A garden creation to ponder on a wintry January day (long)

16 years ago

At about the halfway point in my front yard conversion to front rose garden I think it's time to share the joy of seeing

a garden during its creation. Notice I did not not say "under construction". I have grown into a more poetic self.

Realism was painful; lyricism is where I'm at now. (I like this definition: overflowing with eager enjoyment or

approval. Yes!)

As things sometimes happen, the central characteristic of the garden - a circle - came out of the blue from a tiny

thumbnail in a Google search that when enlarged turned out to be not what I thought it was, but the idea it planted

in my mind was nonetheless perfect. The problem: how to place LOTS of roses in a small front yard beautifully. For

months my creativity was stopped dead, frozen in fear of failure until that tiny thumbnail. That spark of creation

infused me with excitement, joy, anticipation and confidence. I knew this was the perfect plan. I would have to

eliminate most of the grass in the front yard, except for the 22' diameter circle, leaving a 5' wide bed on each side

and an arbor at the top of the circle toward the house and a small (about 24' deep) "strolling cul de sac" along the

sidewalk bed. A perfect spot for a garden fountain someday.

Perfection notwithstanding, there was still the knowledge that my very bold plan would be a monumental task for

one 57-year-old arthritic woman, but every journey starts with a single step so with shovel in hand I stepped out into

the unknown on October 28, 2007.

A circular bed already existed so some of it had to be filled with transplanted grass to complete the new circle of

grass.

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The remaining grass around the new circle from property line to driveway had to be killed. Dare I kill it ALL, making

my front yard an eyesore? Would it be better done in stages? Once I got the Round-Up in the sprayer my fear of it

passed so I forged ahead (waiting many times for the breeze to stop.) A week later it was the color of straw and set

off the circle nicely.

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My front yard soil is nothing more than contractor's sand - fill on top of hardpacked limestone-type soil that looks like

grayish, powdery sand. Early on I planned to obtain wood chips and let them compost the dead grass, but the

tree-cutting companies are short of work and so, short of chips. At this point my DH found a local lady who was

giving away horse manure compost. So far I've gotten 4 pick-up loads. With the availability of good compost fill, I

set out to remove the top shovelful of sand from the beds. Roughly 200 square feet by 6" deep of sand had to be

moved by wheelbarrow to the backyard which fortunately needed it.

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Doing the bed along the driveway and sidewalk has taken 2 months of Saturdays and Sundays, six hours a day.

That was my "painful realism" stage. Realizing that it was going to be a long time before I got to the bed on the

other side of the circle, I decided to put a load of compost on top of the dead grass and let time work for me.

Hopefully, by the time I'm ready to work on that side, the dead grass will be well rotted, and I will only have to turn it

over. That may require some edging blocks to hold in the extra soil. Haven't thought that far ahead.

So here are some shots as of today.

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The choices of roses that Florida has allowed me are limited. They must either be on Fortuniana rootstock or Chinas

and their closest relatives. The nematodes in our sand shorten the lifespan of other roses dramatically and reduce

their vitality. But nematodes don't like organic matter or concrete, so hopefully those two things will mitigate the risk

for roses like the Maries and Grusses and HMs and old HTs. My selections were also limited by expected plant size,

disease resistance and fragrance. If at all possible, I wanted my garden to be one that wafted fragrance. Searches

for small, fragrant and fungus resistant roses gave me plants that I think will fill the bill.

As to size, I wanted short roses along the driveway and sidewalk so that the entry would not be hidden and

overwhelmed. So from the street up the driveway first comes Marie Pavie', Marie Daley, Purpurea (China), three

Hermosas in a tight grouping at the corner of the sidewalk, Iceberg on Fort. (an impulse purchase - don't often see

Fortuniana rootstock at Lowes for $11.87), Jean Bach Sisley, and Don Juan on Fort. on the arbor. Turning the

corner toward the front door are Marie Pavie', Marie Daley, four Gruss an Aachens alternating Pink and Original,

and finally the climber Parade to go up the front porch post and rail. Back at the driveway at the corner of the

garage is Madame Caroline Testout. She will have a nice pergola that will extend about halfway across the left side

of the garage. These roses, except for Parade who was supposed to go in the ground today had it not rained, are all

planted and budding. I'm so happy! Pink, maroon and yellow daylillies are scattered amongst the roses along with

Elephant Garlic and for the winter season Dianthus and African Daisy.

