For those that are familiar with Bride's Dream, do you think that the pictures I posted above of my unknown look like that variety? After doing a wee bit of looking, I just guessed that it was BD (actually I saw a labeled rose at a nursery that looked just like my unknown - both from Week's - and deduced what it was). My flower looks a bit different than the one Celeste posted but I was having some thrip problems at the time and that may have accounted for the difference. I really like this rose - whatever it is - and would like to know! Lynn

Of course, it had to get hot early. Sigh. I started at about 8:30, and came in at 12:15 or so... Before the heat chased me inside, I managed to free the Eden Climber that had been in a pot since I got her about 1.5 years ago. I had estimated that her canes were about 4 foot, but no...they are taller than I am, and I'm 5'7". I armed myself by watching Paul Zimmerman's video on transplanting a rose, and followed his advice. She also got about an hour's worth of trickling water. I'm pleased and have good hopes for her...she had an enormous rootball, and tons of those little webbie feeder things, and most of that came to the new home complete. She's not showing any droop yet, although I do expect her to. Still, she's been moved, and her canes loosely tied down to the fence, and she will look fantastic there if all goes well. Then, because it had to be done, I transplanted Midas Touch from the bed to the walkway; it's showing drooping already. It's roots were not in good shape at all. I honestly expect I'll lose this one. Which doesn't make me too sad...it's a pretty rose, but I'm not attached to it like I am Eden. (And I have no idea why I'm attached to my Edens...but I am) And then, just because I wasn't already too hot, sweaty, tired, and lightheaded (or so I told myself. LOL), I went ahead and put Soft Whisper into the ground, too. I had to remove the Double Delight, and decided I couldn't bear to SP, so it's soaking in a bucket of water and I'll pot it up tomorrow. I don't know if it will survive; it certainly has not done well where it was, and that is prime rose real estate. It, too, has a poorly developed root system, so we'll see what happens. I won't miss it, to be honest...it's a cool rose, and great fragrance, but it's done sooo poorly that I think I'd probably have better luck with something else. I have come to the conclusion that I will not be ready for the delivery on Tuesday, but I will be as ready as I can be. I will have a pot ghetto, but over the next month or 6 weeks, I'll be able to get things into the ground. I also marked out the places for the Distant Drums, Fragrant Plum, New Zealand HT, Wildeve or Gruss in the front bed, and, in the backyard, have selected Queen Lizzy's new home. I also culled some of the agapanthas (they've been there for 20 years, totally naturalized)...only removed two parts of the beds to make room for some roses. I also freed some bricks from the old, defunct, laundry yard (which is no longer in existence; and yes, there are more bricks there to uncover and move, too...)and moved the bricks into the driveway. They will go toward making "raised beds" of a sort, in the front yard by the fence, to keep water and soil from washing away under the fence (it's an old post and rail fence...and I constantly lose soil to the sidewalk). I was going to take down some hedges under the front window, but ran out of steam. I may ask my gardeners to do that...just clear the whole area of ivy (sigh...) and the hedges. I'll put some things in pots there, and see how things go. It's west facing, so I'm not sure that roses will do well there...so I'll leave them in pots and see if they do all right. If not, well...I'll move them. Gak. There's so much to do...and I just am not going to get it done in time. Oh well. The roses can stay in pots for a while... Phew. I'm tired. Overheated and tired. But content. Lots of progress...I won't be able to move my body in a few hours, but a lot of progress has been made. And, at the bottom of this post, is a link to the new post..."New, Need Help: The Saga Continues." Best- Herding Cats Here is a link that might be useful: The New Post...

Rosa banksiae is used along coastal California freeways. Garden forms usually planted not thorny, however. Another that might work is firethorn (Pyracantha). That is wickedly armed. You might like to find your location in the Sunset Western Garden Book and then see if the plant selection guide portion of the book has anything for you. Similar information is on the Sunset Publishing web site. Any planting will take time to grow, in the meantime it will not be forming the desired barrier. If there is enough traffic anything you plant will just get stomped down or broken off, while still new and small. Use wire enclosures to fight this, although again determined interlopers will merely destroy whatever you put in their way. Unless it is something serious enough to keep them out, like a tall metal fence with barbed or razor wire on top. And somebody who patrols the fence, repairs any places that have been cut through or otherwise damaged. This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 14:48

I have a question..I'm leaning towards Florentina. I have a block wall(6' high) and on one side of an entrance over which I have a sort of trellis.. I have Sombreuil and was thinking of Florentina on the other side. The wall faces north west..so gets plenty of sun in the afternoon..would Florentina be OK in this location? Morning shade. Sombreuil is positively thriving. In fact huge!! Sombreuil has covered the trellis and heading off in the other direction along the wall..I removed the 2nd Sombreuil from the other side of the entrance so she wouldn't cover my garage!! I i live in Oregon in zone 7. I moved the other Sombreuil in early summer and she is taking off in spite of our 100 degree heat wave!! Any one wants a gung ho rose Sombrueil is it!! Does need dead heading to keep blooming though.