fish fertilizer yesterday. No new roses from Home Depot. I've been looking there every spring for years, and I've never found any tender roses, so I'm giving up on them. I'm holding out hope for Canadian Tire!! Will you try florist roses in your new yard? I'm glad your Francis Meilland is doing well now. :) Yeah, I get it about roses needing to be a bit older to survive...that almost did in my Mordens. You're having very hot weather!! We're going to be 12C/53F today with rain. A good stay inside day. I really need it. That's a big change in temperature your area is having!! I'm glad you're having some success in apartment hunting. I'm so excited for your land purchase!!! Mmmmm...I want that pie!! I'm having a bubble bath today...I really need to relax. :) Good job on your home improvements!! :) :) Clever!!

Diane - I'm with you on the exhaustion. My goodness, why do we do this? lol I'm barely able to type here. I ordered some Vietnamese food to come soon; maybe that will perk me up. I forgot to order a Coke. Drat. Drat. I'm glad you got some planting, etc. done. Let's see the pictures, anyway. :) Really? Orange Dude is going to be as good as your Julia Child? That's saying something! My goodness!! It's impossible here to get bare roots anymore. They're all done. I still haven't heard back from Hortico, though. Lol about your grocery store mini. It's a mini-maxi. Darn about the rabbit and your Ashley. You need to borrow Teddy. The baby bunny here hasn't come back. Teddy would have eaten it in a heartbeat if I hadn't stopped him. He would have gone under the deck to get it. Your Jude was just a baby!! :) :)

Kitty - Yes, I really love Chandos Beauty and Pink Peace!! My Chandos Beauty (own root) is so small, and the leaves its pushing out are just tiny. I'm glad it survived. Yes, I'd love to try them again. And without the wet, snowy blanket on them outside for days on end while Don's arm was broken, I think they can stay healthy. I'm glad your roses are healthy. It's so discouraging and soul sucking to see our roses as unhealthy messes. Yes, mine are healthy. :) :) I love that!! My Stainless Steel, with its garage growth, has 4 blooms, and they're all bent over facing the soil. When the blooms are done, I'll cut that growth off. A salmon steak for your rose bush? I'd love to have such colorful hydrangeas!! Beautiful!! I'm glad that they survived. I checked out Boomerang, and it's hardy to zone 3!! I'd love to find one. It's gorgeous!!

Diane - yes, it's definitely a discouraging rose hunt. I'm discouraged. :( I'll take the name Canadian Hope. :) :) I haven't had good luck with Clements roses. I've tried a few, and they die. I'm thinking they like the more alkaline soil of England. Peat moss is so acidic. Really? You saw Jude being tested? That is so cool!! I love your stories. :) :) Hortico has definitely gone downhill in my experience. Little tiny roses that die on me, and their stock hasn't changed for a very long time. It shows how desperate I am that I want to order from them now. You got some excellent roses from Hortico!! Haha about AL and Palatine. :) :) Your MW has such wonderfully colored blooms...the one in the front right is mouth-watering.

Hi everyone, sadly Gracie either had a stroke OR is having a Old dog vestibular disease (Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome) event... Today at 7am was 72 hours since the event happened... Her rapid eye movement has improved & her twitching left eyelid... Her head was tilted to the left but it also has improved a bit... Gracie can not walk on her own I'm using a two handled harness to move her around the house and to get her out of the house to urinate & poo....I'm praying for improvement in being able to walk by herself again...

lf its dog vestibular disease then she may recover within 2-3 weeks...

I been awful busy BUT I'll keep you all updated!

Carol, Clements' roses were bred and raised in Oregon. Windowsill grows Discovery. You're thinking of Harkness. Got to go .

Jim, I am so sad about Gracie. You've been an incredible step dad to her. I hope for her improvement soon, but she's had such a good life with you. Remember that, and how you came through for your sister. Thinking of you and Gracie. Nanadoll

Hi, Jim,

Should you take Gracie to the vet? You also can haveca vet assess by viewing with a computer. I am so sorry. I hope she eats & improves. Much love to you & Gracie. ❤️❤️❤️

Diane,

She’s really gorgeous!! Is sfe Munstead or Twilight? Ooooooo! Aweeeeeeee! Pretty!

Thank tou about my lilac & hydrangeas! Tgey do love acidic soil & moisture. I give them a lot of peat moss-at least the big leaf ones. I hope your chores go well.

I weeded today most back & frontvyard beds. I gave a few front beds to do tomorrow. So much fun!!!!!! LOL! I took a nap before I started to get some energy to start! Maybe I shouod settle firca tiny farden-I di not like weeding!!! BOO! 🤪🥀😊😇

Carol,

Oh, My, A bubble bath will be very goid for you! Enjoy! And rest! Is Don retiribg in 10 days or vacation? balck caned rosrs are fine if they are own-root. New basal canes can grow from the root stock and often do if roots were burued -warm enough in winter. However, on the young rises, theur roots are not estanlished & string enough for my winters if very harsh. On grafted rises, if the canes dies black, then only the OGR root stock is left such as Dr Huey. Some if my new grafted rosrs from last summer didn’t have a chance last winter….. Brrrrrrrr & Bye, Bye! ! My older grafted roses did ok such as Munstead Woid. Actually, I don’t believe I have any other grafted rosrs that survived my NY harsh winter. The real probkem wasn’t florist roses. The young roses & Meilland roses just had difficulty making it through the NY harshest winter.

i am very grateful for the PNW weather. Hardly ever even touches 32F and florist roses will do well there. I counted 16 nights reaching 26F-32F in Bremerton, WA last Dec/January, only. Days are not below 35F last winter. Good! Right now in Bremerton, WA temps are 67-79F this week which are similar to my NY temps now.

