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

Wow, love these pictures! Makes me want to pack up and move to the Pacific Northwest! Especially after months of no rain and now blistering summer heat. The wait for daylily blooms has definitely been worthwhile! Now it's your turn to post the lovely pics -- mine have just about finished blooming. I've got to add Forbidden Dreams to my wish list. Nancy

buyorsell888 - Thanks for posting your lovely blooms & sharing views of your garden settings. I especially look for your posts because we're in a similar climate where daylilies don't always perform well in our cool summers. In our gardens in western WA we have summer perennials just starting on top of spring bloomers. For example, the Asiatic lilies are still opening up in part sun & Hellebore on the north side of the house with indirect lighting are still in bloom. To give you an idea of how far behind we are: 1st daylily blooms were from 2 different fragrant yellow species. Stella just started last week after we finally hit over 70 degrees. Rose Cherub had 3 blooms last Thurs H. fulva 'Kwanzo' on Monday scapes are up & swelling, so know the blooms are coming... Corrine

Hi Greenman, It's nice to see you posting and I enjoyed reading about all the landscaping you've been doing. I can't believe how much planting you've done...you sure have been busy! The heat and sunlight here always will be a challenge and I have found many 'full sun' plants grow fine for me with only a couple of hours of direct sun or even in almost completely dappled shade. With your succulents, did you do a massive amount of soil improvement to give them the drainage they need? In general, clay drains too slowly for them. Since I have evil clay soil, I only grow succulents in containers where they can have the near-perfect drainage they require. They do still make burlap bags, and you're most likely to find them at farm supply stores like Tractor Supply Company or farm-oriented feed and seed stores. I usually only see them here in stores in the spring when they sell them right beside the seed potatoes so you can, presumably, store your harvested potatoes in them a few months down the line. One way to help your container plants in the hot months is to buy a larger pot and place the entire plant, container and all, inside the larger pot. That gives the potted roots some insulation from the heat since the outer pot would take the brunt of the heat. I look forward to hearing about your vegetable garden as you build and develop it. Ditto what George said about the native elms here. We have them all over the place on our property and they are tough, having survived all kinds of drought and years of flooding rainfall equally well. To go along with the plants Marcy suggested, the plant that grows best for me in a hot exposure is gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields'. It grows alongside our driveway/roadway/rural mail box and rarely wilts, even in August. It gets nothing but rainfall, being far beyond the reach of a waterhose. My most reliable summer plants in a southern or western exposure are echinaceas, gomphrenas, zinnias and verbena bonariensis. All of those are either perennial or reseeding annuals at our place. Dawn