This "thread" is supposed to be about Herb BOOKS My 1st great herb book was "Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs" - very informative and has been one of my favorites I have gotten a lot of use out of. Tammi Hartung's "Growing 101 Herbs That Heal" -- explains about making herbal preparations in easy to understand format. One I found at a Garage sale I really like too is: Dian Dincin Buchman's "Herbal Medicine" I also have: Jethro Kloss - Back To Eden; James A Duke, Green Pharmacy; Dr. John R. Christopher's "School of Natural Healing"; "Every Woman's Herbal" with Cathy Gileadi; Petersen Guide: Medicinal Plants & Herbs; Barbara Griggs "Green Pharmacy - the History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine" is a great one for historical understanding of how herbs and medicine have evolved thru'out history. A must for a good foundational understanding. Betty Jacob's Growing and Using Herbs Successfully - covers 64 herbs. I also have Mrs. Grieves Modern Herbal vol. 1 & 2 keep in mind this was "modern" when she wrote it but that was a long time ago. Still it remains very informative and considered a classic for the herbal library. Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal has sections for men, women, children & elders + beauty and taming stress -contains recipes and instructions for making herbal preparations. Check to see what interests you at your library or online before purchasing. I took a course and obtained several of these books thru'that. But again - for a 1st book on othe introductory level - I really like Rodale's illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs good luck on building your library and your knowledge!

I'm through with David Austins, except for Evelyn, which is tough and a good bloomer. A nurseryman I know put it best: in this area, Austins get twice as big and bloom half as much as they are predicted to do. The Jackson-Perkins roses rapidly die of homesickness for the Pacific northwest, so I don't buy those any more. I live ten minutes away from the Antique Rose Emporium, but it seems like they're always out of whatever it is I'm after. Leonidas is on the counting-down to shovel time list. I sure like Weeks roses for this area, though. I don't know where they're grown, but that is probably a big factor.

Newbie Rose grower here. Wow! With everyone getting rid of some roses, it makes me wonder if there are any roses out there worth growing. I will also partake in the shovel pruning. I am getting rid of Scent from Above and Social climber from J & P. J & P do NOT tell you what zone their roses are for :( I planted them in the spring this year. BS Magnets here! Scent from Above doesn't stay a golden yellow, but fades out to almost a dirty white. Social Climber is very pretty, but not hardy for me. Not to mention the JB's and thorns. High maintainance, as I found out they are only hardy to zone 6. I want a big time bloomer (don't care about scent so much as I have bad sinuses anyway lol and can't smell worth a $#&%!) that is really hardy, disease resistant for my zone. So I don't have quite as much maintainance to do. I'm thinking about John Cabot because everyone raves about it. Or maybe a Knock out rose.

Bare Necessities - Carole Matthews (and another eg for Frieda's thread on books/songs)