It’s difficult to time your roses recovery since they come out in the sun, then go in the garage. I’d wait maybe 1 month in full outside temps & discard what doesn’t bounce back. And I’d do weekly fish fert. Tee, Hee.

Canadian Tire sounds promising! I liok forward to seeing what you roses you bring home? I no longer get any roses from Lowes, Walmart, or Tractor Supply, my box stores. They don’t know what to buy that dors well in NY, LOL! So will you try Hortico Chandos Beauty & Pink Peace, again?

Wow! Stainless Steel has 4 blooms! WOW! Your roses think it’s really spring!!! Co grats! Even if they bloom bent over, 🤪😇🥀. Thanks on my hydrangeas! Boomerang is a winner! I ordered her-maybe you can find her online?

Most of my 2 year old peonies have buds now. I think I will see their first blooms this season! YAY!

I think he has taken her to the vet and has a diagnosis of one or the other conditions.

Diane,

Thank you! I hope Gracie is ok. Sweet Darling. 😊🥀

Ok, I checked my roses and they are bigger bushes now after that short heat wave. Today was actually 74F , but it felt quite cool.

Most roses and almost all peonies have buds, except my smallest ones.

MAY 20, 2026, NY,

MY ROSE & PEONY BUD & GARDEN TOUR

Charming Cornellia has the biggest bud now starting to bloom.

Juwena has a cream bloom, 2nd largest bloom. She has 4 buds.

My OGRs all have buds.

Louise Odier has many buds.

Yolanda decAragon has fancy leafed buds

Blushing Parasol, from A&A, has buds

Most DAs have buds

Bro Cadfael has buds

Georgia Peach is barely starting to have buds

John Davis has buds all over.

JD on the obelisk

Wish I knew which peony is this one?

Karl R peony has darker buds

Asiatic yellow lilies

A bunch if new peonies below

Another peony

More peonies

Morden Blush many buds

My Boomerang lilac, Yummy scent!

Chantal Merieux many buds

My Japanese Snowball, just 2 blooms

My pansies seem to be doing well now… blooming more.

In 2 large pots & my brds.

I have more rose bud photos, but maybe that's enough for today! LOL!

Jim - I'll say prayers for Gracie. I'm glad you're able to help her with a harness. Poor girl. Poor Jim. :( Yes, please keep us updated.

Kitty - weeding is always fun. Not. :) Sounds like a lot of us are exhausted. Man, I've been HUGELY exhausted all day. I still managed to do some dishes and laundry, but that's it. I think I've been working too hard on getting the roses in/out twice/day. We left them in the garage today. Utterly done for today. Don's retiring in 10 days!!!! Well, actually August, but he's not accepting any new work...just covering for other Founders if they go on vacation. Which should be really easy as none of them do any work. lol In 10 days, he's semi-officially retiring. Oh, that makes sense. My roses have always been grafted, so I've tossed them. I'm keeping the own root ones to see how they do. Yup young roses don't do well in cold zones. That's for sure. Nice that you won't have any/or few nights of freezing weather at your new location. In fact, VERY nice. :) :) Yup on the weekly fish fertilizer. I'm with you on that. :) I'm crossing my fingers that Canadian Tire will have even one rose for me to buy. :) :) I'll let you know. I'll roll the dice and get roses from Hortico if they're still selling them online. When I clicked on the roses, I was sent to a "Contact" site. So I sent a message. I might try to find Boomerang next year. I've bought enough for this year. Yay about your peonies!! :) Your roses look delightful!!! Seeing all of your healthy leaves and all of those buds is so soothing. :) :) Everything looks great!! I love the leaves and blossoms on your Snowball. Mmmm on your pansies...love them!!

Carol,

After all this time, Don is retiring/semi-retiring! I thought so. Wow! You could even move if you wanted to-anywhere now? To PNW, tee, hee! Warmer & cool-never too hot in PNW. I hope you feel better today after a good night’s rest. I hope some if your own roots may bounce back-even one. If they get enough sunshine they may start growing. I hope Canadian Tire has some roses you like! Itvwouod be nice to fill up your pots with a couple beautiful new roses. i’m glad you at least have Hortico as another option. April & Ashley have garden grafted roses, too & I wonder when they will sell to Canada. An option for another year.

I am in the middle of plans for selling selling, buying, & moving now. Trying to set things up now. Praying they will come together. it is time. I am talking to a rental this week.

Jim -- I'm so sorry about Gracie, and I'll be thinking of you/her. Late in life, our previous dog got vestibular disease with the head tilt, trouble walking, etc., and the good news it did improve a lot with time. So, I'll be hoping for that diagnosis rather than stroke. For a while we had to do what you are doing -- giving her extra support when walking, making sure there were rugs down for traction inside -- but she returned to walking on her own. Sending all my positive thoughts for Gracie's recovery.

Kitty -- Your garden is bursting with life, and that'll be so nice for you to see some of the first blooms on your peony plants. That John David looks so lush yet tidy and perfect on that obelisk. I hope you find a rental in the PNW that suits you.

