Butterfly! Lol. You to funny! lol. Don't get me started on another addiction. I am close to it. I've been on since I broke my heel last summer. It took a lot out of me and my interest in most things. Even my plants suffered a bit. Getting to them to water and fertilize, even to move them was quite difficult! I had a bout with spider mites this winter because I couldn't treat them before they came in last fall. My mom broke her arm 2 weeks after I broke my heel, so it was tough. She was caring for my plants since no one else is even interested to help. Believe me when I tell you, I lost most of my friends then. I saw their true colors. Now I have all the time in the world to care for my plants and house :-) I have wondered how you were since we did have fun at one time over here. My Olive trees? well, now I have 3.lol Two smaller ones and a large 6 foot one! They don't flower at all until the cooler weather starts to move in. maybe by September. I am so sorry to hear about your drought! Nothing is better than that good ole nutrient rich rain in lightning storms. It's like giving a shot of hormones to my plants. We too are having a huge lack of rain. I have yet to see a thunderstorm. I can tell by looking at your grass you could use some rain. You poor thing. I hope your plants are ok. Thank God that these butterfly bushes can handle drought. It's good to see you growing in pots. I guess it can have it benefits even in your area, right? You can move your plants to anywhere you want, you can have full control of the mix, you can water without fear of drought, you can bring them in when it gets too cold, and you don't have to worry about nemetodes! I am so glad you are giving it a shot. I would love to see you grow a gardenia in a pot..lolol._0) Yes, I still have my greenhouse, thank God! I store my fragrant Orchids in there, fragrant tropicals that love humidity, Hoya, have you even seen my Hoyas? They are so fragrant! I think just about everything I have in there, even some of my Epi's, except my CC, have some sort of fragrance. I hear you about the Grand Duke! I have actually come to hate growing them so much, that I threw mine out! I got tired of worrying about it and having to provide hot sunny conditions for it to thrive. Yes, if it got anything other than that, it would die off, get bugs,or just not grow. What a pain. And then, when I would finally get blossoms after all that, just one drop of wetness would rot the flower. Lucky you with your gardenias! Yahoo. I would kill to get mine to loom as good as yours:-) Well, now that my but is sore from sitting here this long, and my heel still hurting, it's time to stretch. It has been nice spending time with you and please don't be a stranger. And no, you have not been forgotten. You have always been kind to me. Mike:-)

All I can say is WOW! I don't know what else to say. I think I have been drooling over most of them for awhile now.... Liv Tyler (Comtesse de Provence)/Sweet Promise...gorgeous! Love the quartered blooms! Bolero-thought it was Eden at first-love the pinky inside! Guy de Maupassant-look so big and heavy! Do they really have deep fragrance to your nose? Jean Giono always reminds me of a yellow/orange dahlia! Yves Piaget-had once, died, want another. Reminds me of our peonies here. Think it was the source (Wayside) and a sale rose at that. Beth, your last four shots...wow. I read that Versigny is hard to find? I've never even heard of the others (except for Johann Strauss!) Thank you ALL for sharing these awesome photos! I so want spring to arrive. It's brutally cold outside. :0) Phyl

Thank you suncoastflowers, mossy, Sara-Ann and everyone else for posting. I decided to give my Peace roses a spot at the front of my yard where they can get more morning sun. I think this will allow them to shine and maybe they can look as awesome as the ones shown here. I recruited my husband last night and planted 4 princess Alexandra of Kent behind the bench since that area doesn’t get sun early in the morning, and PAK seems to be a bit more resistant to black spot. Looking forward to enjoying my peace roses in the future. Thank you! Dianela

Thank you dizzylizzy, Diane and Lisa. Diane they are both Bourbons. MEC is a sport of MME ISAAC PEREIRE and KATHLEEN HARROP is a sport of ZEPHIRINE DROUHIN. I like them both better than the other two. Like most of my Bourbons (except for SDlM) they only have a few scattered blooms after the first flush. I used to think I didn’t want roses that didn’t repeat frequently, but I enjoy them while I’m waiting for the others to begin their show. I do think it’s going to be a good season, everything is very healthy and I have lots of buds, However, we’ve had June/July like weather and all weekend lots of wind, Ive been doing a lot of watering. Lisa, I’m not sure. Seems like I saw KH listed in RU and looked it up on HMF, loved the color, and thought it was charming, that’s why I got it. Some fuller blooms today on MEC