My favorite 5 1.'The Florentine' which is the Old Rose garden at Morcom Amphiteatre of Roses' on the corner of Olive Street and Oakland Ave. in Oakland, California. Walk down the long staircase and look at the dates of introduction on the signs, inside the oval stone-walled area. If the dates are between 1804 through the late 1900's you're in the right place.. I love this park because in summer I enjoy walking on the outer paths where it is green and leafy with a few acres of tall trees..In early spring the Banksiae are in bloom among the trees, and also the wild roses we got from Miriam Wilkins estate. There is a gigantic rose that has been there for more than a decade, that I think must be R. brunonii and a couple R. moschata planted by the Noisettes. There are c. 2 dozen different cultivars of Pernetiana roses, and Tea and Chinas. a huge Catos Cluster' which on Manettii has grown to be more than 18 feet tall. It's a great place to ramble.. There are two modern rose gardens, too and a reflecting pool. Because by city law, the roses cannot be sprayed with anything, I go there to get cuttings from some of the healthier roses for our area... with my permission slip on hand. 2. Vintage gardens home garden. My idea of heaven, especially the south side of the house garden where two 25'+ tall 'Long John Silver' rosebushes bloom showing huge silvery white powder puff like roses, past those are many of the once blooming roses including 'The Garland' which are planted in a lush grassy area planted with other bushes, purple clematis, foxglove, increasing the beauty to a crescendo. 3. San Jose Heritage Rose garden. I do wish it had a shaded area with seats, and a drinking fountain and closer bathroom facilities for the aged, and the infirm. I've gotten heat exhaustion there more than once. 4.Lovely Luanne has a beautiful rose garden. Her yearly "whiffing event" is coming up soon. We've been neighbors for several years, in Oakland, and now in Richmond, California.. It takes a beautiful heart to grow beautiful roses...which she does.. 5. The Berkeley Botanical Garden' in California. I love their R. odorata and apothecary roses, and R. arvensis all planted near the Chinese Medicinal garden where R. rugosa and R. chinensis spontaneaa (sp?) are growing. Their R. odorata is covered with hundreds of large saucer like golden-yellow blossoms and blooms between March and April depending on how warm or cold its' been. It was more than 30 feet tall the last time I ooohed and ahhheed over it. I've been a tiny bit miffed at the folks who run that garden for their planting vivid red Florabundas ("for color") in their Old Rose Garden as I think it misleads the public. Theres' not a single Gallica in the Old Rose Garden and many of them, with the Hybrid Chinas would bloom well up on the hills where at least some frost and winter chill comes in winter. Lux.

Sue: Rather than looking for one place, I took a different tack and looked for specific roses wherever I went. Example: Most Rugosas will do well in Z5, as will most any own-root roses. How can you tell if you don't know? Look for a graft at the base of the plant -- own roots won't have a graft "ball" and will probably do well. Secondly, know that there Are things you can do to help not-so-hardy roses stay hardy in your area. Look for microclimates in your yard that could handle an iffy plant or two. Climbers, particularly. Plant deep -- no sign of the graft should appear above ground. And finally, "local" has become such a misnomer of late. There are very few retail nurseries that actually grow or graft their own roses, or anything else for that matter. Chances are that they got their roses from the very places one can order through on-line. Don't sacrifice quality for keeping the dollars in town. There's plenty of ways to do that, and roses aren't one of them. That said, there's nothing wrong with hitting the $5 table at Ocean State Job Lot for some Hybrid Teas that you know won't make it :-) If you feel like traveling at all, in East Windsor, CT on Route 140 just off Route 91, Revay's still does a lot of their own roses and sells only things that will be hardy to Zone 5. If you're down this way, shoot me an email and I'll be glad to join you for a visit! Good Luck!!! Martie

Joey: Very good questions. Here are what I learn about own-root roses: 1) Where they are bred and the TYPE OF SOIL & weather predicts where they will be successful. Roses bred in acidic & rainy & less sun England will be successful in acidic & high rain East coast. But roses bred in alkaline & hot & sunny Southern France will be successful in alkaline clay & sunny garden. 2) How vigorous the root is? The newly bred roses ARE VERY VIGOROUS as own-roots, and can survive BOTH Pakistan 113 F hot summer and my zone 5a winter of -20 below zero. Vigorous roots are both long (at least 2 feet deep) and spreading wide. Vigorous roots are also THICK to store water in dry summer/winter. Dee-lish can die to the crown, but the root is so deep that it can go for 1 month without watering, either through a cold & dry winter or hot summer. Dee-lish has a climber as a parent (Graham Thomas). If a rose is bred with a climber in its genetics, it will have deeper root. 3) It's the selection of the fittest. In breeding roses, there will be many seeds ... and only the fittest seed sprout up to be the most vigorous root or to be disease-resistant. The other dozen to 100 seeds either don't germinate, or sprout some wimpy plants that black-spot & less petals, or can only bloom once a year. This answer your question directly, breed roses in your cold zone and see which seed can sprout in extreme cold temp., and which seed has the deepest root to survive the winter. English roses, bred in a colder climate than France: most have climber-heritage or Old Garden Roses' genetics, and English roses are actually favored by hot climate folks in Pakistan due to the vigor of their roots. Deeper root = more weather resistant. I hang out in Facebook Fragrant Rose Lovers group, where most Pakistan posters are. English roses are favored in both extreme hot and extreme cold climate due to the toughness of their roots to survive long periods of drought.

I'm another who prefers to shop locally, BUT I'm blessed with an abundance of local galleries/shows/etc. The joys of living in a resort town. Most of the time, when you're dealing with artists selling locally, they tend to be canvasses from 18"-24" on down. There is less investment with that size, the canvases are easily obtainable/transportable, etc. Sometimes, if you see someone's work that you like, you can ask if they have larger canvasses. Or, consider hanging a grouping, rather than a single piece. Also, there are just more materials in larger pieces, so you will pay more for them, all the way around. I do also like Etsy for paintings, but I'm careful to watch the sizes. When in doubt, cut a posterboard the size of your intended purchase and see how it looks. In terms of Etsy artists, I think someone above mentioned William Elliston, and I concur. His stuff is more stylized, but it might work better than a traditional piece in your room. For more traditional, I also like Melissa Mickelson: Karen Ilari