Diane -- That's interesting about the campari tomatoes; so what my mom is growing would be genetically different from a true campari. Yes, I'm on a pain killer now that is helping a lot but will eventually transition to tylenol (I can't take ibuprofen because of an interaction with another prescription, but I agree with you that it's very effective). I was keeping an eye on grocery store mini roses around Mother's Day but didn't see anything too terribly interesting, not that I have room for another -- and definitely not a mini maxi! My mini Bistra actually responded really well to an aggressive pruning and is now setting buds on shorter canes, which I think looks better on that plant. Today, my mom and I are going to check out Armstrong's Nursery and Home Depot. It's such a treat visiting even the big box garden centers like HD out here in CA because they seem to always be bursting with wonderful plants, no matter the time of year.

Carol -- I can understand being exhausted from all those rose moving! Glad you're getting a little breather to rest up. And wonderful news about Don's semi-retirement. I hope you find a rose you like and Canadian Tire. It didn't even occur to me that HD wouldn't stock some tender roses, but that makes sense.

My mom's roses are struggling with a lot of powdery mildew at the moment, but she picked these lovely Double Delight blooms.

Windowsill, it's so good to read your post, and it sounds like so much fun visiting Armstrong Nursery, which we've read about for years on this forum. It's another California plant place I want to check out, along with Otto's. And the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, too. Think of me while I slave away planting and watering--haha. I hope that darn back of yours improves......Anything that's a hybrid will not necessarily breed true in the next generation if it's open pollinated. That's genetics. Your Mom's bouquet is so pretty and colorful. I had to prune a large projecting branch (projecting out into the neighbor's property) of that MiniMaxi a couple of days ago, and made a huge plonk of the blooms, which were solid on that branch. What a rose. Been making little plonks of The Prince, and I've discovered he has a very nice, though not super strong, scent. I've been taking photos when I can--too much wind. I'm so sick of it. I promise to post new pics when I can get my act together. I had to finish planting last night after I cooked a huge dinner for six people. I'm still po*ped. Sorry for all the complaints. What's a geezer to do? You continue having Cal fun now.

Jim, I hope Gracie is doing better and you're well, too. Let us know how things are going.

Carol, as Sheila and I have said, keep it simple. Roses don't need constant fertilizing with complex concoctions. Too much fertilizer, particular phosphorus which builds up, creates soil and water pollution, and does the roses no favors. Sheila? I thought it was your own root roses that didn't survive. So you are throwing out your grafted roses? Diane

Rouge Royale

Darn. I phoned Canadian Tire, and they have no new roses this week. I feel desperate to get some new roses, but it seems impossible.

Kitty - No, lol, we won't be moving now that Kedra has moved back to Calgary. :) :) This is home now. I'm okay, but a bit dizzy. Drat. And, Canadian Tire has no new roses. Drat and drat. I hope things move quickly for you on both fronts. :

Windowsill - that's good to hear that Gracie may get better based on your previous dog. :) I hope your back gets better quickly. I'll say some prayers. Oh my!! Those are beautiful DD blooms!! Probably oh so fragrant. :)

Diane - You must be very tired after all that. I do keep it simple, just weak fish fertilizer and the occasional Miracle Gro. No, it's my own root roses that are the problem. :) Beautiful Rougie...especially that 2nd picture!!

Carol,

I think I shouod just buy roses for you in US & send them to you! HA! Wish I could. Maybe Hortico for you? Yep! Staying in Calgary near Kedra is best! Family comes first!

Diane,

Rougie is the best! Always a beautiful perfect sumptous bloomer!

Diane, I so agree simple is best. No one wants to have Carol go through her ordeal of a few years ago.

Carol, you said above that your roses "have always been grafted so I'm tossing them. I'm keeping the own root to see how they do." This totally confused me. Read what you said.

Kitty - I wish you could. lol But it turns out I've given up on getting roses here, and I ordered from an Ontario company called Pretty Petals. That's where I got my small Chandos Beauty from last year. I have said no more Austins, but that's all they had, so I ordered 2: Gabriel Oaks...which I had, and loved, but it got DM, and I got annoyed and tossed it after it didn't get better with spraying. I don't think my roses will get DM again now that they won't be covered with snowed on blankets during cold weather. Don's arm is better. :) The other one I got is one I've never had before. It was an impulse buy...Emily Bronte. Have you, or anyone here, grown it?

Sheila - yes, that was awful. :)

Diane - ooops. I've not been feeling great...vertigo, headachey, exhaustion from not sleeping. Turns out not keeping up with my SSR Paroxetine was causing all of this. Kedra let me know this. I took one earlier today, and I feel tons better. So that's probably why I wasn't making sense. :) Thanks for calling me on this, rather than just being confused. What I meant was that the roses I'm used to having are grafted, and when they get black cane, I've tossed them. But, own root roses that get black cane, I'm keeping to see if they can recover.

I planted my pansies today, while I was feeling gross. Almost fell a few times, because not taking my paroxetine can cause Ataxia, which I already have...so, whoa, not a good combination. But I got them done. Still have lots to do...finish cutting back the garden growth from last year, plant annuals, and fill in dog pee (Kedra's dog) stains with grass. ROSES ARE GOING IN THE BACKYARD ON FRIDAY!!!!! Yes, that needed all caps. lol

YAY, CAROL!!!!!!!!!!