Between the cul de sac and the porch will be Bubble Bath with the fountain right in front of him, left to arch as he

chooses in that 7x7 spot. On the other side of the circle will be another Don Juan on Fortuniana on the other side of

the arbor, then Arcadia Louisiana Tea, moving around, Monsieur Tillier, Marie d'Orleans, and LaSylphide nearest

the street. On the street on both sides are 6' deep beds with Liriope and Daylillies in them.

My plan for the space between the sidewalk and the garage (about 15" wide) is to grow Pleasant Hill Cemetary

Noisette on a trellis that will cover the whole garage wall. Your opinions are needed as to whether this is doable. I

will replace the sand naturally with compost, and I'm sure the roots will run under the concrete some but mainly

along the length of the garage. Do you think the plant will like this position? BTW, this wall faces west and will have

sun from 12pm almost till sundown.

Under the trees the plan is to have Pinky Winky, a red and pink Paniculata Hydrangea, and was to have azaleas on

the edge of the cul de sac. But I have decided to take them out and put a few shade tolerant roses there - maybe

Country Dancer but probably more Grusses. I have fallen so in love with the flowers and fragrance of GaA that I'm

also thinking of planting a couple of them on the edge of the circle on the big tea side with the teas set back a little,

figuring the Grusses between the teas would hide their naked legs and give that side the voluptuous look that I

want.

Originally, I had planned to put a trellis across the end of the porch and grow a climber on it, but I'm getting more

shade there from my trees and the neighbor's so I'm not sure what to do until I see how much sun I have when it

shifts north. I have a rose order coming in March - Ley's Perpetual, Chromatella, Reve d'Or and Noella Nabonnand.

Also, I am about to pull the trigger on an order from Roses Unlimited for Duchesse d'Auerstadt, Bouquet d'Or or

Kaiserin Friedrich. (Pleasant Hill Cemetary would be in this order.) Maybe one of them would be right for that spot.

The trellis would be square and would be the size of that side of the porch.

So this is my rose garden. I'm so excited to be this far. Hopefully, you have found it interesting, and I would love to

get your thoughts.

Sherry

Featured Answer

fig_insanity Z7b E TN

6 years ago

Judith, the very last thing I remember reading from Sherry was a post saying her husband Tom had passed away several months before that. The post was sometime last summer, I think. She did say she hoped to be on more often, but I haven't seen her since. I do hope she's doing well. I miss her, too.

John

Comments (27)

