Patrick, What a wonderful gift to your mother and sister, and loving tribute to your late dad! It's one thing to dream up a grand project like that, and quite another to labour at it month after month, as you have done. And you have such good taste! Your lyrical descriptions have sustained me while waiting for my first Molineux buds to open, and I have saved for reference your treatise on fragrant roses. You are so right about The McCartney Rose, it's a monster! I hope you will not regard it as bad etiquette to add pictures to your post, but I would like to dedicate these photos of McCartney to your huge heart and enterprise. This plant has been in the ground since 2005, I can't imagine what your mum's bush was like! And a close-up of those amazing blooms: I would love to see what you have done there and also with your own garden creation. Do hurry up and post pictures! MayBee

We have attended this garden tour for many years and I highly recommend it. The gardens will be quite diverse and you will come away with many ideas to incorporate into your garden. Download the tour newsletter that describes each garden or pick one up at one of the supporting nurseries listed on the link provided above. Bring your camera! -Mike

You are more than right, Asarum. Not only is it true that not every every avid gardener goes on garden tours but, judging from GW, hardly any avid gardeners are avid garden visitors. And I just can't understand not going occasionally. It's not a design thing in most gardens. I don't see that many gardens that feature amazing designs. In fact, most of them are plant-centered. And other people's gardens in your area, wherever anyone of us might live, are a better guide to what does well--and why--than the best nursery in the area. I've gardened a long time but I always see something new to covet. An example: About ten years ago, I went on a tour near Hampton NH, not that far from me. One garden was clearly owned by a plant nut--we can all relate. He had stuffed plants into every crevice he could and while the overall design would not have won a prize, he was an enthusiastic and generous gardener. He had a plant I'd never seen before and, as I said, I've been doing this a long time. He said it was spring vetchling, Lathyrus vernus. I loved it and managed to find a couple somewhere. Since then, I've bought a bunch and they are great! Very early bloom, no pests or diseases, easy and beautiful. I remember starting a thread about them once. Maybe they are common now, I don't know. But I do know I never would have added this delightful *early* bloomer to my garden if I hadn't been on that tour. And PS for DTD, go to the Cotswolds. I have been twice and it is something you'll never forget. Not to mention the natural scenery and perfect villages. I couldn't do anything like that when the kids were young or in college but I am making up for it now.

@portlandmysteryrose I was just whining to my spouse that I wanted to move out of this fiery furnace (I actually used worse words than that) and move to where I could actually grow things instead of coddling what is practically a weed in other climates, and couldn't we move to Oregon? Maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Sorry to hear about your bad rose season. We haven't had any rain in many months and it is very very dry. Sounds like you got all of our rain and more. Victoria Falls is still one of my most favorite irises ever. The fragrance is particularly strong and sweet, almost grape-y. @prairiemoon2 z6b MA - Thanks! Yes, some of the irises get pretty big. Some of them have leaves up to my waist (but I guess that's not really saying much).