Carol,

YIPEE! HOORAY! Your roses go out to backyard today! HEAVENLY! And super YAY! You have 3 new roses!!!! 2 Gabriel Oaks & Emily Bronte! I may order G Oaks after I move! I have Emily Bronte-sge is tge most vigorous DA-was 9 ft for me 2nd year. She has cream blooms. She should fill out well for you in a pot by 2nd year and blooms a lot-she may not be too tall for you, either-probably just vigorous and bloom well. I’m glad you were able to plant your pansies, but be careful. You have so many perrenials to plant. Take your time.

Windowsill,

Thank you! Everything is full if kife in my farden now. Even the weeds! LOL! Spring buds & blooms are coming! Your mother’s Double Delight us besutuful! I have had several Double Delights in my past gardens! I always loved them!

I am suppised to do more weeding today. I hope I get ready for my Open House tomorrow. Wanna buy a house? Tee, Hee!

Carol -- I guess the old adage of "it's nice to have a doctor in the family" is true! I'm glad Kedra was able to figure out what might be causing problems for you. I'm also glad you were able to order a couple roses. I remember admiring photos of your Gabriel Oak blooms, and yeah, definitely worth another try since the blankets may have caused the problems. I've only heard good things about Emily Bronte. Wow, that's great you can move on to having your roses in the backyard.

Diane -- Oh, I'd love to go to Otto's. It'd be as fun as going to a botanical garden. We used to go out to this nursery in the desert called Cherry Valley Nursery that had rows and rows of roses. The Armstrong's here is small but everything is well-cared for and the staff is really nice and helpful. While I was there, I saw this new floribunda, Fashion Forward, that I'll definitley keep in the back of my mind in case I need to replace a rose at some point. It had a wonderful lemon scent, and the pale reverse of the petals was very pretty.

I almost convinced my mom to buy The Dark Lady, but she thought it was too similar in color to her Perfume Factory, and I agree. I think it must have been grown by Otto's since DA still allows them to grow this variety, I believe.

Looking at your Rougie, though, I'd want that bloom over nearly all others! Glad you're enjoying plonks of The Prince and the MaxiMini. I hope you get some relief from the wind soon, and I look forward to seeing your photos at some point. Even though I enjoy cooking, it is most definitely WORK, so that plus gardening would be enough to wipe me out, too.

Kitty -- I wish! That'd be the dream to have a historic home upstate. I'll have all my fingers and toes crossed for a succesful open house for you.

Thanks, Trish!! Roses are going out at noon, which is an hour from now. :) :)

Kitty - Two new roses. :) I loved Gabriel Oaks before the downy mildew!! The fragrance is intense!! So you like your Emily Bronte. :) :) That's good to hear. Vigorous sounds good to me. Nine feet, not so much. But I think I can tame her. My perennials (rats) are all very small. I can easily dig in with a trowel. But, thanks. I feel SO much better today!! Oh, your Open House is tomorrow!!! I'll say lots of prayers for a speedy sale. What will you be doing during the Open House?

Windowsill - so true!! Kedra has helped our family and Chloe's family so much. :) :) I will never again skip those pills. What if that's been part of my vertigo problem all along? Sheesh. Although, I do think overexertion has been responsible for when I've been feeling terrible vertigo. Thanks about my Gabriel Oaks. :) :) I'm excited to be trying Emily Bronte. Hmf, the only place I looked, has excellents for this rose. Trumpet blare...roses go to the back at noon!! Fashion Forward is one of my bare root roses! I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. I love reading that you love the lemon scent!! Yay!! Oh, it is a beauty!! I'm glad you took that pic!! Plus, TDL doesn't have fragrance, I think. Although, what a gorgeous bloom!!!

I'm off to have porridge and blueberries, then outside!! YAY!!!!

Carol -- Oh, I can't wait to see how your Fashion Forward does! It's definitely one of my favorite roses I've seen/smelled in a long while. It was such a shapely little shrub, too. I think you'll love the scent!!

Just waiting for Don now. I'm so excited, we're almost ready to move roses!!! Oh, yes, about FF...I'm sooooo glad to hear that. :) :)

Carol, great to read that you're feeling so much better and that the solution might be those pills. By the time you read this your roses will be in your garden. YAY! I like the look of Gabriel Oak so much that it might even tempt me to try a DA again. I look forward to your photos. It's not available here yet. Queen of Sweden became available here this year and I'll be interested to see how it does here. I think it's lovely too. I like the way the blooms are held upright like a pool of waterlilies. That's great news from windowsill about Fashion Forward. I've decided to try Princesse Charlene de Monaco in my sunniest spot after reading about Roseladykaty's experience on Instagram. She moved hers to a very sunny spot and hers now looks amazing after being a dud. Though 4 people on HMF say it does well in shade.... Anyhooo.

Speaking of ponds and waterlilies, my son cleared out the top pond the other day. Somehow, stupidly, I'd managed to toss all the yellow Louisiana iris instead of the Pseudocorus, which is a thug. Done this in two ponds, grrr. I'd had a go months ago at trying to detach them from the iris, but it was beyond me. Now, we've potted up the remnants of three waterlilies. It will look so much better. He spent some frustrating time trying to get the leaves of the waterlilies to float right way up instead of face down. Me too, until I suggested we leave it as they might sort it out by themselves. Sure enough, next morning all the leaves were right way up!

