Hi Elmire, I've thought about this some too, and as I've looked through various pictures I've tried to define what I do and don't like. I tend to like flowers, period. What I like best probably depends on the distance I'm looking at the plant from. Up close, a frilly picotee edge is the greatest thing... but from a distance, a simple single flower probably has the greatest impact. I like big yellow centers and no visible centers, both. I like both singles and doubles, but overall I'd rather have more semi-doubles than anything else, and I like them even better if their petals have some waviness to them. A rose with a subtle color blend to a darker or lighter color on the edge appeals to me hugely... though if the entire yard were composed of those kinds of flowers, there would be too much competition between them. So just a few Mrs. Dudley Cross roses (or roses of those types), sitting perhaps right next to Duchesse De Brabant to help point out the sublime in Mrs. Dudley Cross. I have always liked roses, but less so the hybrid tea forms than their smell. The brief amount of time I had Belinda's Dream with the same form, though, I liked it plenty. It looks especially nice with roses of other forms in a vase. I liked the effects of the tiny Rose Rosette to add variety to a vase of flowers, too. Overall, if I had to name just one favorite flower form, I'd probably go with a rhododendron, especially those with a bit of a frilly and/or picotee edging to the individual flowers within the truss. I love rhododendrons, huge trusses and small ones both. Rhododendrons don't withstand drought well, however, so I wouldn't suggest getting started with them if you can't give them plenty of water during a drought. Oh, no, maybe I should have said the one favorite was a camellia, all kinds of camellias... And daffodils! The Ice Follies variety is pretty much a perfect flower. But peonies (of all kinds) can't be bested by any other flower! Oh, I forgot to say how wonderful the tiny-leaved karume azaleas look when they are covered in a blanket of tiny flowers. They make for spectacular arrangements in a vase too. I like flowers, period. In a mood to really look and appreciate, I can get excited with just a single bloom from a native woods violet. And at that moment, it seems that nothing could best the simple woods violet. I guess the real luxury is in having a good variety of flowering forms, and especially in having them at various times of the year, which roses and camellias are both good at. Though I do have one rhododendron that blooms a bit every fall. I can't think of any flowers I actually don't like, though irises are probably fairly low on the list. I have stronger opinions on garden design than on the flowers themselves. (I'm not into geometrical/formal gardens so much as very informal ones.) Mary

i am surprised you never got a reply .. maybe if you copy/paste it into a new post at the plant propagation forum you may have more luck .... and i cant believe the cultivar would make any difference to the method .... meaning the blue satin part should not matter to prop. of rose of sharon ... try google also ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: plant propagation forum

Three cheers for your grandmother and her adventurous sense of color! May we all be bold rather than discreet in our old age. But perhaps we should skip the cheap cologne. I suspect the half bottle was because many people lose their sense of smell as they age and she honestly thought it didn't have much perfume to it. As for rose scents, I love them as rich and as heavy as can be. I love other intense scents, too, jasmine, lilies, honeysuckle. I will say that I prefer most flowers out of doors. Scented cut flowers in the house sometimes give me intense headaches, honeysuckle especially. Lilies are also too strong indoors. Narcissi actually become unpleasant to me in the house, developing a chemical undertone that reminds me of petrochemicals. Roses, though, are wonderful in the house or in the garden. And the same is true of my absolute favorite flower scent, lilacs. Rosefolly

Florence, just saw Mac Cartney in my sisters garden today. No comparison, completely leafless from BS, but still with two brave blooms. This rose is better then many others in resistance but still.... Yours Mac Cartney is absolutely gorgeous. Whatever you are doing, it is definitely is a right thing. Thank you very much. I always enjoy your pictures. Olga