HERE IS THE PICTURE OF THE REPURPOSED OLD FRENCH FURNITURE.

Tibbrix, thanks for asking. He's now just using one crutch. I'm guessing this week he will switch to a cane. Had in-home PT 4 times last week and will have it 3 more times this week. After that will have to go to a facility. Not sure how he'll get back and forth as he can't drive yet. Thank goodness for the ice machine he was sent home with. He goes through 3-5 lb. bags a day. Hoping to decrease pain meds during the day this week. We'll see how that goes. With all the snow we've had in the past 2 weeks, I'm so thankful we're living in a development that takes care of snow removal. We've had someone keep our deck clear and I've been shoveling an area for our dog. The university where I work just cancelled for tomorrow...fourth day in 2 weeks. Amazing.

That the garden was "very productive" 5 years ago means nothing today, soil is not static and has changed though you have grown nothing there except maybe grass. Start with a good reliable soil test. Unfortunately Purdue does not do them, however the University of Kentucky will do this and maybe the people at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service would be of help in interpreting the report. In addition to a good reliable soil test for soil pH and major nutrient levels these simple soil tests may also be of some use. 1) Soil test for organic material. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains’ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. limmq is kimmsr

If you don't need a cut bloom to last more than 4 or 5 days, then you could chose almost any variety and find it satisfactory. But unlike modern HT types, the Gallicas and Damasks should be cut only once fully open, not as half-open buds. By "fully open" I don't mean four/five days old, I mean the first day you could call the bloom fully expanded. That said, I have found 'Charles de Mills' to be a most satisfactory rose as a cut flower, with a vase life of five days or more. 'Paul Ricault' is even better than that. I've found 'Mme. Hardy' to be less than ideal as a cut flower, as it tends to fall apart fairly quickly after cutting; you may or may not get 5 days out of it. YMMV, as they say. I don't recall ever cutting 'Rose de Rescht' for a vase. Its relatively small flowers tend to be one to a stem with a lot of foliage right up to the bloom neck, so I have never seen it as a good candidate for cut flower applications. I guess it depends what you want from a cut flower, style-wise. It is my impression that some of the pale pink Gallicas are far better as cut flowers than most of their kind. Varieties like 'Duchesse de Montebello' and 'Belle sans Flatterie' have fared well for me in a vase, as has my own 'Allegra', which often lasts a week or more, in my experience. I would also say that, in general, the very double roses do much batter as cut flowers than the singles or semi-doubles. 'La Belle Sultane' with its 7 to 10 petals makes a very poor cut flower, lasting about one day before collapsing in on itself. 'Tuscany Superb' isn't much better, lasting barely 48 hours once cut. As I say, in general the paler colors and more fully double types seem to fare better as cut flowers. One conspicuous exception would be 'Desiree Parmentier' (shown above), which shatters almost within hours of being cut from the plant. To be honest, its a very short-lived flower ON the plant! But its a flaw I'm willing to tolerate because of its exquisite fragrance. Paul