Hi Karen, I like LD Breathwaite. It isn't a deep red by any means. But not purple for me either. Somewhere in between. Tradescant did horribly here. It may have just been the plant, but it stayed small, blackspotted, looked horrible. Out it went. Barbara Austin has a great first flush of blooms. After that it is pretty much all leaves for the rest of the season unless I prune it back by 1/3 or so. Then I usually get a decent rebloom. It has very thin delicate stems. If you are growing it for the scent then go for it. If you are wanting one that pumps out the flowers all summer, I would pass. I have Brother Cadfael. Big fat cabbage type blooms. Pretty plum colored new growth. It hasnt bloomed a ton for me this year but in it's defense I have been neglecting the bed it is planted in and it has been watered maybe once this summer. Lillian Austin is very pretty here. Prettier than pictures I have seen. Out of your list of plants to purchase I think the only other one I have is Crocus rose. I think (forgot what I planted and it has no tag). If it is crocus rose it is pretty and blooms well. Any other questions feel free to shoot them my way :) Marleah

You Can Grow Tropical Fruit Trees by Robert Mohlenbrock 1980 Success With Small Food Gardens Using Special Intensive Methods By Louise Ritto (1977) Trees of North America by Brockman Mother Nature's Recipe Book by Derwood McCraken 1975 The Gardener's Book of Berries By Allana Swenson 1994 How to Know Wildflowers Mr. William Starr Dana (a Dover book.)originally 1900! Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada by Charles Francis Saunders (a Dover Book.) Originally 1920! The Suburban Farmer's Handbook Jack Kramer 1977 (an old library book. Usable.) Herbs Techniques, Recipes, and More Kathi Keville 1991 Container Gardening (Burpee Book) Suzanne Frutig Bales 1993 The New Vegetable and Herb Expert Dr. D. G. Hessayon 1997 Down To Earth Gardening Month By Month from The Garden Club of Lookout Mountain 1974 (oddball self published book done with plastic spiral binding. Kinda fun.) Backyard Composting from Harmonius Press 1992 and some Sunset books (you did'nt think you could avoid those?) Low Maintenance Gardening Small Space Gardens Lawns and Ground Covers I also have a couple of Trees of Antiquity catalogs and Forestfarm catalogs, if any would like them. Also a Wayside Gardens catalog from 1981. I have a few others (especially more Sunset books) just ask. I will ship book rate.

I am really not much help on the fragrance side of your questions since I can't smell most roses, but I can reply on the garden merit and "likely to not die" in the cold Midwest. I agree that Queen Elizabeth, New Zealand and Memorial Day are hit or miss for both survivability and health in our zones. Dingo has obviously had success with QE, but I've tried at least 3 times each to grow each of the roses above and they have never survived my zone 5 winters, even in a protected zone 6 spot. You have a zone advantage on me, so they might do OK in a somewhat protected spot for you. Frederick Mistral is a better rose in the long run than these and more frequent bloomer as well. I also agree that Munstead Wood is worth its own independent real estate, and I think Dark Desire is a fabulous garden rose with intriguing colors and terrific frequency of bloom. It gets much bigger than MW so would need to be at the back of the bed, whereas MW can be compact. Ebb Tide is pretty meh for me so I'd replace it with MW in a similar spot if I had to choose. Stephen's Big Purple is a total wimp, and MW or DD far outshines either Fragrant Plum or Heirloom. Among your whites, I'd go with Sugar Moon by reputation for fragrance, frequent bloom, and hardiness. Full Sail and Margaret Merrill have both died twice on me, but not yet in my protected spot, but I don't think they're robust over the winter. You haven't heard many comments about Earth Angel because it's such a new release, but it stays compact for me (no more than 3') and would be great in a pot. Frankly, I class this one as cream rather than pink in my yard, though it can be blush. Among the yellows, I agree that Julia Child is a good rose all around, and if others say it's fragrant I'll believe them. Sunsprite survives fine for me but doesn't bloom very often, and I don't detect a scent (but it might be there). MIchelangelo is only marginally hardy for me and wasn't all that notable as a bloom. I can't think of any other fragrant yellows that I can smell, though I've seen reports of scent from Poet's Wife (a new Austin release). You might also consider Desdemona among the newer Austins for a white - I think Marlorena mentioned scent and she loves this one. If you're willing to consider the Austins, I find that some of my most fragrant roses come from the Austins - notably Sharifa Asma (blush pink, toe-curling scent), William Shakespeare 2000 (hot pink), and Jude the Obscure (light apricot, not as hardy) come to mind. My other toe-curling wonderful scents are from Frances Dubreuil/ Barcelona (burgundy), Maggie/Eugene E Marlitt (hot pink), and Just Joey (apricot, only just hardy for me). Oh, Beverly (pink) is supposed to be fragrant among the Kordes roses, and it is a reliable bloomer all season and very hardy and tall. Among climbers, the most fragrant one I grow is Aloha and it's rock solid hardy with nice HT form in a solid pink. I'd totally choose that one over America. Polka (apricot) is supposed to have some scent as is Nahema (a pink - to die for blooms), and they're worth looking into. Nicely hardy all of these. Have fun Cynthia

Duchesse de Montebello is quite vigorous and fragrant. My garden is small and full, so I purchased a grafted one from Palatine. I've only grown her own root until now and hear she can grow larger when grafted, but she's always been substantial enough for me when own root as well. Allegra is on my list, too. The negligible suckering is a plus! I second Belle Sans Flatterie. Gorgeous! My Orpheline de Juillet is a baby, so I can't report on it yet, but Alana's has sold me and I have high hopes! I hear it's quite fragrant. I see you have listed a moss rose. I did not grow mosses in MN, but I wish I had. Two dark ones that are very fragrant are Capitaine John Ingram and Nightmoss. HMF lists them as 6b. Salet is very fragrant and listed as 5b. All are good growers for me in the PNW. Another thought for fragrant, vigorous, cold tolerant roses: Albas. This class performed well for me in MN and since my Albas and Gallicas began blooming at different times, my rose season was extended. Felicite Parmentier and Queen of Denmark are very fragrant and trouble free for me. Alba Semi Plena shrugged off cold and grew large and disease free in MN. Very sweetly perfumed. I still grow Semi Plena, FP and QofD as well as Maiden's Blush, Celestial and Maxima. Carol