Patty - that's good to hear about Kardinal Kolorscape! I've certainly been impressed with its vivid red blooms in its first year, and I'll have to pay more attention to its faded blooms after this. Joe - same goes for Golden Buddha. It's just now in its second year in my yard, but so far I've liked the blooms in every stage so far till it almost falls apart. Paradise is one of those mutable roses that can transform into something intriguing - particularly with that black edge it can get. I'm surprised yours opens a pale pink - mine is more hot pink in the heat and closer to mauve in the cooler weather. Perhaps the part sun makes a difference for mine. I was worried that I was enabling you folks for an unobtainable rose in Acropolis, since I got mine from Vintage several years ago, but fortunately Angel Gardens lists this one in their repertoire. They don't have every rose each year, so it might be worth an email to them if you're interested in them propagating this one. And yes, it is freakishly beautiful with those indescribably greeny-cream undersides, and even in my zone it wants to be 5-6' tall with lots of basals and blooms (remember that this is own root too...) Cynthia

Kentucky - I have been trying to figure out how to make some raised beds- or raised pots for the front yard landscaping. I don't want the look of basic garden vegetable beds for around the front of the house though. I thought maybe I could dig 2 ft hole and put a 2 ft raised planter on top of it, that night work. I iam also thinking about making very big planters (they are ridiculously expensive to buy. I am not sure about the aestetic for my front landscaping, but after considering many materials and my craftsmanship capabilities I have a plan. I will just have to try it and see how it looks. It could sit above ground, part in ground or in ground. My design is 2"x2" wood frame cube (or taller) dark cedar stained (ECO friendly and plant safe). Side and bottom panels of 1" hardware cloth. Inner lining of natural burlap. It would sit on 8" concrete blocks (in ground) with the hole side up foradditional drainage. Inside bottom filled with river rocks then another lining of burlap to contain the soil and the plant and finally mulch on top, of course. It would have to be big enough to allow 3'x3' space for the roots to grow in the soil area. Again, the aestetic is the probelm (aside form all the hard work and digging). I think it wold look descent but odd. To build a retaining wall for the space under the front window of the house would not look right eiterh at the height I need it to be. I think the real solution is to pay for a backhoe to come in here and excavate the clay and then have new soil put in - way too expensive for me right now. I do have one narrow strip on the west side of the front yard that I am lining with concrete blocks to build up that soil area. I plan on very tall trellises lining that hill (all my land is hilly) and covering them with rose and jasmine vines as a privacy fence. The probelm is the area is part shade - never sunny and that is not goo for any of the plants I like. I bought the Charles Darrow Hybrid Musk for that location as it is reported by others to grow and bloom very well in shade. I also have some varieties of Jasmine that might do in that spot. I am also thinking of Camelias and Sky Pencil Holly. My Hollies are about 1ft tall now. It will be years before they grow big enough.

Vesfl, what lovely comments - I appreciate your kind words, but do remember I've learned so much of what I know about roses from GardenWeb myself (well, that and making lots of mistakes of my own). Now you're here sharing your own expertise and every bit of that input makes this the lovely community that it is. I'm glad that RdV is happy and settled in your yard, and I'm sure she'll be lovely for you. That's interesting about Sydonie. Mine is the Dorisy/Vibert HP from Vintage in 2013, so I'm pretty sure it's accurate coming from Gregg Lowery. As I recall, their information listed both Dorisy and Vibert as breeders and/or distributors, so it may be that this is one of those roses that has mixed identification as a Portland or HP in different sources, or perhaps that there are two roses that have been confused over time. There may indeed be different versions circulating, as can happen with OGRs. Also, some folks might post about the mannerly nature of a given rose only to discover it hasn't gotten its legs under it yet for the sprint across the yard. Lisa, if you have a small space for this rose, it's undoubtedly going to get bigger in your zone than mine so caution is a good thing. However, this is a rose that is 12 inches high and 12 feet wide, so it could either ramble through another rose or potentially be encouraged to wind around some support. As I recall the canes are fairly flexible, and it's entirely cane hardy for me most years. I put in Soupert & Notting last year from Rogue Valley and it survived the winter fine, though not with any canes. I haven't seen much blooming yet from mine but it's in part shade and I don't really expect much till the third year from any rose. I'm looking forward to the funky blooming pattern you describe, Genevre. It's reassuring that the Pernet moss roses don't have the very tender nature of the Pernet HTs, since the latter are woefully wimpy over the winters in multiple tries. Salet has also survived quite well - cane hardy in my zone - and I had a few blooms this spring but again I don't expect much in its second year yet. I also have Fairmount Proserpine on my wish list for next spring, and High Country Gardens nearly always has roses that are nicely hardy in zone 5. Thanks for the suggestion Genevre! Cynthia

Thrips and they can really make a bloom ugly. Arlene, I am debating whether or not to do the cups, too. They are an eyesore, but it’s unbelievable how many thrips they capture. Has anyone tried positioning the cups away from the roses to attract the thrips?