The concern I have is the rush to assume that a found red Tea may be FD, while there are other "lost" red Teas. If you do an advanced search on HMF for red Teas, you'll find quite a few whose scant descriptions and few illustrations could also be possibilities. For example..... http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.60704 Or, perhaps this one, which was actually sold in Australia: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.60962 Also, trace 'Papa Gontier' back a few generations and you'll see some other lost red Teas. I think we may be biased toward finding the true versions of roses whose names have been misapplied to others because we want to correct these errors. But those aren't the only possibilities. Regardless, that's some good detective work, Virginia. :-) ~Christopher

Hi Ingrid, Here are some of the books I've found very helpful and enjoyable. I'm posting the front and back covers of each. They're all different but still handy to have for various purposes. I bought them all in the garden shop of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (which is conveniently quite close to where I live and within walking distance if I'm feeling adventurous and don't intend to buy any plants!). Bart O'brien who co-authored all 3 has long been on staff at RSABG and is a noted authority on California native plants, including one of my favs Rosa minutifolia. Carol Bornstein was the Director of Horticulture at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. She's a great advocate for locally appropriate plants, and champions one I'm still having trouble finding, the lovely grass, Bothriochloa barbinodis (Silver Beadgrass). David Fross is the founder of Native Sons Wholesale Nursery a source for many of the companion plants I've selected to grow with my roses. Btw, David Fross introduced a cultivar of a Calfornia native rose--Rosa californica 'Los Berros' (and yes I have it!). From From Gardening Books This one is arranged like an encyclopedia (by scientific names but with common names provided too, plus there's an index), showing many CA native plants in gardens or their natural environment. For each plant there is standard information provided such as what kind of plant it is, where it grows, light, soil, and water preferences, etc. Here's an excerpt from page 102 that describes California buckwheat: "Eriogonum fasciculatum California Buckwheat Plant type: Evergreen shrub. Geographic Zones: All except high mountains. Light: Sun to partial shade. Soil: Adaptable; well-drained preferred. Water: Drought tolerant to occasional. Natural Habitat and Range: Dry slopes and canyons in coastal scrub, chaparral, desert woodland, and desert scrub below 8000 feet; Alameda County south to northwestern Baja California and east to southwestern Utah and Arizona." Then there is a color photo of the plant along with information about the location of the photo, followed by 5 paragraphs of detailed notes, including multiple named cultivars. And that is the basic format for the whole book, with the amount of notes varying from plant to plant. There are in addition some excellent appendices that list places to see native plants growing as well as where to buy them. I consult this book all the time when considering what to add or not to add to my garden. It has saved me a lot of grief! 271 pages. From Gardening Books From Gardening Books This one has all sorts of handy data. There's a great plant list where the plants are grouped by form--trees, small trees/large shrubs, shrubs, sub-shrubs/perennials, vines, groundcovers, and cacti/succulents and arranged by watering needs--very low, low, medium, and high. There are sections on soil (including a neat quick test and table for determining the soil type in your garden), watering, climate, planting, care, pests, weeds, etc. 238 pages. From Gardening Books From Gardening Books This book is packed full of suggestions for replacing the traditional lawn and how to go about it. It is loaded with color pictures of examples of various options. Lawn replacements that this book covers include: greenswards, meadows, rock gardens, succulent gardens, carpet and tapestry gardens, kitchen gardens, green roofs. There is also an encyclopedia (like the one in California Native Plants for the Garden) of plants for those recommended. 154 pages. Melissa

If I had to do it over again and could find this rose, I'd choose Annie Laurie McDowell, which sounds like the perfect climber for my climate, and to me is more beautiful than Cl. Pinkie. Of course, I've never seen Cl. Pinkie at its best. ptboise, Cl. Aloha is gorgeous and I wish you great success with it. It has such sumptuous blooms. Robert, as usual I think location is everything and I'm glad yours is doing well. For one thing, mine was just in the wrong spot to thrive with mostly morning shade. I have a feeling it may be more susceptible to mildew than black spot. Ingrid

Thanks Suzanne! Bee balm would be great. I totally forgot about Bee Balm. I'm trying to get more plant for bees, butterflies, etc. I probably wont put in another rose into this bed unless it is short. I think I have enough tall ones and there is maybe 1 space that I could squeeze a short rose into the front on the left. I will have to see if all the other ones I put in make it okay lol. Does LD Braithwaite stay small in warm zones? Thanks to Lisa's enabling photos of PCdM, I have two in the ground and another in a pot! With the 3 Abe Darbys I will be full of peachy apricot sherberty goodness all summer long lol! I totally envy everyone that can griw poppies. I haven't had much luck here with them. I can get them started but they pout when they get in the garden. Perhaps the humidity.. My Crown Princess Margareta improves every year. She definitely takes her time. I almost tossed her the first year. Ugly fugly blooms like the grossest washed out orange yellow ever. Barely double and tiny. I have 2 and they both looked the same way. The next year they were much bigger and better. Last year they actually looked half decent. I think she likes colder winters than I have. She likes to be pruned hard in early spring. She grows like a big climber here. One is climbing my fig tree. The other is espalier near the fig tree. She is full of buds right now so hopefully they will be nice! Last year ~Sjn