Just chiming in about the alfalfa at a feed store - I use the alfalfa HAY exclusively, partly because it's cheaper in bulk (mine is $12 for a 50 lb. bale), and partly because it doesn't create the cloud of dust that StrawberryHill talks about. I used to use the alfalfa cubes like Jeri, but I found I had to break them up, and as she says, they have molasses added to them. The alfalfa hay is 100% alfalfa, and it stays light and fluffy. I always add a few handfuls into my compost and manure that I mix into planting holes for new roses, and always scatter and scratch in alfalfa around the existing roses every spring as I pull off the leaf protection. Not having an overly inquisitive dog, the leaves mixed in with the topdressing of alfalfa and compost tends to cut down on the crusting as well as critters eating the food, but I certainly sympathize about the dogs barreling through all that to get to the alfalfa. It's possible that the pure hay wouldn't interest them as much as the pellets or cubes, but I don't have a dog and wouldn't presume to guess. The only thing lethal about the alfalfa hay is the smell if you leave the bag in the rain (or sprinkler) before you get it spread out, but we're all used to that from using alfalfa anyway. Cynthia

Randy, I like my little GC very much too. Is yours ownroot or grafted? I got mine from Pickering. Susan, thanks for the "toddler pic." GC was quite a cutie. I can't believe it had so many blooms. I like that it gets more upright. I'm not the biggest fan of weak necks and hanging blooms. I guess on a climber or a tall plant I would not mind but i'm glad that GC grows a bit stronger as it matures. Robert, I definitely want to try Teasing Georgia. I love the pics of it that I see. It's funny about answering questions when you are a relatively new rose grower. Around this forum, I definitely feel new although there are many questions from real newbies that I could probably answer fairly well. And why? Because I learned the answers here on the forum (and am, of course, developing some knowledge from experience). I guess eventually even us new folks will have to step in and answer the basic questions. I always appreciate your input so thanks for responding. Shelley (sorry if I took a while to respond, it's my daughters' birthday today! 2 yrs old :)

So pretty! My Sombreuil (3yrs old band) won't grow tall, stays at 1'......please post a photo when it's in full bloom. Look at all those buds, in thousands.......it must be so delightful coming home to thousands of blooms! :-)

Ooh, Dara - how exciting! I'd never heard of the Heritage Rose Australia before - I must look it up! I would love to join fellow rose lovers and view gardens on the tour - perhaps not the whole thing but certainly the part in Perth. (And thank you so much for the compliment about my garden :-) ) Marlorena - yes, that little tree is a frangipani (plumeria) - it was one of the earliest things I planted when we first moved in the house. There had been a native peppermint tree growing in that spot which inexplicably just turned brown & died, so I had to replace it - and a frangipani was recommended. It's got beautiful pink flowers, although it's not really fragrant. Oh, and I'll share my photos of John Clare next! :-) Karen - I love that phrase "fat and sassy" - haha! And yes, Golden Celebration has one of my favourite fragrances. I think Jude is my favourite, followed by Golden Celebration and Windemere. Ingrid - we get hardly any rain in the summer months but we do get rain in winter - so I think that's more than you? It must be so hard for you to cope with the drought conditions. We do have water restrictions in summer - we're only allowed to run the drip irrigation twice a week - but we can water by hand as much as we like, and in the last month, I've been out there almost every day carrying buckets of collected waste water from the kitchen & bathroom out to the roses. Rosylady - yes, I think you're right! I'm very lucky that the previous owners chose the light stone walls and had the house painted white. It's actually brick but covered with a white plaster coating, and it does keep everything light and bright. In fact, in mid-summer, I find it a bit too dazzling to look out sometimes as the sun reflects off the walls and there's a terrible glare. But it does help all the colours stand out! ~ HY