I would think that one year is too short a time to cause rose replant problems (unless you are a heavy sprayer and have turned your present soil into a lifeless chemical dump). The following link emphasises the importance of having "live" soil. Here is a link that might be useful: link to âRose Replant Diseaseâ article

Cath, Magnolia grandiflora is one of the more tolerant magnolias, and is certainly a magnificent tree, but I'm not interested in it. I long for the deciduous, mostly Asian magnolias: M. stellata, M. denudata, the Soulangeanas, the x loubneri group, the yellow-flowered hybrids of M. acuminata. Actually, I plan on getting a Loebneri magnolia: I think I actually have a place, one spot in our thirty-three acres, where it will grow. Magnolias are fairly common ornamental trees down in the Po Plain below our hills, and in our local town, which is located in a valley and has good alluvial soils. It's five miles away and about 225 meters lower than we are, and they can grow plants that we can't. Conditions vary. It's not that I haven't tried magnolias, but much of the soil in the big garden bears a close resemblance to adobe brick when it's dry, and they just can't handle it. The shade garden either has dry unfriendly soil, or it floods, and I don't think magnolias like to be flooded either (roses on the other hand can handle tremendous amounts of winter water). Also much of the shade garden is shady, of course. But I do have one spot I think will work, and I'm looking forward to getting the right magnolia, and then seeing it in splendor in a few years. They are magnificent, glorious trees. Otherwise I may get a pear for one spot where I want a flowering tree. That may not sound obvious, but pears have a heavy noble structure and a massive whiteness to their bloom that makes them, in my eyes, the hill country aesthetic equivalent of flowering magnolias. harmonyp (Beth?) I think you're right about dahlias. I got rid of my numerous family of them a few years ago after a very long drought because I didn't want to water them; and I got tired of lifting the tubers and keeping them in my mud room through the winter, then replanting them, and staking them. Right now the garden has just three or four survivors that have made it through two unusually cold and wet winters without rotting. I have a handsome pink one growing in the cottage bed next to the house where it flourishes in clay and with little supplementary water. Dahlias come in a great variety of forms and colors, many of them very beautiful: rich burgundies, violets, soft oranges, waterlily pinks. They're undemanding about water and soil. They don't get any pests or diseases to speak of. They make excellent cut flowers. One of the things I liked about dahlias when I was growing them in quantity is how they're movable foliage, excellent for filling in gaps when the shrubs are young; and they have big, bold, flourishing dark leaves with never a trace of mildew. They bloom when much of the garden is quiescent too. Now I'm wondering why on earth I don't have more dahlias. I don't quite trust them to be tough enough to thrive out in the big garden, where life is a battle: they're more suitable to the vegetable patch, and I have very little of that kind of space. Perhaps one year I'll be able to conjure up some room for dahlias. They are wonderful flowers. Melissa

Here's red with a little bit of everything around it: Here's red accompanied by white and a strong gold-yellow (I usually think the strong yellows work best with a bright red): Dusty Miller (annual) will beautifully downplay the bright red rose: Once more--just cuz its pretty: I really like whites next to my reds--provides a "cool" balance. Here is Gourmet Popcorn rose (planted next to the William Shakespeare 2000 you can't see in the pic): Here is white Hardy Garden Geranium growing at the feet of one of my red roses. I have the white Hardy Garden Geranium growing by a number of my red roses--gives a really airy, lacey effect to the garden--quite charming! Here's another Hardy White Garden Geranium floating around the feet of a red rose and a pink rose next to it. (I like this pic.) Here's pic my daughter took of climbing red Dublin Bay and a white climbing clematis mixed in with it. Light blue iris in the middle of my rose bed which has lots of red roses looks spectacular in the spring: As you can see, I like whites, silvers, and pale blues as cooling contrasts with my reds, and I like strong yellow-golds to compete with the hot reds. An occasional light pink rose in there gives some pleasing variety. Hope that gives you some ideas. Kate

Hi Devon, Thank you for sharing your heartfelt hopes and dreams! And know that special people have a way of finding one another when they listen with their heart and follow those dreams. Keep involved with what you love, for love is so much more than glittery Hallmark cards, Whitman candy hearts and pretty bows. Kahlil Gibran has written some very deeply moving essays in "The Prophet" that speak about many things. Some favorites of mine are about Love and Work--two things that gardeners know much about :) The link below is to a great site that has the entire book for download or you can read it online. I have the book in hardcover myself, and have given many copies as gifts over the years. I knew I had found my Beloved when he said it was his favorite book...and he loves digging in the dirt too. And like a good friend, he helped me remember how much I loved tending to plants and things at a time that I forgot about it with gifts of cut roses from his garden. So yes, roses have a special place in my heart too.. @->-- (a virtual rose for you!) Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Kahlil Gibran