Just to be safe, I would propagate several each by rooting cuttings as soon as they are ripe enough--I am not an expert on propagation but many on here are. If you are not equipped to provide greenhouse conditions for the rootlings, I would enlist the aide of a sympathetic nurseryman, who might be able to provide some suggestions as to how to see that the rooted cuttings can get to reliable growers who will make a concerted effort to grow them on. If you have a property that new rose plantlings would be safe on, definitely you should also plant up some of them yourself. They would probably initially be safer in pots, if you can water them regularly--or surrounded by fencing to protect from rabbits. You may find that you have own-root plants that are no longer in production, and not even covered by patent. The families of those buried near the roses may be able to give you more information about them, if they can be located. It would probably do no harm to remove dead branches that are visible at the surface of the plant, among the live greenery, as long as you do not break off any of the newly emerging sprouts or cut into live wood. There are sealants that can be applied to cuts into live wood, but this is difficult to do when the plant is already in leaf. Additionally, some say that such cuts should be at a slant, and at a certain distance from the leaf axils, in order to maximize growth and also minimize the ability of rain droplets to sit on the cut ends. If and when you do cut into live wood--to obtain a cutting, for example--make certain to sterilize your pruning implement/s well with alcohol or, even better, chlorine, in order to avoid transmitting any plant viruses to the elderly shrubs. When the plant is dormant again, you can look more closely at the nature and placement of the other dead branches. Since the roses are so old, I personally would recommend a gradual thinning out of the truly dead branches, starting with those that are obviously diseased or affected by fungus. Those are the ones that will present the most risk to the plant. The dead, thorny branches of older roses can sometimes be of help to the plant, in that they give the newer growth a support, producing a fountain-like shape. To remove all of that support at once on a truly aged plant could possibly put a strain on the elderly branches that are still producing new foliage each season. Lighter pruning will gradually open up the plant enough to encourage new sprouting from the base, which hopefully will be own root and the same rose that you are trying to preserve. In an area with rabbits and possibly even deer, the old branches can also act as a sort of barbed-wire-like barrier to protect the new spring shoots, which most browsing animals find delectable--another reason to go slowly on the pruning, especially in an unprotected environment. An additional consideration is the shade cast on the ground by the plants, if they never receive watering; if you diminish the size of the plants drastically, it could change their drought tolerance, especially if the elderly root system has to simultaneously provide for more tender new growth than usual. I would approach the person in charge of the cemetary, if there still is one, to discover their preferences in the matter as well. You may find that if you diminish the size of the shrubs too drastically, they might be eliminated entirely, by people who have tired of mowing around them but never bothered to remove a shrub when it presented a daunting task. :o( I am certain that others much more knowledgeable than me will be along to give you additional guidance.

Thank you, tessa. eaglesgarden, by all means, start Tiny Tim early, just so you can enjoy it while waiting for the outdoor season to start. I have a few varieties of small-pot tomatoes growing by a double-paned south window and all of them have teeny tomatoes on them now. If you don't you get enough natural light, supplement it with ordinary CFC lighting. The bulbs come in two spectra one is blue-ish and one is reddish. The blue is what you want for vegetative growth, the red for fruit production. I keep a pair of ordinary, clip on shop lights from the hardware store attached to the legs of my seed starting table on my sunporch. As seedlings emerge, I move the flats from the table top down to the floor and adjust the lights as the plants grow. I also haunt thrift shops for old gooseneck lamps, which are just right for plants on tables. But even in zone 6, by the time your Tiny Tims are maturing, you should be having some nice weather and it will be easy to take them in and out. Just be prepared for funny looks if you happen to mention that your tomatoes go out to play. jan

Thanks for the validation, Andrew. My family just rolls their eyes when I get going on this subject. I'm at the point where I'm thinking I might start selling the worms and/or compost, but want to check the forums and such to see if there are any laws or regs I need to be aware of. There are a lot of farmer's markets, nurseries, and eco-aware organizations around my area, so I thought I'd start looking around. I get all googly eyed at the idea of vermicomposting all the scraps from all of the cafes and restaurants along my walk (there are at least 15, at last count). In my area, the city will take your kitchen scraps from private homes, but not from apartment buildings or businesses. And thanks for the heads up on the bins - I was at the hardware store today looking at the different ones, but couldn't decide. However, I did get two ten-gallon buckets to transport the scraps from the cafe.

I have found many buried "treasures" over the years in my yard. I tried to put in a vegetable garden in the far back left corner of my backyard which was a bad idea because a small spring runs deep underground and that area is always wet. As I was digging I came up with all kinds of metal pieces, shards of pretty pottery, a few coins. Then I remembered in the early 1960's my Dad had a burn barrel out there. Every now and then I go poking around there and have found a few dinky toys and a perfectly intact old style lipstick case, buttons. My oldest brother said he buried a time capsule in the backyard in the 1950's but he can't remember where and my younger brother said he buried a tin box of coins under the gas meter at the side of the house. I told my brother he should get a metal detector to find the time capsule. I also have had fill added to my backyard to make it higher to stop neighbours water run off so it will be harder to find old childhood buried treasures if there are any left. My property in the 1800s was part of a French family's farm field so unless my siblings buried anything there would be nothing but dirt. One thing I do hope to find one day is my sister's opal ring. In 1972 she got mad at her boyfriend and took the ring off and threw it. At the time we were getting a new road so the front yard and driveway were dug up. I tried to find the ring at the time and couldn't find it. She even went out and looked but there was too much dirt. Even now when I look out my front window and see something twinkle on the gravel driveway I go out and look hoping it is the ring that popped up from underground knowing that it would be impossible because over the years since then I have had 2 loads of gravel to the driveway.