Mine is doing the same thing. I cut down on the watering and trying more sun. I just put my greenhouse/coldframe back up. I will put it out there when I have the time to watch it. The mistake I made was to prune it. I thought it would grow a shoot by now. That was 6 weeks ago. Nothing yet. filix

Hello Cathy, You mentioned 'Amber Star' which is an excellent choice to go with ÂGlowing AmberÂ. It has the same height, the same vigour, but very different colour alright. It is a sport of ÂGlowing Amber and not a sister seedling. You mentioned my rose ÂIngrid which is a Mini-Flora & will be introduced in the US in 2006. It has the identical colour as ÂGlowing Amber but will be a bit taller and has larger blooms. ÂIngrid is a half sister of ÂGlowing AmberÂ, or step sister as it has the same pollen parent. Check out photos of all three roses I mentioned on HelpMeFind (HMF) Glowing Amber and Ingrid you will find at the "Mander Roses" at HMF. See link below. For 'Amber Star' you'll have to search at HMF. George Mander Here is a link that might be useful: Mander roses at HMF

1. Your house has great bones. It would look beautiful in any color. I'm advocating preserving the brick, though, because using that brick color was integral to the design of the house, is more appropriate for the era, and also because you can't get that brick anymore. It's historic & perhaps even rare. It's a golden color with a lot of depth & character, looks good no matter what the season, has a natural earthiness to it, and makes the house fit in with the land. And when the sun shines on it, it exudes a warm glow that's just so homey and lovely. 2. The Great Painted Brick Debate: caroleoh brings up a controversial post from last year about a house with gorgeous brick that the owner wanted to paint. The issues with that house were different though. The brick was only on the front, with vinyl siding on the rest of the house. The house looked nice...from one angle. The house looked disjointed from all other views. Also, the windows on that house were awful: unattractive vinyl windows, placed badly too (a lot of tiny windows on a massive facade). The owner especially didn't like how the windows were so prominent. The dark brick, though lovely, just made the bad windows jump out at you. She wanted to paint the entire house a soft, light color to unify the sides and downplay the ugly windows. She did, and it worked. There was a lot of heated argument about painting that brick, though. It was beautiful brick, but it's like the builder tried to cut costs elsewhere by using lots of vinyl, and the house ended up looking awkward for it. That pretty brick juxtaposed with all that vinyl didn't work. 3. Your example, snagd, is gorgeous. Your house could probably wear those colors & accessories very well, and I really can understand why you'd want to "update" the look of the house. In lots of cases, that works for the better. But I feel strongly that pretty old houses like yours are a dying breed. People "update" them or tear them down merely because of fashion. Here you have this exquisite historical home with authentic colors and design, all of which are still fabulous & beautiful. But you want something else, and want to make superficial changes that will destroy the historic character of the home, and perhaps the neighborhood too. (I'm saying all this without anger, btw, just trying to present a reasonable case for historic preservation.) Besides, if you clean the brick instead of painting it, you'll have more $$$ for the interior & landscaping :)

Dave, I'm asking myself the same question. This conifer is off the main driveway and is planted next to a turnout and apron leading to a garage I built a couple of years ago. While there's very little traffic into the garage (the pickup sits for weeks on end), it has a fairly severe curve into the truck stall, which creates the problem. I didn't think this would be a major issue when I laid it out, but was I ever wrong about that! The curves are aesthetically pleasing, but functionally it leaves a lot to be desired. The good news is he missed the main stem, so maybe it will survive and eventually fill out. I like your advice, Sara, and will use it as an experiment to see if I can sculpt it into something of interest. I'll definitely be moving it, but not sure where at this time. Most likely to a place where I can partially hide the damaged section. Will, do you think last winter was possibly an aberration for 'Low Glow'? Ken, my truck is a '96 Chevy S-10. A bucket of rust at this point, but has hauled a lot of plants and mulch over the years and it would definitely be missed. :)