Even though I'm still a newbie - 3rd year growing roses - I have a strong favorite. The beautiful BOURBONS. And I'm in your zone, though considerably to the West, and probably drier. I am actually a bit surprised how much I adore the Bourbon class because early on I was sure I would favor the Gallicas with their wild colors, history, and romance. A little later I became obsessed with HPs - their voluptuousness, I suppose. And my first favorite rose was actually the Hybrid Musk, Cornelia - still a sentimental favorite. My Bourbons were slow to start - esp. Zephirine Drouhin, of which I have two - but WOW!!! They are so worth the wait. I have had zero disease problems with them, while my poor gallicas have mildew issues, varying from mild to severe. I only have 3 HPs (General Jacqueminot, Paul Neyron, Souvenir du Dr. Jamain), and none have problems, but they just don't bloom as heavily or repeat as well. I am wondering if maybe the reason I have no disease problems with them is that my climate dries up very suddenly after heavy spring rains. But I really don't know. My reasons for loving them the most: the blooms are equally, if not more, impressive than any of those other highly touted classes. But their spring flush is massive, and their fragrances are much stronger on the average. The only roses I have that are as strongly fragranced as my bourbons are Jude the Obscure (English rose) and Comte de Chambord (Portland). Here is something really neat - before the Great Easter Freeze, my bourbons had all put out jillions of fat buds, all of which were hit and lost, as were so many of my once bloomers, as well. Only, the bourbons took a two week or so break, and came back out with an equally big flush!!! The once bloomers that had buds already when the freeze hit just decided to call it a year, regardless of whether they had one bud or many. I wish I had pics to post. The bourbons I have are Zephirine Drouhin, Madame Ernest Calvat, Louise Odier, Coquette des Blanches, Madame Isaac Pereire, and La Reine Victoria. They are all just awesome, but maybe if I had to pic faves I would choose Louise and CdB for perfection of bloom, purity of color, exquisite fragrance, profusion of bloom, and in the case of CdB, continuous repeat. One more thing - I think their foliage is uniquely pretty (esp. MEC - lovely purple and deep blue-green), and I love how MEC and MIP look when pegged. - a festooned swag. I hope none of the more experienced OGR people are going to tell me that it's too early to tell whether I will continue to escape major problems with these roses...maybe the diseases just haven't found me yet. Good luck!

I've always loved beets and I like borscht a lot. I do like cabbage in mine, and I use beef bones or beef stock as the base. I usually start with home canned beef broth so that negates the need to let the broth simmer then sit so the fat can be skimmed. Borscht Recipe You need: ◦8 cups beef broth ◦1 pound slice of meaty bone-in beef shank ◦1 large onion, peeled, quartered ◦4 large beets, peeled, chopped ◦4 carrots, peeled, chopped ◦1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes ◦2 cups thinly sliced cabbage ◦3 Tbsp red wine vinegar ◦1 cup sour cream ◦Salt and pepper to taste Preparation: Bring 4 cups of the beef broth, the beef shank, and onion to boil in large pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer meat to work surface; trim fat, sinew and bone and discard. Chop meat; cover and chill. Cool broth slightly. Chill in pot until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. Spoon fat from top of chilled broth and discard. Add remaining 4 cups broth, beets, carrots, and potato; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in meat and cabbage; cook until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream. Serves 6. Annie

You know, Jessy, when I first saw this thread I was thinking, "If this were a few years ago I'd be hitting refresh just to see what EJ says!" LOL Funny thing with cukes, I guess I'm in the minority that I actually like the seeds and gunk around them. I'm always disappointed when I get a tossed salad and the seeds are scooped out. I'll gravitate towards English or Persian cucumbers when making cucumber salad though, to avoid the excess moisture. I'll have to pay closer attention to the taste of different varieties. I've not noted much difference, I guess I just like cukes.

I am sort of like Marilyn Sue. I have been to most of the places people mentioned, except Alaska and Hawaii. It is so much trouble to go anywhere, that travel no longer appeals to me. I would, however, like to go back to Tennessee and North Carolina, partly because I love the area, and I have friends and family there. I don't want to go camping though. I get enough nature at home.