Diane, I hope that wind abates soon for goodness sake. I hope you'll post a photo of your minimaxi plonk.

Kitty, all the best for your Open House. Such a palaver getting ready for, without all the work you've been doing for months.

I been working with Gracie everyday and shes slowly progressing...Still can not walk on her own but she has improved! :-) Gracie can stand by herself for a short period BUT she still alittle dizzy (vertigo) but coming along...Rapid eye movement & twitching has almost stopped.... I'll keep working with her praying for more improvement......

Thanks everyone!

Kitty, took Gracie to vet day it happened then again Tue, Wed, & Friday....

I REMOVED the Ping Lim rose "True Sincerity" and put quart sized "oso easy en fuego" in its place..

• Flamina ® (floribunda, Warner, 2019)

Average rating: EXCELLENT-.

Bred by Christopher H. Warner (United Kingdom, before 2019).
Introduced in France by Pépinières de la Saulaie in 2019 as 'Flamina'.
Introduced in United States by Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. in before 2023 as 'Oso Easy En Fuego'.

Floribunda.

Yellow, red edges. None to mild fragrance. Average diameter 3.25". Medium to large, double (17-25 petals), in small clusters bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.

Bushy, compact. Glossy, dark green foliage.

Height: 20" to 4' (50 to 120cm). Width: 20" to 3' (50 to 90cm).

I added two Red Coreopsis out front....

Jim, so sorry, I completely forgot about Gracie. Great to hear she is doing so much better. I hope your new rose does well for you.

Jim,

Very Good! ! Wonderful to hear she can stand a kittle and is improving. Darling Gracie. Sendibg you my prayers and God’s blessings! Lovely new Oso Easy Floribunda! I liked TvSuncerity, but maybe our winter was hard on her? I lost many young roses last winter-it was sooooo cold-reaching 1F many times. I am moving to PNW as soon as my hime sells. Seeking milder weather & I am from the PNW originally born in Tacoma, WA. I am planning on settling in Seattle area.

I have a few photo’s from today, after my weeding the garden…… I’ll chat more tomorrow evening later…..

My Wild Lupine, planted by seeds 2 years ago is now 3 ft plants with several buds ready to bloom. The buds are HUGE!

Rhodes starting to bloom, too.

My Cherry Blossom Iris is budding, too!

Bleeding Hearts bloom

Pansies are blooming more daily!

Love the purples best!

My frobt & side lawns grass seed us filling in.

I had a Bomberang bouquet in the kitchen today, but it’s already wilting. I’ll make a new one for tomorrow’s Open House.

It's drizzling here on and off again and I have been looking at the face down Bliss blooms for some days, occasionally wandering down to have a closer look. This morning I thought to heck with it. I hope they last a couple more days.

It turns out that Hortico supplies roses to Pretty Petals. lol I'm also going to get a Pink Peace from Hortico. Nicole (she's still there) says it's grade 1...so I'm hopeful. I cut back all the dead material in my garden, so it's ready. :) I don't have that many big bushes this year. But, I'm hopeful. I've got about 4 new grafted roses (babies) that have buds on them. So that's exciting. Plus, I have a Snowwhite Jalbert rose that came potted and with buds, and one is opening...smells heavenly!!!! Very rosey. My Morden Sunrise roses have grown by half!

Trish - thanks! :) :) YAY!!! My roses are in the garden!! I love being able to stroll out there and look at them, and to look at them through my windows. :) :) Gabriel Oak is very large and rangy, but gorgeous!!! I tried Queen of Sweden, and it actually did good for me. The canes are totally straight. No fragrance, which is why I don't have it anymore. PCdM got Downy Mildew here, so I got rid of it. But I don't think DM is a problem for you. :) :) It shouldn't be for me here, either, anymore. It sure is a beautiful rose. Oh, that's good that your son worked on your ponds/waterlilies. I didn't know water lilies could be such thugs. I'm really surprised that the waterlilies popped right side up by themselves. How cool!

Jim - oh well done on helping Gracie while she's improving. I'm glad there's been some progress. Small miracles are most appreciated, right? :) Vertigo must be very confusing for Gracie. You're a good dog dad. :) I'm excited to see your new changes with roses/plants. Everything looks healthy.

Kitty - I've never seen wild Lupine, and wow, I am impressed! Rhodes have a wonderful color. I love those Bleeding Heart blooms. Much different than the deep pink, rounder ones my grandmother grew. Love! We have very similar pansies. I haven't taken a picture of mine yet. That's the thing about lilacs...they don't last long once cut. Drat.

Trish - SWOOOOOON over your Bliss blooms!! I had no idea they could look that incredible!!! Oh, my!! Great idea to bring them inside.

Diane - I finally started the Australian book you recommended. I'm still at the beginning of it. His description of how he sleeps sitting up is hysterical!! So funny!!

Windowsill,

I can’t believe you have an Armstrongs Nursery in NJ. Wow! I used to visit an Armstrings Nursery in Arcadia, CA years ago & loved it. I bought most of my roses there at first. Do you know if these Armstrongs are both connected? Fashion Forward sounds lovely! I definite one for your wish list! How is Martha Stewart doing? I love seeing your new roses! I’d love a Martha Stewart. The waiting to move & buy new roses is too much for me! I can hardly wait!!! 🤪😊😇🥀 I can’t look at my order list-it’s , it’s, it’s ”toooooo much waiting!!!” Ok… I will just enjoy everyone’s new roses and my 3 new roses & all my other roses & plants emerging! It is a joy seeing spring growing roses fill out into nice healthy bushes , buds emerge and blooms starting! Very excited to see Charming Corneille rose start blooming!!!

