I ordered Jude, Falstaff and Pat Austin and a modernish climber, Meg. I am going to put Meg on an arch with Jude and Pat to make a sort of apricot heap and Falstaff is going next to a Cistus. They are on my allotment, a piece of land to rent from our local city council - a great idea for people with little or no gardens although most people grow vegetables, I have garden try-outs (I am a gardener, design, build and maintenance)so I know what to suggest for my customers. I have never grown Meg, seduced by catalogue pic! Any advice?

Since we're on the subject of Austin roses ... I have been adding to my collection of Austins, mostly ones that Mr. Austin has deemed to be unworthy. In spring, I hope to plant them in a cottagey garden in a prime spot by my nursery office beside the barn. I have Pretty Jessica, Morning Mist, Prospero, and Emmanuel coming from Pickering in March, to add to the dozen-or-so that I got from the RU sale this summer.

The other major project is trying to design a knot-style garden using my Ralph Moore mini roses. I think I have enough variety in the forms of all the roses I have, it's just a matter of coming up with a design and a planting plan. If I can pull this off, it should be pretty cool.

Let's not even mention the roses I ordered from Vintage for delivery in April. I have no real plan for most of them ... I just knew that I had to have them. The order is heavy on antique HTs, with a few climbers, ramblers, and a polyantha or two.

Winter is a time for scheming ... and I hope to make the most of it. I have too many roses that have to spend another winter in pots. There's plenty of space here, I just have to devise a plan and get it done.

Connie

Here is a link that might be useful: blog

In a move away from pesticides, IÂm getting rid of my worst offenders. Also, I tend to prefer the dark reds and whites. So I ordered the following from ChambleeÂs:

BelindaÂs Dream
Dame De Coeur
Ducher
Duchesse de Brabant
Francis Dubreuil
Joseph Lamb
Cadenza
Zephirine Drouhin (I know IÂm taking a chance regarding black spot, but since itÂs almost thornless, I may be able to over look it.)

Hartwood had a sale so for 5 bucks each IÂm trying
AngelÂs Camp Tea
Shaded Pink Cluster
Snead Pot Tea (I think this is similar to M. Joseph Schwartz)
Dorsey Cosby China

Due to BS, I've got/getting rid of
Crocus Rose
Jude the Obscure
Queen Elizabeth
The Dark Lady
Brother Caedful

What's new? Well there are always new roses even when I'm not sure where they are going. I can grow them up in my pottager while I'm thinking about it. Yesterday I ordered from Eurodesert Roses Sneprincesse and Josephine Ritter. Sneprincesse is a very beautiful polyantha, Josephine a deep pink rare climber. From Vintage I ordered four hybrid chinas and the HP Clementine Seringe. A month ago I brought home many ramblers and climbers for the collection.
I am working on two large garden areas. One is called the Happy Hill Garden. It is a big field that we fenced firstly to hold all the ramblers in 5 gallon pots that we took over from Vintage. Now they are all planted. I am digging pathways there and we are building a circle of arches. I am planting ramblers and species roses in the other area that I called The Garden of the Gods, because of the big roses.

Campanula, your combination of roses for the arch sounds wonderful. Should be very pretty. I love Jude, but I have not tried Meg, so I can't comment on that one.

I agree with Hartwood that winter is a time for scheming about the garden. Connie, I ordered a Pretty Jessica myself at the end of summer. It is still a small band, but I am going to keep it in a pot and find a nice place for her. I've heard only good things about Prospero, so that may be a great choice to try.

Dennisb1, let us know how all those roses work out for you. I have a no-spray garden too. Good luck!

Mendocino_rose, I love your garden concepts. Please show pics of The Happy Hill Garden and The Garden of the Gods when you get a chance. It all sounds so wonderful. Pam, you really are a gardening genius.

Merci Beaucoup,

Juliet

I've recently learned that in my sandy garden my roses need daily watering in order to grow lots of leaves like normal rose bushes. Every other day only results in sticks. I may as well not water at all - or not have roses. So in order to afford this quantity of water usage (city water), I have found homes for 12 roses (15 were on the list) and will be putting in a drip system after the holidays.

In addition, my thinking is to empty one bed whose roses will fill in some of the vacancies left by the downsizing. Drought tolerant, easy care plants will also fill in. I also need to dig (or maybe hire someone) the last rose bed (killed the grass a couple of weeks ago. Yay! No more grass!) The Chestnut Rose and White Maman Cochet will go there. In the meantime all these giveaway roses need to be potted and roses moved around. Gee, does Geritol really work? I feel tired already.

