Good thread. Roses are the queens of my garden, of course, but queens need courts and the courts ideally are brilliant. I do most sincerely believe that a garden of just roses is sterile and dull, no matter how wonderful the roses may be. I also have fairly frequent infatuations. I can't remember ever having actually fallen out of love with a longed-for plant, but some just don't work out for me, and I either forget them or I set them aside with a sigh and ongoing regret. Acidophile plants don't grow here. I can forego azaleas, though the deciduous fragrant kinds that are close to the species are beautiful. Camellias are harder to let go: I currently have a small one in a pot, and others may join it. I honestly regret blueberries. Rhododendrons are an example of a vast and beautiful class of plants that I can perfectly well live without--though, if I lived in a country where rhododendrons were what prospered, I would grow rhododendrons. I still have a bee in my bonnet about ginger lilies, and if I can get roots (tubers, whatever they're called) without spending a fortune, I'll try them again in pots. I have unsatisfied longings for varieties of box and of daphne: plants can be had, but they cost too much. I lust for lilacs, and intend to get them one day, but it will take time and the lilacs will be a life project. I love aromatic plants, which are reasonably priced, available, grow well for me, and are easy to propagate. I've loved lavender for years, and fortunately it loves my garden; and I've just discovered sages in all their magnificent variety. Rosemary, phlomis, artemisia, perovskia. Thyme is fussy and dies out, unfortunately because I greatly adore thyme. Each successive wave of desire settles down, and if the desired plants work for my conditions I add them to my growing harem, knowing them and loving them in all their beauty and variety. Costs are a limiting factor: I can't go into the collection of peonies in a big way, not because they're not wonderful but because they're simply expensive for my pocketbook. The other limit is time: I don't have enough of it to keep track of all my loved plants, recording names and keeping them labeled; hundreds of roses are work enough for my collector's instincts. Other passions, satisfied and not: clematis, naturally; osmanthus; irises, which are a prime flower here; evergreen shrubs in general; magnolias, which are a killer longing, as they're hard to site here, but not so hard I can renounce them with a light heart, and they're among the most meltingly beautiful of flowers. So far I've been strangely immune to daylily lust. I could very easily fall over the precipice and fall madly in love with tender cyclamen. I appreciate hellebores more every year, but they're hard to site in my garden--I may have more room for them in a few years. Anything that smells wonderful is a candidate. I wish I could find a nursery that offered a decent collection of honeysuckle. Barberries are exciting. Oh, and I forgot: Sansevierias, of which I have a modest collection: the polar opposite to roses, in terms of what they have to offer in plant beauty. I love them, and I want more, who knows why. Also I'm fond of succulents for their grand sculptural qualities, and I particularly love agaves. Melissa P.S. I know those beetles. They love fritillarias too, I'm afraid.

Oh my. What is a passionate rose lover like you doing in that glacial hell hole? Reading about your endeavors has exhausted me and I haven't even lifted a shovel. I admire your grit and determination, but would love to see you rewarded with thousands of blooms on your rose bushes for all your hard work. I bet they could use engineers in zones 7 to 10!

Hi Marlorena, There were a couple of threads a short while back about Filroses and importing their plants into the U.S.. I got some mixed messages about inspections and a quarantine that are required (or not). I am still totally mixed up, but my impression is that getting Filroses plants into, say, Canada, is a lot easier than into the U.S. Even Pickering in Canada has had recent troubles with U.S. red tape. I should contact Filroses and see what they say, but negative info about importing plant material has dampened my enthusiasm. Thanks so much for your comments, though. I still need that diplomat with the locking attache case, I guess. Diane

I love the depth of your comments on human nature, Odinthor - "an inability to demonstrate the fullness of their hearts" for the deeply devoted in many respects. We all get passionately committed to something and then find ourselves building an overwhelming sense of responsibility and an awareness of how limited we are. I seem to find there are two possible responses to that growing awareness of the impossible in our lives - either we get anxious and focused on controlling ourselves and our environment to achieve that impossible perfection (like Kim's friend) or we develop a sense of humility and gratitude for being at least a small part of something bigger than ourselves (like Campanula and the endless joy of joining in the shaping of her wilderness). The same pattern often applies to us in other aspects of our lives, not just gardens but faith, family, and friends too. I was reminded of how much the latter attitude is both a choice and a long-term growing process for all of us last night. My daughter was chafing at the waiting and watching for her brother's Tae Kwon Do tournament last night, and I was reminding her to be patient and find something to be interested about in the activities. She turned to me exasperated and said, "Yeah, but nothing ever bothers you!" Shocked the pants off me, let me tell you - you mean you don't remember all the times I snapped at you, for starters? Then I realized that she's only 12, and her life has been absolutely filled with dramatic changes so far all the time - physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually. She doesn't have the luxury of a perspective to look back at the tapestry of her life and see the big picture of how things work together and work out - her tapestry is tiny and rushed and pretty jumbled up from where she stands (all gangly 5' 9" of her already, at that). That insight gave me the chance to do my "mom thing" and remind her (and myself) that an attitude is a choice and something you have to practice to get good at. Patience isn't something we're born with, but something we deliberately cultivate by not backing away from challenges (even the impossible ones) and handling the frustrations in our lives with grace and humility. Building that patience in the garden and life is something that all of you help me with at GW, and I thank you for it! Cynthia