I have still about 8 potted roses from last spring that survived winter- I am nurturing them-and my new potted roses. Once they are potted, they need watered more so it’s more work. I stacked 6 potted roses on my porch steps to watch them closely. I will not put any roses on my newly stained deck. to keep it new & clean. The steps help the potted roses to be in the sun, more, anyway.

HOWS YOUR WEATHER?

Carol, Windowsill, Trish, Diane,

I hope your wind subsided?, Diane. Wishing you blessed weather to enjoy your gardens!

How is your weather Everyone? It’s cooler today 53F & some rain for my putting & Open House today! LOL! It hasn’t stsrted raining yet. . Tomorrow is 65F. And then Monday 70sF and Tues/Wed 82Fs! Then back to 70sF for the following week-feeling like summer in NY!

Carol,

Thank you regarding my Wild Lupine, Rhodes, & Bleeding Hearts. They all seem to be soreadibg & growing well. I may grab a few to pot & take to PNW. I am so surprised at the Wild Lupine. It didnt grow hardly first year & only 2 popped up 2nd year-no blooms & small. But this 3rd yeat the Wild Lupine are sooooo tall next to my tall Peony-same height ! The large many buds are spectacular! They were one of my favorite wild flowers I’d see in the Oregon & WA mountains when I was hiking. They look pretty prolific in my garden now-here to stay! I am excited about the Iris blooming, too. My

Cherry Blossom Iris has tripled in size and will probably bloom a lit. My 3 Japanese Iris are growingvwel, too, but no blooms yet-happy they do well in NY.

Pink Peace & Gabriel Oaks will both be lovely for you this season! NO DM for roses for you this year! (No fungus for me this spring-summer either!!!) YAY for both of us! Did you buy Nicole, grade 1, from Hortico, too? Oh, heavenly, your roses went outside in your garden now! And soooo many buds opening! Wow! Congrats! Love to see photos of your buds & those buds unfolding? May be further along than mine? The garage kept them warm and the spring now will just heighten their joy in blooming! You cleaned & cut back your garden so it’s ready to allow it’s beautiful bushes, annuals, perrenisls and roses to grow and bask in their glory! I can’t wait to see your roses and all those tons of perennials/annuals blooming! It’s really going to be spectacular! Wow! Yay for Morden Sunrises -they doubled their sizes. They are fiesty little roses! Morden roses are soooo hardy & vigorous. I am glad I have 2 Morden Blushes-they had no dead canes after winter almost and are big full bushes now which bloom a ton - non-stop! You’ll love your Morden Sunrises! Your Snowwhite Jalbert sounds like a winner with it’s buds already starting to bloom & very fragrant! YUM! ! Woohoo! Do you have the same pansies that I have? Colors? This year my pansies are really colorful & dpreading! Do you have many perennials now blooming, too?

Trish,

Beautiful Bliss bouquet! Your gardens are still blooming and yeilding gorgeous bouquets! Whatca joy seeing all that beauty! I have lilacs, a Snowball bush, Bleeding Hearts, & pansies blooming. However, soon my whole garden will be blooming.

It’s wonderful to hear you had help cleaning your lovely ponds and tye water lilies flipoed over to grow beautifully! I think it must be so tranquil and beautiful to see your pinds daily in your garden! To me it would be a a very rare priviledge! I have only seen ponds w/ koi fish at public gardens and it’s quite captivating to see them with fish, water likies and glimmering in the sun!

Moving Forward

I cleaned weeds and evened the edges of my beds yesterday in back and some of front yard. I dug out grass around the edges and now no weeds. My grass seed on the front lawn has filled out with thick grass and looks pretty rich and green. The pansies & gardens look pretty inviting for my Open House today. Kitchen is finished! I made a new lilac bouquet for the kitchen soon. Hope we stir up some business! 😊😇🥀 Anastasia & I are enjoying the oark and will walk soon, now. A little hike for us all around the paths bear tye lake. until Open House is done. Probably go for a ride in the country, too.

Trish, Carol,

I have had Princess Charlene de Monaco for about 4 years now, next to south side of home. Winter didn’t bother her-she was warm enough. She gets some BS, but I ignore it. I thought originally she was a very stunning rose. However, I didn’t pay much attention to her as her blooms are ok, but nice peachy colored. I think she’d do best in a very sunny climate. This season, though, she looks esp. healthy so maybe I will see more gorgeous blooms from her. I loved the 3 Meilland roses: Francis Meilland, Yves Piaget & PCdM. I think they all make beautiful bouquets! I may buy another Yves Piaget, but I have her similar sister, Yves Rouge de Parfum. . The 3 roses are gorgeous florist roses and maybe they will all bloom and shine this season! I think I will take them all w/ me to PNW.

Oops! Quite a recitative I wrote today….(recitative is a vocal melodic dialog… in this case, very long…..tee, hee!)

P Charlene de Monaco

Ooooo! 2025, She had some really pretty blooms last year…. I remember!