These are the ones leaving: Kronprincessin Viktoria, Mme Scipion Cochet, Gartendirektor Otto Linne, Gruss an Aachen, Chromatella, Wm Allen Richardson (he never even got planted - no room), The Fawn, Pink Gruss an Aachen (2), and Marjory Palmer. I'm on the fence about Nur Majal. With the extra water she's got some leaves (not as many as the teas) and is blooming - and I might be able to leave her where she is - in front DH's den windows - but she's sucking up A LOT of water so maybe she goes. I couldn't find takers for a very young Baronne Prevost (a totally frivolous choice for my no-spray garden) so I'm going to try her in a pot, or Valentine who's doing better with the watering and a little pruning, and besides he's little, or E. Veyrat Hermanos which has gotten to be a true monster in 14 months, but since he's staying, I'll make the best of him and hope he's fairly drought tolerant in maturity. (His BIG problem is keeping him tied and out of my neighbor's yard. Her lawn man has been "trimming" EVH.) I'm also pondering the ejection of Mme Antoine Mari. She still hasn't fully leafed out after 3 weeks of daily water, and her nodding kind of bugs me, plus I need a spot for my third LeVesuve which in MY garden gets highest priority because it performs like an absolute miracle. LeVesuve rules!

Anybody think this will be the LAST garden overhaul. I want to be done.

Sherry

You ordered Yolande d'Aragon and Golden Celebration : I've got both and they are a very good choice.

Here's my order for next year. It's also my Xmas present :

Little Wit Pet
Litle Pink Pet
Sommerwind
Flower Carpet White
Queen Margarethe
Bossa Nova
St Tiggywinkles

(those are to plant as foreground of higher roses)

Colette
Teasing Georgia
Sister Elizabeth
Phénomène Rouge
Mme Ernest Calvat
Charles de Mills
Cardinal de Richelieu
Paul neyron
Chapeau de Napoleon
Baroness Rotschild
Léonard de Vinci
Henri Foucart
la Belle Lesdinoise
Viridiflora
Sibelius
Fairy Dance

All that... in a very small garden ;)

You can see pictures of them on my blog :
here :
http://a-little-bit-of-paradise.over-blog.com/article-santa-claus-roses-39655341.html

and here :
http://a-little-bit-of-paradise.over-blog.com/article-des-amies-en-or-38733857.html

Here is a link that might be useful: A Little Bit of Paradise

Juliet, I will take photos when the roses mature a bit. Maybe they'll look more impressive in the spring.
Isabelle, I just wanted to let you know that I did the Google Translate so I could read your blog. Your garden is lovely. I wish I had a nice website like yours for my garden. I want St. Tiggywinkles! The name is from Beatrix Potter, isn't it?
Sherry, You are so wonderfully determined. A true gardener.
It's great to hear about everyone's rosey future.

I love to read about all your new roses----Also hope to enjoy all your pictures--

Health problems restrict my gardening but it is always a joy to live vicariously through all of you rose lovers.

Florence

Pamela,
I'm happy you can read my blog in English now even if the translation is not perfect.
I didn't know about B. Potter but sure that the name of St Tiggywinkles comes from the greatest wildlife hospital.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Little Bit of Paradise

Mrs. Tiggywinkles was a little hedgehog who took in washing.

I have on order Le Vesuve (my fourth), Oneta Tea Rose, Leveson-Gower, Madame Dore (my second), Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Clair Matin and Miss Atkins. I'm giving away Angel Face, Casino (possibly), Carding Mill, Jasmina, Salet and Blumenschmidt in order to make room for these new ones. Other than that my plan is to watch my young roses develop, evaluate the other roses to see what else may have to go and, most important of all, enjoy my garden.

Ingrid

Pam, you made my day. Yesterday and today I have literally said to myself, "You are in over your head. Cut back." and contemplated doing just that. Hard choices, brutal choices - like cutting down and digging up EVH. And finding a use for the three 4x4's. But maybe not. Will one rose really make much difference (even if it does demand so much regular intense attention?) But maybe so.

Your simple compliment put into focus for me the value of determination, not just in gardening but in all of life. Where would we all be without determination? Challenges weren't meant to defeat us but to make us strong and able to survive and to continue to the end for the benefit of ourselves and others. Some are determined in their youth. Not me. I've come by it very lately, and I suppose the realization of mortality is the thing that has made it clear how handy determination is going to be - in and out of the garden. How I admire those individuals who have fought hard at something/everything from the beginning. Better late than never, right?

Thank you, Pam, I like your designation, 'true gardener'. It says a lot.

Sherry

Have made the spots ready for next Spring's roses. Keeping in mind that I'm ok with blackspot, as long as the rose is (some disease resistance is good, but fragrance (attempted, anyway) & growth w/o necessity of spraying is paramount), the tries will be:

Madame Alfred Carriere
Crepuscule
Nahema
Jaune Desprez
Sharifa Asma
Jude the Obscure
Marie Pavie
Duchesse de Brabant
Climbing Clotilde Soupert
Ebb Tide
William Shakespeare 2000
Pretty Jessica (most controversial rose ever, so had to have)
Clementina Carbonieri
Gruss an Aachen
Teasing Georgia