You gals just have me cracking up reading this! I love the angels/fairies Karen is finding for all of us. Lord knows I sure can use one too since the old woman comes to visit here quite frequently too. She went off and left my garage door open the other day, and then this morning she even left the water running in the sink after brushing her teeth! I just don't know how to deal with her, so hopefully my angel/fairy will help! Nmgirl had me drooling over all those wonderful desserts she can make. Boy, talk about listing your qualifications. How could anyone say no to all that???? So glad you found an angel/fairy for her too. Susie, why do you get to hold the $$$$ and the chocolate too gal? And you thought no one would notice, huh? LOL Luvs

You already have my current favorite in EVH, I LOVE that rose! But I must tell you he ate my Secret Garden Musk and SGM had a couple of years head start. I'm just a few miles south of you, so our climates should be similar. SGM did quite well with BS in my no spray garden, but never really took off the way I expected. After EVH began growing wildly, SGM just faded away and recently I found it had finally died. Perhaps it was the clone I had since everyone else seems to rave about it. Two different looks of EVH: Did I say I love this rose!

Guardian Angel seems to be a variety that comes out of tissue culture with a wide range of coloration among the plants. Some have very light centers even as juvenile plants, some show only very subtle coloration as young plants, and most are somewhere between these two extremes. The ones that are solid colored should be culled by the lab, but this does not always happen, and occasionally I see a solid colored plant. After working with a number of these small plants over the last 5 years, it has become obvious that juvenile coloration is the best indicator of mature coloration. In other words, if you want a GA that will hold it's coloration and look great all season, buy a plant that looks very good at a small size. The less showy baby plants will show some coloration in the spring as more mature specimens, but they will never be as showy as a plant that shows excellent coloration at a very early age. The plainer baby plants also seem prone to green up fairly early. Location will play some part in retention of coloration, with more sun generally producing better and longer lasting coloration, but this is not always consistent. My original GA is in 3/4 shade, with no direct sun, only heavily dappled light. I picked it out as the best colored plant out of a large group of juvenile GA, and it retains it's flashy colors all season, with very little darkening, even in August. The lower leaves darken a bit, but not much, and the rest of the plant shows excellent coloration right through the fall. The second GA I purchased was more intermediate in it's juvenile coloration, and was planted in about 1/2 sun, but it still loses much of it's coloration by mid July. I have 2 more this year that have quite good coloration as juveniles, and they are retaining it quite well so far, in spite of being in only 1/2 sun. If your GA isn't showing good coloration now, it is likely one of those that will look good in the spring, then fade to a darker coloration by the middle of the summer. The picture of the GA at Hornbakers, which is only about an hour from my garden, looks like Blue Angel to me. GA has a slightly more wedge shaped leave, but more importantly, GA has a distinctively ruffled, wavy edge, shown very nicely in Shade Tolerant's picture. Even those GA that lose coloration retain the ruffled edge throughout the season. The plant at Hornbakers may have been mislabeled, or it may, over several years, have reverted back to Blue Angel, or sported to a solid green plant. Golden Meadows is another variety that is quite variable in the retention of it's coloration. Most GMs go solid dark green fairly early in the summer, but I have one that keeps some coloration, although it's muted, most of the summer. I've seen a GM that had quite distinctive coloration all season, although again, more muted than in the spring. Grow your new GA out for a year or two, and if you are not pleased with it, consider buying a new one with better coloration. This is a variety that will be around for quite some time, as it's quite popular and sells well. The price has gotten to a reasonable point, and it's easy to locate. I've seen several on the Hosta Library auction site that had excellent coloration, so if a local nursery doesn't have it, that might be a good source. It is also possible that your new plant is stressed from being potted, and next spring it might surprise you with beautiful coloration.

Ken, Beautiful Guardian Angel! Mine got mauled by something this spring (its first year too) but came back some. I'm hoping it looks even half as good as yours in the future. I have Green w/Envy and like it so much I have at least 4 plants (from divisions). Mine seems to have a fairly rapid growth rate. I'm buying more soaker hoses and DEADLINE next spring. (And I don't even want to hear it from you "formaldehyde haters". I'll use it sparingly. I got nowhere with the ammonia spray. Apparently I can't get up early enough or go out late enough to make contact). I vow to WATER, WATER, WATER and fertilize until mid July! I'll add compost in the spring along with coffee ground tea... Zowee, these sound like New Year's resolutions already! Ken, you inspire me! Char