Started raining yesterday afternoon so had to come up with a idea to keep Gracie & I dry when I take her outside to potty... It has rained constant since then & is still raining SO yesterday the Rambo part of my brain came up with this idea...lol....It worked! :-)

Thanks everyone! As always wonderful photos all! :-)

Jim,

Very cool tarp canopy! We all need a canopy! Fabulous! How is your Jim Carey impression these days? LOL!

Kitty, Hummmm...lol...

Now that my roses are in the backyard, should I start a Summer thread?

Kitty - I'm excited for you, too!!! New property close to your kids, and new roses!! :) :) We finally are getting great weather!! It's 23C/73F today, and the temps at night go down to 10C/50F. Excellent!!!! :) :) I'm super happy!!! I'm going to plant some more annuals, move my 6 dahlias to the backyard, and cut off black tips of canes. It's going to be a great day!! :) :) Your weather is quite cool for a few days.

Best of luck for your Open House today!! I really, really want you to get a few offers on your house today. :) :)

I had no idea that wild lupines could be that tall. Your garden is coming alive!! :) :) Yes, no DM for my roses this year and no fungus for you!! YAY!!! No to Nicole, unless you mean Nicole Carol Miller, which I have and love. I also got Emily Bronte from Pretty Petals, as well as Gabriel Oaks. :) :) Pink Peace will be coming from Hortico. I may take some pictures today...or maybe tomorrow. The only buds close to opening are "cheat" ones, that came already almost opening. Oh, and my Stainless Steel has flowers, I can take pics of those. :) Thanks about my flowers/garden, etc. :) :) Happy, happy!!! Yes, I had Morden Blush when I lived in Edmonton many years ago. I loved it. :) :) I recommended it for my neighbor, and she loves hers. I didn't want to have the same rose as she does; that's why I went with Diane's recommendation of Morden Sunrise. I'm super glad they're doing well. :) :) Yes, I'm really glad I got Snowwhite!! Yes, I have the same colors of pansies, with some lighter blue and whites thrown in. No perennials are blooming. My peonies are up with leaves.

I think that was smart to bring in a lilac bouquet for your Open House. You've timed everything really well in/out of house for maximum impact. Enjoy your off time. You and Anastasia deserve a break. Stop for ice cream. :)

Nice to hear that your PCdM is doing well. Your PNW property will be large, so taking those big roses with you is a good idea. Gosh, those PCdM pics are gorgeous!!!

Jim - you clever man!! :) :) So sweet of you to do that for your Gracie. :) :) Any more progress with her balance? Is that a house selling dance for Kitty?

Nanadoll, is your Orange Dude grafted or own root? Mine is own root but its not showing alot vigor at all....Internet says this is suppose to be a very fast growing rosebush so just wondering...Thanks

Thanks carol! Gracie is showing progress but very slow...

Geriatric vestibular disease, often called "old dog syndrome," is a sudden-onset balance disorder affecting older dogs. Despite distressing symptoms like head tilting, stumbling, and rapid eye movements, it is rarely fatal. Most dogs improve within 72 hours and recover completely within two to three weeks with supportive nursing care.

Todays the 6th day since Gracie started having trouble....

Jim - Diane doesn't like own root, so I'm betting hers is grafted. Progress is good, no matter how slow. :) I do hope she gets better faster, though, as you do. Sixth day...that is slow compared to what you posted. Is that your Orange Dude? It looks very happy.

Diane - where are you? I hope you're feeling okay.

I'm wondering if I should get another Chandos Beauty from Hortico when I get my Pink Peace. I don't like having doubles for roses in my pots...but it's such a good rose. Hmmm.

Kitty -- Oh, I should have specified that I'm in CA visiting family, so the Armstrong's is located here, not in NJ. It's always a treat for me to poke around their offerings. Gorgeous PCdM blooms! And I'm sure the fragrance is amazing. I hope you had a successful open house today and enjoyed your time with Anastasia. Martha is doing well. She had two more blooms, and now I've trimmed her back a bit.

Carol -- Well, I'm glad snowy days are truly behind you and that you're now enjoying a backyard filled with plants. Great news about the Morden Sunrise plants making so much progress! I thought of you today when I came across what I assume is Stainless Steel at a garden we visited. The color was so unique and the scent was incredible. I encouraged my niece and nephew to smell the blooms and they both made approving sounds.

Trish -- What a stunning bouquet of Bliss! I love that rose. I've tried to grow Bliss twice indoors but it doesn't tolerate it at all. Some roses just don't, and I never blame them for resenting an unnatural environment! There's a Queen of Sweden growing in the park I frequent, and I like the look of it very much; the upright habit is striking amid the rather more sprawly roses in the same bed. And it always appears quite healthy. Glad you were able to get your ponds in order, even if it meant losing some of the irises you'd hoped to keep.

Carol -- I'd fully support a summer thread! :)

Windowsill - thanks!! Yes, I'm happy that my Morden Sunrise bushes have decided to grow. :) Ooooh...that's a gorgeous Stainless Steel bush!!! I know, right? The color is so unique, and the fragrance is great!! I love mine. :) :) Approved by young (your niece/nephew) and old (me). :) Ok, I'll start a summer thread. :)

Hey everyone, join us all for the Summer thread at:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6566987/summer-seasonal-thread-at-last

Jim,

Tee, hee on Jim Carey impression! You dance well! 🤪😊😇🥀 I hope Gracie improves more. You are so nurturing-caring for her w/ TLC. She is the sweetest darling!