feldcat
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow! One 57 year-old woman with arthritis sure can get the job done! Your garden is a labor of love and it shows; I hope we can see some photos next summer as the garden matures. Good luck with everything, especially getting everything planted as it arrives in March (I always end up with more than I can easily plant in the spring and have to hustle to get in all the in ground before the heat arrives!)
elkey_2007
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for sharing this exciting experience, Sherry. I'm sure the result will be gorgeous. The buffs, creams and pinks you've chosen seem to make a graceful colour scheme. I would probably put in some slender grasses and patches of small deep blue annuals as fillers where needed.
elkey
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Jen, How rude of your DH to bring home germs to you. I hope you get well more quickly than usual. Jennifer, I really think more and more than whatever you and I both had in November was the flu. I've been around so many sick people (despite my best efforts to avoid them all) and haven't come down with anything, so I think I've already had it and now have some degree of immunity. I really do believe that. Eva Purple Ball is a good tomato. The color really is a deep pink, not purple, and the fruit are very smooth and globe-shaped, and maybe weigh 5-7 oz. each. It produces a decent harvest here. Rebecca, Take care of yourself. Everything else can wait until you're able to breathe more easily again. I've noticed lots of folks in our area are having respiratory issues lately. Nancy, We fed the Daytimer lust by buying them and they were marvelous. I think that was in the 1980s, maybe the 1990s too. I don't miss having one now and y'all know if I had one now, I wouldn't use it. 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Because you have coyotes in your neighborhood, I would not have a miniature cow unless I also had a guardian livestock dog (like a Great Pyrenees, for example) to protect the cow from the coyotes. Or, maybe a donkey. Donkeys are great at protecting livestock as well and even will take on large dogs and cougars to protect their herd. Okmulgeeboy, I have grown a gazillion types of beans over the years. There are hundreds of varieties available commercially and it has been fun to experiment with all the different kinds. If a person is going to binge on something in the garden, beans are a fun crop to experiment with. I do not grow dry beans. They are so incredibly cheap to buy in bags at the store, or in bulk at some stores, that they just are not cost-effective to grow in the garden by comparison. That's why I don't grow pinto beans or black bean, and I always harvest our southern peas green, not leaving them on the plants to dry. I prefer to use the garden for fresh legumes that I can harvest weekly, and then either snap or shell, and eat fresh. We just freeze the excess for winter when I grow more than we can eat fresh and that is possible because we have three freezers in the garage, though all of them are not full year-round....one of them usually empties out as we devour our fresh-frozen food over the course of the fall and winter months. Then, as soon as the harvest starts in Spring, I refill that big freezer with garden produce over the course of the growing season. It is a big chest freezer divided into compartments by blue plastic dividers, so I fill each section with a different veggie, which keeps it organized and makes it easier for me to find what I want when I'm removing frozen produce from the freezer to use in meal preparation. Larry, That is great cow advice! Rebecca, I have hesitated to try to put words to how I feel about this year's winter/spring weather because I am getting mixed feelings about it. Does that make sense? I don't have a strong feeling that we will have late cold weather. I don't have a strong feeling that we will have early warm weather. It all just feels sort of "blah" in my brain. Good heavens, I hope I'm not losing my garden intuition as I age! That would be terrible. So, my best guess based on my garden intuition is that we are going to warm up early in general, but need to watch carefully for late rounds of cold weather. We aren't going to warm up extraordinarily early. You know, there have been some years when January was so warm that I actually put tomato plants in my 4' round galvanized metal stock tank in February...around the third week of February, and I did so expecting they would do well and would produce early and they did, though I had to cover them up on 2 or 3 cold nights. Well, this is not one of those years. It doesn't feel the same as those years. This is more of a middle-of-the-road year. I want to believe it will warm up early and stay warm, but there is a little voice inside my head (picture a miniature Three Stooges type guy jumping up and down in my brain, yelling at me to get my attention) warning me not to get into too much of a hurry to plant too early. Do I wonder where that voice is coming from, given than the signs around me outdoors have been hinting at an early Spring since at least December? Of course I do. I've learned not to question the voices in my head (hope I don't sound like a schizophrenic here) because they are coming from somewhere I cannot explain. I just know that when I follow my intuition, things tend to work out well in the garden. So, I'm not getting in a big hurry with anything, but I'm also not going to drag my heels too much and start seeds too late relative to the weather we are having. I have wondered if my garden brain is being lazy this year because I'm not planning on a big veggie garden? Because I'm rotating my favorite crops, all the nightshades, out of the front garden and replacing them with a lot of flowers as a form of crop rotation, am I losing my focus and not listening to my usual garden-planting intuition? I suppose that is a possibility. However, I am strongly feeling the urge to plant veggies even though that really is not supposed to be a part of my gardening in 2020 since I want to focus on renovating our landscape. I'll talk about that more sometime this week in the Week 5 thread as there are some rational reasons for that, and maybe one irrational one. So, now I'm thinking the front garden won't be 100% flowers and herbs. Maybe it will be 60% flowers and herbs and 40% veggies. We'll see. I promise that when I am starting seeds and planting and transplanting, I'll say so, and just by my actions y'all should be able to see if I'm feeling an early spring sneaking into the garden...or not. Early for me is much earlier than early would be for those of you further north, so if I start things early or on time, you all still have plenty of time to start things early too (and Jennifer is ahead of me this year, I've noticed, and there is nothing wrong with that--I think she is listening to her intuitive garden brain too.) My biggest fear as an intuitive gardener always has been that my garden intuition will fail, one of these years, to send me the right messages and I'll plant too late, but it really hasn't happened yet, so I try to listen to the voices in my head and behave correspondingly. This year, as usual, I expect to start seeds on Super Bowl Sunday....which is next week! Yikes! In a way it is sneaking up on me, but I already have seed-starting supplies and seeds on hand, so I'm ready to start the seeds next Sunday even though it doesn't really feel to me like it should be Super Bowl Sunday yet. I have one plant shelf set up indoors (long story) and the actual light shelf is going to be set up, hopefully today, in the mudroom, so it will be ready for next weekend's activity. Jennifer, I will go find the outlooks and link them, but the last time I looked at them, which I think was early January, they were showing February warmer than usual overall, and were iffy on the rain---no real hint there. At the time I checked them, there were equal chances of us having above average rainfall in February, average rainfall in February or below average rainfall in February. When they put up the EC on the map to indicate Equal Chances, I think that normally means their models are in disagreement so they cannot conclusively predict what might happen. Let me go retrieve the latest outlooks now. This first link shows the quarterly climate outlooks for temperature. Essentially, the tan or brown areas are showing above average temperatures, white will show average or equal chance type temperature forecasts, and if they were showing blue, that would be below average temperatures. Is it scary to anyone else that all the long-term outlooks consistently show us above average? Seasonal Outlooks Now, here's the rainfall outlook. Overall, I find the temperature outlooks to be more reliable than the rainfall outlooks, but since they prepare the rainfall outlooks, I want to post them as well. I'll tell you in advance that there is nothing in the rainfall outlooks that strongly hints at a wet year....and, yet, many of us have had a very rainy January, so I feel like there are mixed signals here. Quarterly Rainfall Outlooks Okay, I'm out of time and need to go make breakfast before it ends up being brunch. I'll be back later to finish catching up. Dawn
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buford
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, WOW, I've spent the last half hour or so reading your post, scrolling back up to the pictures and the drawing. It's going to be spectacular. All your neighbors are going to be jealous!

