When I saw this post I knew I had to go out and take some pictures so you could see what the rose looked like. Boy I would hate to wait for the new introductions...I want to try almost all of them to see what they look like and how they perform and not least smell the different fragrances. Yes I did post pictures of Claire Austin and Munstead Wood since I drove to Albrighton when I was in England/Wales in may and got a potted plant of each. Claire Austin are doing good, but sure did not like the cold rainy summer we have had this year (many flowers just rotted). It seems to be a vigorous rose, like Heritage but is more compact in growth habit. It has had good disease resistance and a strong sweet honey like rose fragrance: Munstead Wood looks almost like the Austin Rose Tradescant, but the flowers are not so dark. It is however a bit more vigorous and have a more upright growth habit. It has many buds right now but the flowers do not look so good since it has been raining almost 4-5 days every week. Disease resitance has been excellent. The fragrance is very nice .. similar to William Shakespeare 2000: I am going to get 3 more of each plant since I plant Austins in groups of 3 to form a really impressive bush. I posted some pictures of both Summer Song And Lady Emma Hamilton yesterday in the Antique roses gallery. Lady Emma Hamilton is a strange roses since the leaves and buds(sepals) are so dark!!! almost blackish green and brown: I was also surprised that it was not darker, I had expected a more warm apricot colour, but mine have the almost the same colour as Jude The Obcure, but are pale pink on the outer petals. Fragrance is similiar to Jude the Obscure, but it is not as strong: Hope that gave you a tasters test and something to look forward to when they become more available in USA/ Australia. I have planted Summer Song in a new border along with lady Emma Hamilton, Pat Austin, And golden Celebration. with various hot coloured perennials, bulbs and annuals.

Have one I planted last year and just purchased 4 more, One of those has been planted, which may have been a mistake, as we have had no measurable rainfall in 2 months and am expecing draconian watering restrictions to be implemented any day by the local water dept. They are macrophylla's and non-remontant (only blooms on last years growth). In your Zone, they would need winter protection to reliably produce blooms. My yellow leaf macs, Lemon Daddy & Lemon Zest, did not suffer any foliage damage during the Easter weekend sub-freezing temperatures(25°F.) and apparently little or no flower bud damage, as they are beginning to bloom. Some of the nearby macs, with typical green leaves, were completely defoliated, are slow to recover and will not bloom this year. Big Daddy suffered some foliage damage, but is now covered in emerging blooms. Since I am in Zone 7. this may not be very helpful to you, but if you can grow macs and get them to produce blooms, these will perform likewise. Rb

Austin has some pockets of really truly cr@ppy soil, and some good stuff. Soil tests are our friends. Learning about the different solutions for amendment. I have heard that some people with red death clay have brought in some composted HARDWOOD native mulch and tilled 6" in and then not done anything with it for a year and let it rot. Others have loaded on 6 inches of compost and let the bugs cary it into the dirt. Sounds almost to good to be true. I used to live on clay. Not red death but a river cut bank with round river rock in it. Everytime I was out their with a shovel, I had compost from the Natural gardener to work into it. It got to be glorious dirt. I could grow everything. I thought I was a good gardener till I moved to 30 miles west of Austin on a high limestone hill with caliche and marl with mostly not much topsoil in the area around the house.. Many natives need to have the clay worked into loam by the bunch grass roots. that have broken it down. Find native grasses that want to break down the clay. Find a way to create structure in the clay. Gypsum, expanded shale, compost . Be aware the adding sand or decomposed granite has to be done in conjunction with more than equal amounts of mulch. One has to add at least 50% sand to have the clay not go back to cement. Research research research. I live on caliche now and I created raised beds in some areas where I grow vegetables because it was easier and immediate. I recommend compost tea. Geo Growers and the Natural Gardener for soil products. If you have a recurring bug or decease problem, step back and let the soil heal itself. I had to step back from squash because of the squash bug. I am giving my whole garden a rest this year and growing green manure. The arugala, leeks, kale and chard have not heard that I am not growing anything this winter.. When it is hot, I start vegetables in pots in the shade.

So we made it to a showroom with the new models. They are very similar, but the touchscreen is updated. The "handleless" opening worked just fine. You push an icon on the touchscreen and the door pops open. There is also an indent on the side, so you can open it up by hand if you want. And if you really want a handle, you can purchase one. I was very concerned about the operation of the door (and whether it would feel like a cheap microwave), but my concerns were unwarranted.