Carol,

Super busy w/ real estate right now. Let you know progeess in awhile. 73F is awesome! Planting time! My temps rise to 64F today, but it feels nice & plenty warm now-I think it really will be in 70sF today.

Yay! Dahlias love sunshine & only a little moist soil, not much water, until green leaves & sprouts happen -be careful to let soil dry before watering until leaves sprout. They will drink plenty of water as they are growing big-then I give them lots of water. . Have your dahlias sprouted yet? Put them in the brightest sun spot. Great!

Time to remove your black rose canes. I pruned my black canes off roses leaving a little black tip as I didn't want to touch the green part of cane. Ny roses later died back more larer after pruned as they were not finished when first 70sF temps appeared . A month after last freeze all the die back was finally finished & I could see what really survived. Then I pruned again.

It’s exciting to hear your garden progress! New Pink Peace coming from Hortico & maybe another Chandos Beauty? I am tired of waiting for roses to recover-I’d just buy new roses & a new Chandos B-she may perform better this season if she’s new! More Chandos Beauty roses for bouquets, too! . Your Morden Sunrises, Emily Bronte, & 2 Gabriel Oaks will be beautiful! bloomers! It’s wonderful to see roses first blooms like Snowwhite & Stainless Steel. Love it’s lavendar blooms! And your pansies have all the same color blooms as mine & more white & light blue-WOW! Very showy pansies! And tour oeonies are griwing -Woohoo! Live seeing them sprout & leaf out-tge red growth is very pretty! You will have soooo many more perennials/, annuals than me. You will have a gorgeous English garden! WOWZA! Enchanting!

Thank you about my lilac, pansies, peony buds, & W Lupine. They are truly a joy this season! However, not many perenials/annuals for me this season. I wished to concentrate on mainly roses, esp. florist roses. . I have my reliable annual peonies, daylilies, asiatic lilies, delphinium, phlox, hydrangeas,ROS, lilacs, iris, allium, & few others- and those fabulous W. Lupine to enjoy! I am crazy about bulbs, too! Must plant tons of bulbs in PNW! I am taking some Gardenia daffs to PNW-my fragrant daff-favorites!! Still waiting to order roses!!! Humph! 🤪😊🥀😇…. hope selling home, buying land, then buying roses all comes together soon.

I can’t wait much longer!! I have a few things to do around the house to finish, but hoping to sell asap now!

FABULOUS NEW SUMMER THREAD! Thank tou for offering! Maybe start summer thread around June beginning? I still feel spring this cool week. 50-60sF last 2 days. Summer sun is coming, though. I will hit 70s-80Fs this week.

Hi, Diane,

I hope your weather is improving and you are in good health? It’s nice to take a break, though. I hope you have some nice treats and rest and relax! We gardeners work too much! Have a lovely restful day!

My Wild Lupine will look like this in full bloom probably pretty soon! We have a heat wave coming this week!

Wild Lupine internet photo

Maybe I will add some more wild flower seeds to my PNW garden?? A wild flower garden bed? . I see lupine comes in other colors….

Yellow Lupine (internet)

Oooooo! Pink, Red, Yellow, Purple Lupines

Internet photos

Wild Flowers internet

Kitty - Yes, please, keep us posted about your real estate happenings. :) I've been careful about not overwatering, and they've all sprouted. I have 3/6 that have significant growth...6 inches. I've pinched those back. So they'll need lots of water as they mature? Okay, got that. :) I'm in the process of cutting back black canes and wonky growth. I've got about 20 more roses to finish. Since none of mine are very big, it won't take very long. I had another rose bite the bullet. My Ballgown, which I don't think gave me any blooms last year, has black cane at the bottom of each cane, and there's no new growth. So I'm tossing that one too. I experimented with not watering my roses at all over winter to see if it would stop them from growing long thin garage growth canes. It didn't, plus a lot of roses died. Wasn't my best idea...but not my worst. lol I'm just getting one Gabriel Oaks. I tossed last year's one out because of all the disease it had. But I think that's from having on the cold, snowy blankets and suffering from freezing weather. The first year I had GO, I loved it. Thanks about my garden. :) :) :) :) Do you think that bulbs may not do well in the PNW because they may rot from all the rain? Just a thought. You are taking a lot of plants with you!! I hope your house sells quickly. Ooops, sorry, I already started the summer thread. Your weather will catch up. :) Gosh, those lupine blooms are stunners!! Love them!!

Carol,

It’s wonderful to hear that all your dahlias sprouted! You have been very successful! Congrats! Great job nurturing your dahlias! Sorry about Ballgown. Not watering the roses enough in garage in winter was a mistake, but we all make misstates. Gardening is often one big experiment! We all live & learn. LOL! 1 Gabriel Oaks sounds very good! She will be sooo beautiful blooming! I’d love her in the future! Your gardens are going to be sooooo lovely with all your TLC pruning and care. Bulbs do well in the PNW. The rain seems to be fine for them. My mom had tulips & daffs in Tacoma ( next to Seattle) when I lived there for 5 years. I see rosie friends who grow bulbs there & enjoying them. Thank you about my lupine. Maybe I will try more colorful lupine in the future, too.

Carol,

“just Keep on pruning, ….just keep on pruning…, “ says Dory, tee, hee ” (I mean ” just keep on swimming”…… said Dory.) And…. those pesky black canes will disappear on your 20 roses in no time and they will be growing free! Woohoo!