Please post pictures when everything is planted and in bloom.....
carolfm
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry, you have done a beautiful job! Well done. I can't wait to see photo's of your roses as they mature and are covered with blooms. I would add some blue in there too! You are going to love Don Juan. Mine blooms all the time and the blooms are large and fragrant.

Carol
lindacat
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry! This is going to be wonderful!! I am so lucky to be your next door neighbor! I cannot believe what an undertaking you are doing! This gives me inspiration and enthusism to continue what I am doing. Thanks. Linda
alicia7b
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry it's beautiful now. You have a lovely yard and entrance. The trellis compliments it perfectly, and I love your plan. It was a great idea to post your plan here, I'm not sure I've seen anyone do that before. I can already see it -- it will be a very romantic-looking garden, with all those old garden roses. Please keep us updated with pictures!
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry, how wonderful to be able to share your experience with you in such an in-depth way. It really makes me want to see more and more as your roses and companion plants mature and give color and texture to your front yard. I'm hoping for lots of pictures. You're going to be the star of your neighborhood!

Ingrid
judith5bmontreal
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Starting with a blank slate must be so exciting. I can close my eyes and picture how beautiful it is all going to be. Hard work, yes, but I'm sure you're having loads of fun at the same time! Like everyone else here, I'm looking forward to the photos of all those roses in bloom.
Judith
melissa_thefarm
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry,
Good luck! You sound like you're enjoying yourself no end, and I wish you luck with your project. I get a lump in my throat looking at your Florida photographs: I don't want to move back there to live, but I miss Florida all the same. No place like it.
Thanks for posting this, and do keep us up on how your project goes on. It's unfortunate that our bodies age, but our spirits, not necessarily; and creating and growing is how to keep your soul young.
Melissa
mendocino_rose
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm so glad you are having fun. There's something about creative effort combined with physical effort. Your garden will be a real accomplishment. Best wishes!
Krista_5NY
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I look forward to seeing pics, sounds like it will be just fantastic.

That's good that you left lots of room for Bubble Bath, it likes to grow big, LOL!
rosefolly
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The joy of creation just shines through the words of your post. From your pictures I can see that you are well on your way to a beautiful garden full of color and the wafting scent you long to have. You already have so much done. Don't forget to post more pictures when you have more done.

