scpalmnut, Thanks for the tour. I need to visit DBG again! It's nice to see what'll grow in our harsh climate. bbguess, High Country Gardens recently updated their website indicating they are gearing up to continue online only. Many local gardeners were quite bummed out when they closed! I paid a visit to Kirk Fieseler at LaPorte last spring. He's got some nice little trees that have done really well for me. I'm finally getting the buy small and local advice! Barb

Looks like they've really got their act together in CBG ! All the plants are in super condition and are wonderfully displayed. Good old Carolus must be well happy ! T. PS Thanks again - also for providing the link back to the Japanese Garden in Denver BG. Priceless...

I *am* exhausted! & sunburnt! (went out there on an overcast morning, wearing a scoop-necked top, forgot to notice when the sun came out. duh.) The gardens were *gorgeous*, of course, & the swap/sale was loads of fun! We had a woman who sells plants/bulbs/seeds on ebay, the Master Gardeners had a booth, Waxahachie High School had a booth, there was a "flea market" with proceeds going to the Garden Club,...can't remember everything. The brown bag lunches were very good (& the Club now has arrangements with the to-go barbeque place to take up the slack in case they run out of food in the future!) I moved a lot of plants in pots, so my summer watering schedule is considerably eased (sold a few & traded a few.) This was the first time my friend Vi had been to the Tour & sale, & she had a great time, didn't bring very much but took several things home. Unfortunately, although the Extravaganza continued until 4 PM, Vi had to leave early to help her husband with a garden project, & my sunburn began to really burn & nauseate me, so I left a little later, by probably 2:30. Lots of nice people, helpful hands all round-several of the guys helped with loading & unloading, setting up tables, etc, & one kind person gave me some lotion for my back. It was great! can't wait til next year... (when I'll bring an extra shirt & a hat & some lotion!)

Vaporvac: I bought Shocking Blue, Zeph. Drouhin, Savannah, and Orchid Romance. Really kick myself for NOT getting those huge bags of MG-garden-soil for roses sold for $4 each at Walmart early spring. Walmart is sold out, same with HomeDepot, and Lowe's selling it for $9 per bag !! My roses which were grown in MG-moisture-control potting soil had wimpy roots and didn't survive my winter, but my roses which were grown in heavy & wet soil like MG-Garden-soil for roses developed THICK & SOLID roots that survive winter and flower lots. It's even wetter than my clay !! For the record: every own-root (be it tiny band-size) or gallon-size which I planted right smack into my dense & alkaline clay survive many winters, but the ones which I babied in pots (with potting soil) grew wimpy roots that didn't survive zone 5a winter, no matter how I did it: be it putting potting soil into the ground, or grow in pots 1st, then transfer to the ground (my alkaline clay) later. MG-garden-soil for roses (pink-bag with pic. of roses) was on sale at Walmart for $4 per huge bag. That soil is AWESOME in moisture-retention. I had 3 bags opened in hot sun over 90 F: Hyponex potting soil, Scott's premium bagged soil, and MG-garden-soil-for roses. Hyponex dried up into hard-granules, Scott's-top-soil dried up to hard-black-pellets, but MG-soil-for roses STAYED WET AND FLUFFY. I moved W.S. 2000 (own-root) right before winter, and planted that in a bag of MG-garden-soil for roses (only $4), plus mixed In gypsum. W.S. 2000 was the 1st rose to bloom (despite being moved), and having 20+ buds right now as own-root. Own-roots have short roots, so they can't reach down below for minerals, best use a HIGH-MINERALS & HIGH-NUTRIENTS soil like MG-garden-soil-for roses, which has black-peat (de-composed humus), plus peatmoss & pH-balanced to neutral with lime. Fluffy potting soil like MG-moisture control can't enable solid roots for winter-survival, like heavy clay or heavy soil like MG-garden-soil for roses. For newly bought own-roots I have to use a HUGE amount of soluble-fertilizer NPK 20-20-20 weekly to get blooms. Potting soil has zero-nutrients peatmoss, plus a few chemical granular-fertilizer. Too much hassle to fertilize frequently so I would rather use a rich & fertile soil like MG-garden-soil for roses, which is dense & heavy & black peat mixed with peatmoss, rather than fluffy-peat-moss-potting soil which produced wimpy alfalfa-sprout roots and thin canes. I have never seen any black soil which retain moisture as long as MG-garden-soil for roses, see below pic. In contrast, there's the lousy rating for MG-garden soil with mostly wood-chips. Below soil has perfect rating everywhere: Walmart-site, and 33 perfect reviews at HomeDepot site: