Another vote for 'Zagreb'--I have two patches of it that enlarge in size each year. I wouldn't call it invasive but it definitely expands each growing season. 'Moonbeam' has much lighter, paler blooms but hasn't been particularly robust where I am. Since most everything else thrives in my soil conditions, I prefer to blame it on the cultivar rather than where I plant it. Unlike 'Moonbeam,' 'Zagreb' is reliable, needs little in the way of supplemental moisture or attention from me other than to enjoy it & the pollinators love it.

I visit the locally planted Old Garden Rosebushes like I visit freinds, often in a circuit, to see the Perle d'Or and unknown ultra fragrant pink H.P. planted by a lawyers office, the Mutabilis on the hillside and a duchess de Brabant across the street from the local Catholic church. Around July I went to visit that old and large (c. 6 feet in all directions) 'Duchess de Brabant'. IT HAD VANISHED!!! Not a root left! I was shocked clear down to my marrow. Really... you know how shocked you feel during that moment when you've discovered that you've lost your wallet or purse? That's how I felt. I stood there for several moments in disbelief, despite the obvious fact. In its' place was a planting of drought tolerant succulents. I wonder if I had told the property owner that a large plant of Duchess de Brabant' is a drought tolerant plant. I wish I could have saved it. A few months earlier the lady who owns the property told me that the previous owners of the house had brought that rosebush all the way from their home in New Orleans, to Richmond, California. I contemplate the long road your red rose might have traveled upon to get to where it was planted, and the Centifolia too. Someone loved those roses, once upon a time. Luxrosa.

Call him Loki. Then you'll have Lilly and Loki (nice alliteration!) and it sounds close enough to Rocky that he might recognize it as his name easily. Or Rory is a good Scottish name for a collie :-) but he won't recognize it as easily. Or Robbie (also Scots) and that will sound a bit more like Rocky. Or Jock, but maybe that's too much of a Scottish Terrier name. (I'm just running with the Scottish theme here; I wish I still had my baby name books to look up more)) On the rawhide issue: my dogs (spaniels) have had no trouble with the flat strips, but I only give them one a day so maybe that is why I haven't seen any digestive problems. I find with the rolled up bone-shaped ones they tend to chew down to the knot and then the knot becomes a choking hazard. (Maybe if the dog does swallow the knot it can cause blockages, but otherwise they can digest them - it is just animal protein, after all) And those pressed composite type ones seem to cause the runs in my dogs so we avoid those as well. And they absolutely love pigs ears and will devour them FAST, but those are fatty so keep them off your carpets!

Thanks for sharing the story of your family member and quilter. All the quilts are lovely, I especially like the bow tie quilt. All these quilts are so nice and white and don't look to have yellowed, ... how did they store them to keep them so white? Best to you and yours, Sandra This post was edited by quiltingfox on Thu, May 22, 14 at 15:22