Thank you MayBee (and everyone else) Actually, I could use some landscaping advice Here is a picture a bit further back, which gives a better sense of the small little space I have. The garden "strip" (for lack of a better term) wraps around the side of my end-unit townhome. Most of this is in the shade (faces north), but the front edge is a small raised bed which gets sun all afternoon. Originally, it had three ugly old azealeas (sorry azealea lovers, I find them to be very boring bushes!!). So I was just going to replace them with three roses (Iceberg is what I was originally thinking). Well, that was 4 years ago...Let's just say I have "grown" as a garderner I wound up extending the raised bed a bit, it was about 10 feet long by 4 feet wide, now it is 15 feet long. But I cannot extend it any further. I have a lovely maple at the end of that bed, and I am already planting a bit too close to that tree as it is. Across the sidewalk from the raised bed is a small "island", which is community property...it has the fire hydrant and the light post. Because of Jude's popularity, I got the blessing of my neighbors to pull the ugly juniper ground cover and put in roses. I have 3 Lavagluts in there (one on lifesupport, after some bad transplant shock), and now have added 3 Souvenir de la Malmaison. I have ringed all 6 of the roses with dwarf lavendar, which should fill in nicely as the summer progresses. The full list of roses is as follows (16 in all): Jude the Obscure: In the corner closest to the steps. He is my first rose purchase, and first love - now 4 years old. It just keeps getting better Molineux (3 of them) They sit next to Jude. I planted them last year, they didn't do much last year, but this year I have gotten a good spring flush and they are starting to grow a bit. They have a nice tea fragrance Jardins de Bagatelle (2 of them, view obscured by red Lavaglut roses growing in the island): These are new this year. Not much yet, but pretty blooms on the baby plants with a nice fragrance. I wanted 3, to replace 3 Ducher (China) roses, which were perfectly fine rose bushes (bullet proof), but didn't really put out nice flowers for cutting. I have a small garden, I decided I wanted more cutting roses. I could only get 2 JdB this year (Roses Unlimited), so I am holding a spot for one more of these guys for next, assuming they perform well Crimson Bouquet (1, behind Molineux). It's 3 years old now. No fragrance, but lovely bloom, long lasting, great for cutting, and it repeats really well over the summer. Maggie (1, next to Crimson Bouquet on the pillar trellis). This is brand new (Antique Rose Emporium), just a baby, and not really visible. It replaced a hybrid tea (Beloved) that was constantly getting blackspot. I have high hopes for this one...already putting out new growth. Pickerings 4 Seasons Rose - in a pot, not in the picture (further up the steps). Doing ok, but not as nice a rose as Rose du Roi. Blooms are pretty, not a heavy bloomer, but it is still young. A very lanky plant though!! Rose du Roi (1, in a pot, next to Jude). I acquired as a happy accident last year, an apology gift from Rogue Valley Roses for sending me the wrong rose. I didn't have space, so he went in a pot. This rose is really growing on me. It produced a great, very fragrant flush last fall. That damask scent was just WONDERFUL!!!! This spring's flush has been very nice, and he is starting to fill in a bit. I may try and squeeze him in at the end of the garden later this summer, just past the space for Jardin des Bagatelles, roughly where the little white sign sits (I would have to fill in some dirt) I don't want to run a big "pot ghetto" Souvenir de la Malmaison (3 of these on the "island" next to the light pole, on the right) - What more can I say. They are brand new, and I am already very impressed. Patrick & Lori who live in my area, love this rose. I find the fragrance subtle, soft, not a strong as Jude or Rose du Roi, but nice. The flower form cannot be beat. They seem very happy in their new bed! Lavaglut (2 1/2, on the left side of the lightpole): They are only 1 year old, but are already 3 1/2 feet tall. They bloom non-stop all summer, and stand up INCREDIBLY well to the heat (and we have HOT, humid summers!!!). Blooms are long lasting (great cut flowers, but no fragrance), and a pretty deep red. Disease free foliage. I wrote off one of these (now a 1/2 rose, sitting, partially obscured by the fire hydrant) that I had transplanted (to make room for SDLM). But I looked last night, and it is showing signs of life (2 live canes, and a bunch of dead ones). I will look again at him tonight, and trim the dead canes. Should I keep him or pull him? If I pull him, I could conceivably buy & plant 2 more SDLM (on either side of the fire hydrant) and have 5 of those ringing the 2 remaining Lavagluts (and all framed by the new lavendar plants I put in). Or.... I could try and put in 2 of the SDLM sport, Capitaine Dyel de Graville (if I can find it!), to get a somewhat darker shade of pink. Oh the choices one has to make with a small garden!! I appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts (since I am still very much a novice!!) Basil

