mzstitch............ I am gardening in glacier slurry/subsoil and after several years of mulching, watering and feeding, the soil in my more mature garden truly is easier to work in than when I planted my first roses. I am adding 10 new roses and taking out 9 and moving a few around and have found that it is a LOT easier to work in the rose beds than it was when the garden was young. Sidos-House ... I don't feel comfortable giving you any pruning advice as I have found that I prune very differently in this climate than I did in my older climate. I think it truly depends on the rose as to the best pruning method to use. When it comes to dis-budding, I feel very comfortable sharing my experience because the results do not appear to be so climate-determined or class-determined. I dis-bud my roses every year to keep rose curculios from breeding in my garden and have had the opportunity to observe the impact of this practice in my garden. I now use the technique for any stressed rose and any newly planted rose. SAS .... I think every rose gardener deserves to experience the joy of a more mature rose garden. It's up to us to educate them. I was lucky to have a mentor who taught me that patience is the gardener's most effective tool for success. Smiles, Lyn

hey ladies mail just went through I received a very nice gift or gifts from kim /little_green_thumb :) thank you so much for thinking about my critters :)) My birds:) kim sent a tweety bird xmas tree ornament i think in honor of my birds :)) then for me a carousal ornament for me hope i spelled it right:)also Hersey's dk rich chocolate kissesssssssssss fillllled with cherry cordial creme' oh how they melt in your mouth but sure don't last long that taste leaves you wanting another & another same on you kim I think you just buy them for the game pieces & send your friends the candy so you don't gain the lbs . thank you so much for the sweets & ornaments :)) today i'm catching up here at home after going shopping to fill the pantry once again :) i have my meats marinating for my kabobs tonight . dad does not like bar-b- que but he loves my veggie & fruit k-bobs . didn't get much sleep last night the gals & i were out till 1 am we talked about all the old glass mates 40yrs we have been out of school this yr & we all still look like tittty bobber I mean teeny bobbers hehehehhe. i wrote on marshanne bathroom mirror with nels lipstick :)) but nel also did it marsha went in to use her bathroom came out & said oh how sweet i will never wash the mirror again ;))) I did offer to wash it off but she said no . I hope that when you all reach my age you will still have your glassmates to chum with :) we have a ball when we get together without husbands or kids :) & sometimes with our family my dad is their dad as their parents we mine also & now we all have just my father all their parents have passed . will i 'm sure you all know how much fun i had last evening so will shut up :) DJ's Comming for the kisses so have to go put them up . thanks a bunch kim I'll think of you when i pull out the scales :))) hugs to all susie

Hi! Congrats Suzanne on that terrific total on the yard sale! What was the fund raiser for? Carolyn, I feel your pain re the heat! Hotter than heck here too... I think most of us are catching up on FB, but I find this to be so much more private, a safe place where we can bare our souls. This group is amazing, even if I haven't been checking in so often! Just wanted to say thank you for all of the prayers and good wishes, good thoughts from you guys after my accident. I am completely recovered from that nasty concussion, jaw is all healed and i have been back to work for the past 2 1/2 weeks! You might have seen that I have already been deep sea fishing and this Sunday I am taking my kayak out on Newport Bay. Can't wait! Can't find too many friends or family who enjoy kayaking as much as I do, so I went to meetup.com and found some new friends who DO! Ha! There is group at that link for EVERY interest. So Carolyn, go find 'em! You might suddenly find yourself with TOO much to do! : ) tikanis

I have one or two from the seed growing marathon we had last year which are about the same size and growing slightly rapidly now in monsoons here. All my plants seem to take a long time (6 months) prior to settling down and starting to put out new growth. The patience they have taught me inadvertantly is amazing. They just dont budge. Many died in the process, but of those that survived the first 8-9 months they are finally doing well. So just let your seedling be and keep on caring for it..it will break out and leave infancy behind giving you a really lovely plant ( like Gill's). It is a beautiful one. How they are now This is a pic from Feb 2016. You can see how long it took them to start really growing... they are like that...so feed them the osmocote and wait....