Rosefolly
AnneCecilia z5 MI
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry, I know just what you meant about the fear of failure paralyzing you until you find that spark, that perfect idea that suddenly comes to you so clearly, followed by that rush of inspiration. It gave me a shiver of recognition to read your description of exactly what I went through struggling with my own backyard garden plans. Your design is wonderful and what you have accomplished is amazing. Please do keep us updated with photos as this project continues to mature. What a lucky neighborhood you live in - I wonder if they know just how beautiful this is going to be? :-)

Anne
cemeteryrose
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A wonderful posting. Looking forward to hearing more as things progress. I understand the fear, too. We took out our decrepit swimming pool and I was left with bare, compacted dirt in my back yard. I was so depressed that I just didn't go out there for about a year! I had landscapers come, and none of them shared my vision. Finally, we couldn't face another summer without a back yard, so we took the plunge. It's all ours, from conception to design to installation. DH hauled tons (literally) of decomposed granite and rocks, laid hundreds of brick, and moved yards of compost and mulch. I dug out the composted part of the yard, shovel by shovel. It's worth it.

Here's the transformation, as documented by our local perennial plant club-

Here is a link that might be useful: From bare dirt to garden
sherryocala
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks everyone for your responses. I thought surely everyone would love to see something like this. I always like to see the photos and adventures of others.
feldcat, you're excitement blew me away. It's good fuel for the future!
buford, 30 minutes! Wow! You're like me. You really dive into the details. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.
elkey 2007, I have some Purple Fountain Grass that I was considering for the front garden. I'll have to see where it will fit. I made the mistake last spring of overplanting. Don't want to do that again. And Carol, too, the African Daisies are a lavender with purple centers. Flowering annuals & perennials are not easy in Florida. You're lucky to find ANY, let alone a particular color, that hold up in the heat. I've searched and there's a recent variety of blue Lisianthus that is supposed to be heat tolerant. I'm checking into getting that. And there's always Periwinkle. I don't think Batchelor Buttons can take the heat - more of a winter plant here.
lindacat, I got hysterical to see my next door neighbor posting on the GardenWeb. Thank you for your constant encouragement.
Alicia, that was very neat for you to mention romance. I hadn't thought of that characteristic of old garden roses. That will make it all the more wonderful and the arbor, too.
Ingrid, I hadn't realized when I posted this that it would be a first. I knew it would be long. I hope no one minded. I just hoped it would be interesting and maybe exciting to some of you.
Judith5montreal, a blank slate for sure. I find that I can copy others' work very well but to create something myself is not easy. So the accomplishment is very satisfying - as it would be for anyone. You mentioned closing your eyes and "seeing" - yay! that's what I hoped would happen. Fortunately, your experience gives your "eyes" more to visualize. Mine can't quite to that yet.
Melissa, I'm glad you have fond memories of Florida and thanks for your encouraging words.
Mendocinorose, yes, the combination of different types of effort - creative and physical - enhances the experience. From conception to blooming roses the thrill is great.
krista4, I just hope it's enough room for Bubble Bath. Can't wait for his fragrance.
Rosefolly, looking back now and forever looking forward the joy of creation is exactly what I have. Thanks for your great comments.
annececilia, I knew there would be someone (many) out there who had done the same thing and had the same spark of creativity toward the perfect plan. I hope it's an encouragement to those who are somewhere trying to figure out theirs. It will happen. The spark will come.
cemetaryrose, thank you for sharing your pictures and your garden experience. I'm so sad that I can't look at them right now. I have to go to work! I'd rather not, but I must!
Thank you all for your encouragement and sweet comments. Sorry for the typos. This is going to have to go as is!
Sherry
Terry Crawford
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sherry - I'm speechless! You are indeed an artist. I'm putting in a hillside rose garden in the spring when it thaws up here in the frozen north and if I can accomplish 1/2 of what you have done, I'll be happy. Great job; it looks wonderful. Can I ask what is the name of the grasses or sedge you have planted by your mailbox, and if they stay small and bushy? I wonder if they would work in Zone 5. Again, congratulations on a fantastic front yard.
-terry
sherryocala
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you, Terry. Thankfully, it's a small yard! The grasses are called Liriope (pronounced lir-RYE-oh-pee). I have 2 kinds: variegated and the solid green one (Evergreen GiantÂ Liriope) It spreads very slowly. Here I've seen clumps that are many years old that have become basically a ball about 2 ft around - very attractive. They're also dividable if they get too big. Here the leaves burn & go brown from frost, but our ground doesn't freeze at all. This link says it's hardy to Zone 6. We also have a dwarf version we call "Mondo" grass.

