I LOVE clump photos! Have I mentioned that before? :) Pretty Gaudy does great for me too, I love that one. Beautiful color on Rose Fever, & Aztec Beauty & Inner Vision are just beautiful. Oh, I just love them all :)

Great growing and great pictures, as always, David. I finally had my sp Ban Ngong Ngoy bloom open for the first time today. Yeah! I must say, though that to ME...it looks just like pubicalyx "Bright One". Of course I am no expert by ANY means, and have never dissected these things or looked under a microscope at any of them. Just saying that to these old eyes, it looks the same. I have a "Bright One" blooming also now so even carried the plant out to the front to compare flowers side by side & they still looked the same. Even the leaves look alike. I haven't had a chance to get any pictures, yet, but will try to get some tomorrow to show. However, my pics are never as clear or "micro shot" so well like yours, but maybe we can see what I am saying anyway.

That is a lovely rose, Jane. I simply drool with envy over that and also Claire's lovely climbing roses, but I fear I am a zone too far north for roses to really do well. My neighbor has a few, but she grows them next to her house foundation (now that is a thought of a way I could grow some!) and she covers them during the winter months. I believe that most winters here (because of our altitude) reach conditions closer to zone 3, although we are supposed to be zone 4. I do have some micro-mini roses, because my Dad sends me one every year on Valentines day, and they typically last outdoors only about 2 years on average. Covering them during winter doesn't seem to increase their cold resistence or longevity. I laugh about my orange garden! All my other flower beds contain multi-colored specimens, and that garden was supposed to as well, but only orange flowers have survived there. Marigolds over-ran and choked out the red geraniums intended to share their pots, and pink and purple flowers met a similar fate. Anything orange thrived, so rather than read my orange flowers the bill of floral civil rights, I just gave up and let my bigoted orange flowers have their little gated community. I give them disapproving looks from time to time, but no longer try to integrate hapless blue, red, or purple blooms. I know what will happen. I really, really want to try growing a tithonia/Mexican sunflower, Pixielou, but I fear I am a zone too cold for them to ever flower. The plants in my orange garden would definitely embrace tithonia, but I don't think it would really fit there. I'd like a row of them along the back foundation of my house, but with sun only half the day, they'd be at an even further climactic disadvantage. Still I keep eye-ing them. Maybe I should start them early in pots. And lo and behold, as soon as I saw the photos of Indian pipe I was struck with nostalgic longing, not having seen those since I was a kid. Then what do I spy on a walk around our wooded path, but two Indian pipe fungi growing under a pine tree! I didn't have time to get the camera, but there they were! I wonder if this is a particularly favorable year for Indian pipe here in New England.

Loving everyone's updates and photos! It's especially fun getting progress updates from those who broke ground around the same time we did in September. To the rest of you, yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I promise! Sorry I don't post much. Our wood floors are in, most of the painting is done, cabinets and built ins are installed, all but one bathroom tiled. Next up is stair risers and treads, banisters, closet organizers and extra shelving, light fixtures, railing on our veranda and finishes to the front portico. Quartz countertops will be delivered in a couple weeks. I can't believe we're still on schedule for moving in by Memorial Day with all the weather setbacks we had this winter. The flurry of activity on finish details at our house is exciting and is definitely worth the necessary headaches and aggravation along the way. Michelle, we have a vacation home at Crystal Mountain, and I agree that the architectural style around the village is fabulous - so charming. We are building a custom home south of you along the lakeshore (with shed dormers and other Craftsman details... a la Crystal Mountain) with roughly 2800sf on main floor, 1000sf on second level and a fully finished walk out lower level for around $100sf not including lot, and I feel we chose quality materials. I certainly don't feel we skimped. My number may sound low per sf since I'm including the lower level in the calculation. Our goal was to downsize since we'll be empty nesters soon, but ... ummm that didn't happen. We expect lots of visitors during the summer months since, and we wanted to have room for them and all our future grandkiddos, who get their own bunk room on the second floor.