Ditto to what Linda said. I can imagine a big sheet of the metal side on a fence, maybe framed in some way, with decorations attached to magnets (old computer magnets can hold really heavy items)that you can move around as your fancy dictates. Gosh, maybe I'll create that myself!! hahaha

The bottom of the first photo is not too clear but it gave me the impression that the shrub does not have much mulch so (1) I would make sure that there is 3"-4" of mulch to minimize having to water often and to make the moisture last longer. (2) Compost in the soil will also help if you have sandy soil. You can add a layer of compost (say 1/2") as an organic fertilizer to help provide many nutrients lacking in sandy soil. Finally, (3) try to maintain the soil as evenly moist as possible. Periods of dry-moist-dry can result of plants whose leaves dry out and then new smaller leaves grow back. Keeping the soil as moist as possible should help but one has to make a habit of checking the soil often. If your soil is sandy, be ready to water more. Plants in sandy soil can sometimes require about 50% more water, so give it about 1.5 gallons per watering if planted in sandy soil. And consider doing a soil test to check for mineral deficiencies. To check the soil moisture, use the finger method. Every morning for 2-3 weeks insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 3-4" and determine if the soil feels wet, moist or dry. If it feels dry or almost dry, water the soil (not the leaves) and make a note in a wall calendar indicating that you watered on that day. Overhead watering (watering the leaves) may be causing the leaf spots. After 2-3 weeks, check the calendar and determine -on average- how often you had to water. Say, once every 3 days, 4 days, etc. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to water 1 to 1.5 gallons on that same frequency. If the weather or the temperatures change 10-15 degrees and stay there, recheck again using the finger method to see if you need to water more frequently or less. As the plant goes dormant and the leaves dry out, dispose of the leaves in the trash so the fungal infection that is causing the spots will not spread. Dispose of any plant material that has fallen on the ground in the trash as well. To promote less fungal problems, I would deadhead (not prune) the spent blooms when they turn brownish and dispose of them in the trash. As far as the sun exposure, morning sun/afternoon shade would be fine but since our sun is strong in the summer, be careful. I let mine get sun from 6am-8am and shade from 11am-ish so, basically, in the summer months they get a little over 4+ hours of sun. If you count the number of hours of sun and it is high, they may need less sun or more water to handle that. Luis This post was edited by luis_pr on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 23:11

songbird, by all means do save your seeds. You have to begin somewhere. Why not try this summer, just so you can see how it goes? You can even try different methods to see what you like best: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084456024410.html http://wintersown.org/wseo1/Tomato_Seeds.html http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/A_Beginner%E2%80%99s_Guide_To_Saving_Tomato_Seeds_Using_Fermentation Then germinate some of the seeds, to see if you were successful. That way, when lightning strikes your only surviving plant of that super-rare variety you could only find three seeds of (because they're so popular, and they barely average a dozen seeds per tomato), and all you have left is one fruit ripening on the kitchen counter, you'll already know what you're doing, so you won't feel quite so pressured.

Place your rose outside where it will be in the afternoon shade. Keep the soil damp, but not wet and the rose will grow another set of leaves. Roses are capable of growing three sets of leaves before it effects their vigour. Because it is a young rose, perhaps cutting it back a little will help the new roots push out new growth. The rose won't die, it is just under stress. Don't fertilize when it is hot, wait until there is a cooling down and then just give it fish fertilizer every ten days at half the strength. This is like chicken soup to a rose!!