Thank you Olga and Connie. Your notes are very encouraging. :) I am looking forward to trying more Albas and Rugosas since they many of them are not worth growing here. I am fine with once bloomers--some of my favorites only bloom once. (Chestnut rose, Swamp rose, Fantin LaTour, Veilchenblau, Lady Banks) It is so hot and humid here, it's hard to imagine that the blackspot could be any worse. ??? Connie, April might be a bit optimistic for me to attend the Arlington presentation, (though I would love to), but I will absolutely be stopping at Hartwood as I cannot possibly take all my roses with me. :) I actually found your site a year or 2 ago while searching for Gothic Revival Houses (My husband and I love that style)on the Internet. You can imagine how wonderful it was when I saw that you grew and sold old-fashioned roses too! :) I am really looking forward to starting a new garden though leaving this one will be hard. Olga, I have so enjoyed your posts on Gardenweb. I am interested in the Kordes roses too--I read where Peter Beales called them "rudely healthy". ;) I was really excited when I realized that you lived in the MD/VA area! Hope we can meet some time when I am moved. Thank you both again. :)

I have to echo all with my regrets for your loss. I also have to echo Diane and ceterum, to also query the Antique forum. I know it sounds kind of scary at first with all of the long names but people will be gentle with you and they are not hard to come by at all by mail order from reputable places. The reason you may be more pleased with old garden roses is that often they have more disease resistance, more and more of us don't spray due to the environment, but honestly speaking who has the time and dedication? This might also be why the ones you lost didn't fare well. I particularly like the 'found' roses with names of who found them or where they were found. Some may only bloom once which isn't bad, but for your application you may want to make sure that they bloom throughout your season. I finally dove into them this last year and am very excited about how they will look and do, you sound like it wouldn't take too much for you to become just as excited if only you had better guidance (and enabling, you've come to the right place for that!) than what's at the local big box or nursery. Although you've described your needs pretty well, you might want to think about colors before you start studying what to get. If I may suggest, you might want to focus on bold (but not overly gaudy) colors. I especially like yellow as an accent, it is such a happy color to me and that's what you'll want to feel in the spot, not that she's gone of course, but all the happy memories of times shared. Too many pale colors would just get me down, I know, and that's where you want to go to get away from such a mood. You might also want to include her favorite color as a main color or accent depending on what it is. If she liked white or pale pink, just pair it with a saturated dark pink or the lovely purple clematis above. Best of luck and don't be afraid to really dig in and ask more questions here, we really thrive on wonderful projects like yours. Kerin

I grow all of the roses on your list. Almost all of them will be bald by mid-summer without support from fungicide. The lone exception seems to be Ralph Moore's OGR. This is its first real year here in the garden and it is one of the few roses that shows no sign of disease so far. No flowers yet, it appears to be one of those late-season bloomers, but the foliage is fabulous. Your decision to go no-spray with your roses is going to have to be paired with a decision on how much defoliation and blackspot to accept. Hybrid Perpetuals, many Bourbons, and most Hybrid Teas will suffer considerably. Will they die from it? Probably not ... but they'll sure look like snort. You're not too far away. Come see me in the garden one weekend, and we'll talk. Connie

Sammy, Lafter is about the healthiest, disease resistant rose I've seen in the hot humid SE. I have two that never get spray. Several grow in a nearby cemetery, have been there for years with no care and are flawless. Madame Antoine Mari is also very healthy and is a real bloom machine. Oddly the thrips don't even bother MAM while covering the other pinks and whites earlier this year. Safrano is pretty healthy here like most teas but has dropped lots of its leaves probably due to the earlier dry conditions. Safrano does get PM in the early spring and the thrips love her:-(. I don't have Julia Child. Hope this helps. Hamp