medo,I do believe I read somewhere you need at least 3/4 mile to reduce cross pollination! I am keeping certain ones in pots ,I plan to bag flowers and/or hand pollinate. The pink one was supposed to be Violet Feather,but turned out pink! I am thrilled to death with it! :D One thing I really like about MG's is they are full of wonderful surprises,and I am not picky anyway,I love them all! :) So my first attempts at hand pollination will benefit my buddies! ;) mnwsgal,I would be glad to share seeds from the pink one with you. I was so happy to see it! I really wanted a MG that was a lighter shade of pink,so when that opened I was in no way disappointed it wasn't a violet color.The Honeysuckle smells fantastic,although it is crazy growing,I find it worth the effort to control it! Besides I love the look of it,I have a well established driveway wall full of it,I love the way it cascades down! :) stagerat,Thanks so much for the compliments,I love taking pics,especially of plantlife. This season you guys will be seeing lots of them, I am sure!;) Northerner,thanks so much! Actually the purple flower is Dame's Rocket. I am finding I like this one a whole lot,it seems like it compliments whatever it is near.I really love MG's too,I was so happy to see how many different ones there are. I think each year from here on out I will only plant 2 or 3 varieties at a time....lol...we will see about that! ;) Thanks Karen! :D terrene,that would also be Dames Rocket,they really love it,I see them frequently hanging around since it bloomed. I am going to have to learn my butterfly cats,I would really like for my whole yard to be a sanctuary for butterflies and birds. So far I have succeeded in providing for the birds,they really like my yard,and I have already seen birds this year I didn't see last year ,my goal is to learn more about both this year! :) Carol,I will have seed for those African Daisies at the end of the season,I potted them up with a Chocolate Mint and plan to keep them away from the others. So if you would like some, remind me if I don't contact you,you are more than welcome to them! The Gilla sure is pretty isnt it? I absolutely adore them,next year there will be lots of them,although as fast as they came up and bloomed, I probably have time this year to start some more! :) Carrie thanks so much! I only hope my gardens look as wonderful as yours by the end of the season.You are also welcome to any seeds I have at the end of the season. I will definitely post more pics, if you promise to do the same! ;) Thanks Alyse! How are things going for you? I bet things are shaping up there also for you! I have found a few deer resistant varieties I think you may like,and some I just happen to have extra seed for! ;) I will be in touch! Here is a pic of the latest MG to bloom,it was supposed to be Pink Shibouri,but I am loving the color it turned out,hopefully the other one is pink,that would be awesome! :D

I enjoyed looking at your photos! I can't say that I like those robber flies. I saw one with a Monarch cat one time. It had consumed half of it, and it flew off with the other half when it saw me (I think that's why it flew off with it anyway). Grrr! We try to save as many as we can, but we can only do so much. There are so many predators out there just watching and waiting for them. I also have trouble with wasps getting to my BST cats if I don't bring them in. A few years ago the last four "butterflies" to eclose were actually wasps. They had overwintered and I was really disappointed when those came out of the pupas instead of the Black Swallowtails. I think it was the very first year that I raised them. After that I have become more diligent at watching the host plants and bringing them in as soon as possibly, preferably in the egg stage. Cathy

Thank you all for the lovely comments! I really enjoy "raising" this garden. Even though we have been in this house for a while, I have "rolled up my sleeves" two years ago. Treelover, the groundcover between the patio stones are some of my many experiments. First photo - blue star creeper and creeping thyme. Third photo - corsican mint, one of my favorite. It's a very low growing, spreads rapidly. Last photo - miniature mondo grass, not a best choice. I will replant it some place else, and replace with...whatever I can find on sale that spreads nicely, stays green in winter, and low-growing/steppable kind. Will post more pictures later, since now I know how. Yay! ~Natalie