Thanks, everyone! Seil -- The teachers loved the flowers, I was just sad I didn't have enough to make bouquets for all of the staff like secretary, music teacher, etc. -- I just did not have the blooms available this early after such a harsh winter so I decided I would just do each child's teacher. Flaming Peace sure put on a show! Ingrid -- thank you! I am just getting into roses and adore the old garden roses, even though I grow mostly new ones. I need some more room so I can have a special old garden rose corner! For now I will just have to visit the forum and enjoy looking at those! Madri -- Thanks, the flowers were a big hit at the school! Everyone wanted to smell them and couldn't believe they were all from my garden. I love seeing photos of roses from everywhere but it is special to see some pretty ones come from colder zones, and the spring is so special after being inside for months! Sara-Ann -- Thank you! I love seeing the other Michigan gardens on here, gives me some hope that I can keep my garden going! Jim -- Thanks, yes it was definitely worth the wait! I planted a whole second row late last season so I'm seeing a lot of these bloom for the first time and it is delightful! Martinca -- Thank you, yes it was quite the winter up here! Surprisingly I lost more during the 12/13 winter, but I think that was because I was a newbie and not planting properly for my zone. Kate -- Thanks! Yes, Dream Come True is an eye catcher, my husband even commented on that one! Peace is always a gorgeous rose, I agree! I have some more photos I took today of that bloom opening up and it is even prettier all full and pink tipped! Iris-gal -- Thank you! It is a pleasure to share! Carol -- Thank you! I agree about Kordes Perfecta, I could not believe that bloom form, and it held for at least two days! I planted my two Kordes Perfectas last year so this is my first time seeing them bloom as established (or at least second year) roses and they are really a treat. Thanks for letting me share :) Andrea

I remember you showing us this spot last year. Your hostas will be growing some nice roots this year. Keep an eye on that surrounding grass. It can be a battle to keep out, but with your shade and good mulch, maybe it won't be a problem. Good job!

annuals.. perennials.. shrubs .... forums .... any chance you can post a pic or two .. so we could better see whats going on ... the bulbs should probably be pulled up as the greenery wains.. and stored like onions for fall replanting ... otherwise.. i dont know how you would ever find them ... the perennials can be dug and stored for a couple weeks.. in plastic grocery bags.. in full shade ... you could write names on the bags ...are you trying to save cultivar names.. or just general plant names .... there is a name that plant forum.. for after the project.. if you need to get names back ... same with the shrubs ... yours arent that foo foo ... if you had a veg patch.. you could move stuff over there now ... and move it back in fall ... and get the job done in between ... finally ... if you can make the moving.. an all summer project.. and the cement work done in fall ... perhaps it will be more manageable for you .. rather than making it a 'i have to do this all this weekend' type of project ... again.. perhaps a pic or two.. might bring other ideas ... ken

suncoastflowers, you put it so nicely in words that I'm sure my roses agree with you. :-) Many thanks. Perma, I was also amazed to see CPM with so many fully packed petals in such a nice range of yellow and peach hues. Vap, thank you so much. None of my roses gets the proper full sun because it's an urban residential area with many surrounding trees and houses but I try to plant them where they can get about 4-6 hours of sun. The trees are fortunately deciduous so they are exposed to full sun through most of the spring when many are setting their new buds. 'Reine des Violettes' was uncommonly small and young when it arrived with other roses but it still made it. For a few months I had it in a good potting mix (2 gal. pot) and fertilized with liquid seaweed almost every time when I watered it. This helped its growth and it was ready to be planted by early September, right on time for my zone. Since it doesn't like alkaline soil, I add sulfur, once in the early spring and once in the fall, and it's responding well to it. Nothing else except for alfalfa tea that I use on all roses and clematis once every spring. Sheila might give you better advice about 'La Reine', because her glorious photos inspired me to get mine. I planted it last year \and so far, so good. All I did was to add the usual stuff when planting my roses (bone meal, Biotone, and a little potash). I was always intrigued to get an HP bred by Laffay, given his important role in the development of hybrid perpetuals, and I was glad to see his 'La Reine' still doing well into our century. I'm sure both your 'RdV' and 'La Reine' will be growing nicely for you as well and I look forward to their photos.