Thanks to all of you for your encouragement in this adventure. I will give the ugly seedling a while longer to improve. Out of all my seedlings, the ones from this cross, which was planted last April, have 4-5 fans each with 3-4 way branching and 20-25 buds. From what little I know I think that is supposed to be pretty good for a first year bloomer. When I deadheaded the ugly one today, the back of every petal had what appeared to be a smaller petal on it. Maybe that was why it had a hard time opening. It did look a little better this afternoon. I have to admit the large blooms on the pink seedlings are growing on me. Ann

Rita, They are both really pretty! I don't have a favorite, but love the frills. kay

They just keep getting better and better ;-). I love that flame one, too. Also I noticed little things you have interplanted and was wondering if they will get crowded out. What are you going to do when they multiply? They seem very strong and want to take over some of mine. Are you the one to blame for starting that siberian iris craze a couple years ago? I love your blue one. They were out of the blue I wanted. I didn't tend mine last year like I should but a yellow formed a colony and one lonely Painted Woman, not very pretty but may improve if it multiplies. I don't like to be envious but it's hard when I see all the pretty settings people have for their gardens. My yard is pretty small, and I don't seem the knack for putting things in the right places where they will complement other plants. And I seem to want to square foot garden with plants that get huge. There are a couple things out there that make it all worth while though.

I do love Evelyn! I purchased her mainly due to fragrancenutter's huge thread on the General Roses forum titled "fragrant roses that produce abundant perfect cut blooms". She is in Australia, zone 10a and gets dry heat, as I do. I figured it was worth a shot, since it does so well for her. I'm very impressed so far. I'll keep you all up to date with how she does in the future. I have a credit with Heirloom Roses, and today select DA roses are on sale. Most seem to be out of stock, Evelyn included:( Where abouts are you located, boncrow66? Maybe Evelyn really likes a hot and dry climate? Mine doesn't even get as much water as I thought she needed, (for a youngster), because she's in a difficult spot for me to place the hose. BTW Ingrid, last night I found a "snip and drip" system at a great price, PLUS 20% off my order. I was all ready to check out when my 20% discount disappeared. This was at exactly 11:00pm last night. I forgot about the time zones and missed the discount by about 5 minutes! I was so disappointed, that I just shut off my laptop and went to bed. I'm very sad about it. It was a really simple system that I could install myself. It had good reviews. I just took too long picking out extra parts to customize it. I'll make a copy of my cart. Maybe it will go back on spectacular discount again. Thank you, Justin. I see that you also garden in zone 10a. You must be getting some high temperatures as well. I think that does make for some odd blooms sometimes. I deadheaded that bloom this morning, and also saw that a worm or something had been inside. That's why the backside of that bloom was kind of missing. I've had an awful lot of worm ruined blooms lately. Here's what I found when I removed Baronne Prevost's odd little bloom. My deilema rose has been Poseidon. It was frying instantly last year in full sun, and this year I moved it to afternoon shade. That's still not enough to keep the beautiful blooms from frying. During the last flush, I put up an old screen door to shade the blooms. I got perfectly gorgeous, unfried, lavender blooms. Even though Poseidon is hidden away in the backyard, where I tend to do as I please, I'm not willing to do this all summer. I'm also not big on moving roses. My boys are busy, and it's difficult to get them to plant a rose. For them to recognize a rose they planted before, that is now quadrupled in size, to be relocated? Boy, I hardly dare ask:) I have a few things planned for Poseidon, before I begin negotiations with my sons. I purchased a shade cloth for my patio lattice. I had a huge Texas Privet hedge removed, and while I love my new rose bed, my patio is much hotter. It just so happens that shading where I sit will also shade Poseidon.(I think) I have some Pro-tekt, but I'm not a sprayer. I can try to see if it would keep Poseidons blooms from frying, but in this heat I'm afraid I won't keep up with it. This option I think I am going to go with regardless. Plant a passion Vine near Poseidon to shade the blooms somewhat. I know they can grow like a house on fire here, but I checked, and it can also be cut back and kept smaller. I bought two passion vines. Here is one that just bloomed in its pot. It's a bit more mauve than the photo shows. Here is a Poseidon bloom Poseidon is loaded with buds, but unless I put the ugly screen back up, all will fry. Love Song however, takes the heat like a champ. This self seeding annual has been amazing! It goes from seed to bloom in about 8 weeks maybe? Cynoglossum Amabile 'Blue Showers' A giant Dahlia with Shasta daisy. The dahlia is actually more purple/burgundy than the photo appears. Mrs. William G. Koning is always healthy here and blooms well in mostly shade. A rare moment, this morning. Sebastian and Millie playing together on the patio. Not the best picture, but I dared not disturb them. Ok, that's it for now. Time to round up my kitties. Lisa