Mocc, good eye! I looked back at the tag and there was an "s" peeking out of the very edge of the mulch, so it must be a Lakeside Black Satin sport. They get me with those occasionally, especially when they've newly mulched! I corrected the original post to help out others. That one is a real looker, wish it was available!

Eden (climber): 3 grafted roses in 2nd year. They are extremely healthy with amazing blooms. Last year they didn't repeat a lot but I guess because they were still young. They don't have any fragrance but with all their positive sides, they are perfect just the way they are. I think their magnificent looks on arbors or pergolas inspire people to grow climbing roses. Golden Celebration: the open bloom and the bud next to each other are just too adorable. Julia Child: this tree rose exceeds all expectations. Bewitched: this bloom looks like it was in a fight with a thorny cane and came out smiling with scars and all. I named it "The Survivor" :) Marilyn Monroe: every bloom is a perfect bloom.

Thanks for the good advice and congrats on your all native garden! The whole issue of watering natives is a biggie for me. I've already had several Ribes die on me for what seems no apparent reason, but I'm pretty sure it was a watering problem. My garden started when I moved in to my present house in 1973. There weren't too many nurseries where one could find native plants and the plant catalogs started arriving. I wound up developing obsessions to have a garden devoted to rhododendrons, so I did Rhodies for quite a few years. When they became too big I traded that obsession in for others as I moved on in succession to shrubs, grasses, roses, perennials, dwarf conifers, Rock Gardens, bamboos, Restios, Heaths and Heathers, and anything else that caught my fancy, I've almost never been attracted to native plants, though I'm happy to say I've found some I like at last, and I do have some older Manzanitas that have outgrown their spaces. Over these many years I've grown a lot of plants and I've learned a lot- and a lot of plants have wound up shovel pruned. I've quite the best garden I've ever had right now, but I can't afford to keep watering the mostly non-natives so I've been working at transitioning whereever something outgrows it's place.

What cheery greetings, thank you, Karin! Your peonies are so far ahead as mine are still in tight bud form. If that's a Maxima I think I have one! Also pink, a red double whose flower head is so packed it's amazing the stalks don't snap in half. My goodness, weather-wise you seem to have had it all already - let's hope the rest of the growing season is a bit more tame at your end. I don't want to jinx it but it seems that the long delay of any growth here, especially the emergence of hostas, may have been a good thing.... so far. I don't recall any frosts this month at all! Michelle, good that you contacted Vanessa :-)! I wouldn't be surprised if a good number of her beautiful hostas came from Crooked Creek. I don't think it's far from her place. A long list of new hostas you say? Can't wait to see what you ordered! I picked up two minis so far - couldn't resist at $20 per! I've always paid more than that around here. Happy gardening! MadPlanter, 5 acres!!! lucky you - what prime real estate for the largest hostas you can get your hands on because you will never have to move them! You must have a glorious view all around. I don't recall a frost since pips started poking through this month but only less than a handful have a bit of tearing along a margin here and there...or a small hole, one that doesn't look like a chew mark but rather a debris puncture. So far so good....touch wood, lol. Threedogsmom, GG and SM are really easy goers here and get better and better looking each year if that's possible. Not fussy and seem to enjoy the extra sunshine they receive without any ill effect. I'd recommend them anytime! Thank you for all the kind comments. I know how much I enjoy looking at all your pictures - it pleases me to no end to know you enjoyed some of mine. And it encourages me to take better pictures. :-)