I hope you have fun doing your hillside garden. I really like the circle because it allows me or visitors to simply walk around to view and/or maintain the roses. I found out later that in our subdivision we're not allowed to remove all grass, so this is a nice compromise. And it is similar to a formal garden without the squareness that would have been awkward in my yard and not really what I wanted anyway. I like the "easy-going" comfortable feel while it's still an orderly garden. I suggest you really seek that stroke of creativity. You'll find something that really works well in your situation, I'm sure. And don't necessarily jump on your first idea. I went through 2 or 3 that seemed OK but then just seemed to fall apart for various reasons. Also, your situation probably isn't so limited as mine and your garden experience is probably much more than mine. My point is that something unique can easily be made if you just don't go with the same-old-same-old. Go for the dream! (Even though that sounds silly.)

And post your photos, too, both of the process and the finished work.

Sherry
Terry Crawford
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the post, Sherry. Wow, I actually have lilyturf in my edgings, but yours is so much more lush. Not having to contend with dieback and cold temps really makes a difference. It was -5 here last night. I might try the Evergreen Giant cultivar, though in my new design around the mailbox. Thanks for the inspiration and for your kind words of encouragement. I can't wait to play in the dirt; this has been one LONG winter.
-terry
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for a beautiful inspiration! I love looking at garden photos from the conception to the finished product. Photos of roses are lovely but photos of roses actually in the garden are fascinating! I have ordered some of the roses you have - Duchesse d'Auerstadt, Leys Perpetual, Chromatella. You will love Parade! I had one languishing in a 1 gallon pot while I finished nursing school....watered it when I had a minute which wasnt often. When it finally went in the ground, it grew wildly, and last spring was over the arbor and completely covered in pink blooms - you will love it! Good luck to you - I am going to start a big project like yours in my back yard soon. Hope you will post photos as it matures. Good luck - from a 59 yr. old not quite yet arthiritic woman, but who probably will be soon - broke my patella in Nov. but getting aroun nicely. Its beautiful! Keep us updated!
Judith
sherryocala
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Judith, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I like everybody's pictures, too. Don't forget to take pictures of your big project. Really glad to hear about Parade. I saw photos on HMF and had to have it!
Sherry
Terry Crawford
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Judith - I can't imagine the pain of breaking a patella and the rehab. I hope you are pain-free and getting around well now. Please be careful and not overdo with your new project.

I was intrigued by your comments about Parade, so I checked it out on HMF, and it says only hardy to Zone 6. I'm in Zone 5, but I would love to have it. It is absolutely gorgeous. Does it bloom all summer for you?
-terry
-terry
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
6 years ago
I ran across this thread while looking for information on Bouquet d'Or and recall they were beautiful. Wonder if any chance of bringing them up again? Havent seen Sherry post for awhile......hope she is still gardening. Thought I would bump it up.......

Judith
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
6 years ago
I'm so very sorry about Sherry's husband passing away. She stopped posting here some years ago when Tom had a stroke, but I thought he was doing fairly well. I've missed Sherry's distinctive voice here and the interesting and witty discussions of her garden. I would love to see her here again. She's gone through so much since Tom's stroke and it ending this way is so sad; Tom was I believe only in his fifties.
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
6 years ago
I am so very sorry to hear that. One of my best friends lost her husband when he was 50, it was very hard on her. I can understand why she hasn't been posting. So hope she is doing better and spring will bring her many blooming roses to cheer her. Maybe in the future she will return to the forum. Thank you for the information.

Judith
Alana8aSC
6 years ago
I was actually thinking and wondering about her as well. She was actually before my time on here, or she may have been here a little when I first joined. But I lurked a long time and really enjoy reading old post as well. I hope she is doing well. I understand completely how much loss she must have felt. I wouldn't know what I would do without mine.
Lisa Adams
6 years ago
I’ve read and enjoyed many of her posts, too. I hope she’ll return sometime. What would it take for me to be able to see the pictures in her post above? Lisa

A garden creation to ponder on a wintry January day (long)

fig_insanity Z7b E TN

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