I too am always looking for good east coast rose suppliers to save on shipping. I have had good luck with Roses Unlimited. Burlington Rose Nursery is in California but their shipping is not too bad. I was excited to hear about Long Ago Roses but their web site is not very informative. It seems like the way to see what they offer is call or to download two lists which are in a format that I can't open. Their prices are amazing though! Unfortunately I already have most of the cold hardy varieties I want that are offered by east coast vendors. I keep going back to Vintage for the harder-to-find things. Sometimes I try to coordinate with friends so we can buy different varieties and eventually share them.

Here is one I didn't know about. Looks like they LOVE the high summer rainfall, and deep sandy soils of southeastern Virginia! The best Cryptomeria I've ever seen on the east coast (probably, anywhere! I've never been to JP or CN) was somewhere in Norfolk but I doubt I could ever find it again. http://bigtree.cnre.vt.edu/detail.cfm?AutofieldforPrimaryKey=660 Time for those folks to install a lightning arrester for that tree! Or make sure the church spire is well grounded so that it diverts the charge LOL.

Thanks for thinking of us blfenton and thanks for all the well wishes. In RI here they declared a state of emergency this afternoon. Mandatory evacuations have already been issued. I'm very close to the water and the boats are all backed up waiting their turn to be hauled out of the water. No D batteries or bottled water left anywhere. Not a generator in sight. I don't have a generator but I'm all set with the rest. DD went shopping while I was at school yesterday:) What a great kid. We got kicked out of school early today (students don't start until Wed) so the custodial staff can secure the building. We are having astronomical high tides Sun, just in time for Irene. Storm surges. Flooding. Rip currents. For anyone in the path, I prefer the website www.wunderground.com (weather underground) to the other more commercial weather sites. I did turn on the weather channel but those forecasting nitwits (IMO) are all juiced up about this weather event. I swear it's like weather porn for them! Be safe, be careful, and be prepared! Forget the bread and milk (if your'e from the area you'll know what I mean) opt for the wine and cheese. We're gonna need it.

A few areas of note: Upstate NY...nestled in beautiful green mountains is Cooperstown, Pa...a Victorian village, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Cooper House, with a beautiful exhibition of folk art and Indian artifacts from all over the counry, and the farm museum..all at the base of beautiful Lake Oswego. Worth a stay of 1 or 2 days on a car trip. Drop down south, into Pa, and the Pocono mountains, a 3-4 hour drive south into the Philadelphia area. Along the way, you can stop at beautiful Washington's Crossing, on the banks of the Delaware river, where the continental Army of the American revolution crossed into Trenton, NJ to confront the British one Christmas Eve. Philadelphia. Valley Forge Park, where Washington's army stayed one winter, and received much needed training from european military generals, that allowed them to eventually cross the Delaware and begin winning the war. Museum of artifacts, log huts, reinactor demonstrations, and tours through Washington's Headquarters building. You can stay in one of the many hotels in the Valley Forge Area, because it's only a short drive or commuter train ride) into Philadelphia. Independance Hall (2 weeks around 4th of July is full of activities, culminating with morning ceremony at Independance Hall and parade, fireworks over the river in the evening. Constitution museum,this is fairly new...within walking distance of Independance Hall, I haven;t been there yet. Betsy Ross house - home of the oft reputed maker of the first american flag. Benjamin Franklin museum...on the parkway that Ben himself designed - a great science meseum that was my second home as a child. at the end of the parkway is the Philadelphia Art Museum....where tourists gather to run up the steps ala Rocky Balboa fo movie fame, and take pictures of each other hugging the Rocky statue at the base of the steps. South Philadelphia...home of the Cheesteak...the corner of 9th and Warton sts, 2 famous, rival cheesesteak places Geno's and Pat's. PS - I'm a Pat's fan. Fairmount park....the largest park enclosed in a city in the US(bigger than cenral park in NY), and home of the first established Zoo in the US. A 2 hour drive east of Philadelphia, and you're at Atlantic City, the beach on the Atlantic Ocean, home of the famous boardwalk, and now a big casino town. And lots, lots,, more. And lots, lots, more