Eric, I know what you mean about the cold... It was -10 this morning, and I suspect colder last night. Every winter the cold snaps pass through and it can get below 0. Duchesse dies back to the ground. I grow it as a small bedding rose, with the Hybrid Teas, and they reach 18-24 inches in summer. I mound a small pile of mulch at the base of the plant for winter. This winter I wrapped some burlap around the perimeter of the bed, first time I've tried burlap. It was a flimsy set up, however, and snow and wind have dragged the burlap down, so it might not be that useful at this point. There's about 8 inches of snow on the ground, and that might be helping to keep the roses alive, if they are alive at all after this cold snap.

Thank you for the compliment, Ingrid. I researched heavily for good teas that were not likely to mildew, both here on the forum and with the Tea Book. As for Rhodologue, I bought mine about a year ago. If that is when you tried to buy yours, I may indeed be the culprit. I'm thinking of taking Le Vesuve out of the arc altogether, though where I will plant it is another issue. If I put it on the end with a white tea next to it I solve the color problem but create a different issue. At one end of the arc we are up next to the fig tree. At the other end it is even worse, the lemon tree. Either way we are likely to get heavily snagged as we attempt to pick fruit. taking it out, everything becomes much easier. I could almost arrange them at random, just keeping Etoile and Pierre apart. Rosefolly

Okay! Here you are, "ye of little faith" ;-) I rummaged around and found the bloom below on my RJG a few minutes ago (the bloom I last showed was disintegrating and not going to open any more than it had, being hemmed in by the buds around it and beat up by last weekend's wet weather). Note that it is not much different from yours (a few more petals, perhaps) and, I should note, this one does have darker reverses on all petals. I would predict, next spring, or perhaps a few more springs from now, you will see blooms on yours like those in my original photos (she does that every year, here, reliably), if all goes well. It is typical for teas to have more sumptuous blooms in spring, from what I see. The diameter of this bloom is 4.5".

I love the same colors you do, Ingrid and am a real fan of white and pale pink. I try to create a flow of color in my garden grouping colors together in sections with the white and pale pink and blue accents throughout. This year I planted tons of new iris and had a Purple bed and Blue bed nearish each other and another purple bed out farther with a bed of burgundys and a bed of mismash luminatas and odd greyish ones together to be moved later. I almost keeled over when the brightest yellow you can imagine popped up there (a free iris). I shall dig it and plant it next door at the vacation rental where I plant my too orange roses also. I have a pale yellow bed of other flowers and a pale yellow and purple section of roses. I plant white and cream and a few purple foxgloves about as well as white and blue campanula throughout. I am also scattering Sweet Williams around for summer color. I play on Pinterest with colors of plants on a board that is just for me to dabble with. I helps me combine other plants with rose color schemes. I try to like yellow so plant pale versions such as the magnolia Elizabeth, and pale yellow peonies along with cream near purples, like the iris. I do like some of the dark dark pink roses, the ones without a true red, that will blue with age and have those in a bed with white roses interspersed. My garden is young and sometimes I make impulse purchases that somehow find a place somewhere. I find if I don't love the color of a plant I kill it without meaning to do so and have killed many rudbeckias because though I love them at other people's houses, I can't get around to even liking them in my garden, I stick with Shasta daisies and echinacea in pinks for that shape. I like themes so have a black and white section of the garden, in back of the dark dark pink and white roses, along with a section for the Little Girl Series of magnolias from the 1950s with roses in pinks in between. I am collecting the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs roses from the Netherlands and am planning a little "Snow White" garden with lots of white other flowers with the roses. As I have a disease which causes fatigue and pain, I am planning more benches in shady nooks and after a friend showed me a picture of lie down benches in a forest in Scotland I am determined to have that also. I have a section of peonies along with some dwarf fruit trees and also have peonies interspersed with the roses, again mainly in whites and pale pinks but have some corals in another section of the garden and a few pale yellows. I am planting the native Pacific Dogwoods about as I love them so. I follow deer trails for my beds with some cut throughs I make. It sounds very grand, but it isn't yet, perhaps in 20 years!