Aw, how cool. I hope you give it a little water and some liquid fertilizer to reward it for trying so hard. Reminds me of a moss rose that came up in a crack over the center line in the main 2 lane road at the end of my neighborhood. I watched that stupid thing grow and bloom for a couple of months, just amazed me that it could survive the heat of growing surround by black asphalt AND no car ever apparently drove over it and crushed it into pulp. So, there it was, a stupid little yellowy-orange moss rose growing in a crack in the pavement, and just a bit darker in color than the yellow center line painted on the asphalt. Life is tenacious and wants to survive, to paraphrase Carl Sagan.

Because many Austin roses are nearly as hybridized as Hybrid Teas, (being bred mostly from Florabunda class roses) the earlier H.T.s should go well with them. The first two H.T.s, have a growth habit that is bushier and more attractive than the typical H.T.. 1. "Snowbird" is a white H.T. that has an old fashioned bloom style. Very fragrant, of floral perfume with a hint of lemon zest. 2. cl. "Mrs. Herbert Stevens" I would grow this because all the white Tea roses I've grown have mildewed badly in my organic rose garden, near San Francisco. "M.H.S. blooms early with the Tea roses in spring, while other H.T.s must wait c. a month later to bloom. Bushy and as floriferous as a Tea, it can be grown as a free standing bush. I hope vintage gardens sells it again soon. 3. "Sunday Lemonade" is the light pink sport of "Lemon Spice". S.L. opens to show a frilly old fashioned bloom style. It's real strength in beauty is as a cut flower. Fragrant. 4. "W.E. Lipcott" I saw this rose at Luannes and thought it was an H.P. at first. It has that plush style of bloom. It is very fragrant, of damask rose. The color blends from a rich rose-pink through rose-red, and would be stunning beside, or in front of a taller white rose. Luanne uses organic methods too, and the bush appeared to be quite healthy, in our powdery mildew prone climate. Lux.

Karen Its takes some time and then location could play a part.. But increasing your hummer habitat should help ,, more feeders possibly spaced on opposite sides of the house where there might be less fighting. Then of course some good hummer plants will attract a bigger crowd too. As for the type of plants that work best for hummers is up for debate and that is best left for another thread.

I, too, understand about the American Girl thing. My daughter has a trunk of beautiful clothes for her AG dolls, all purchased from her grandmother. I will *never* be the one to give any of this away or she will be posting one day about how she can't forgive ME! As for getting rid of husband's stuff...this is sort of along the same lines. My husband loves car races and has a favorite tee shirt he wears only when he attends a race. It's sponsored by Marlboro. Well, one day a telemarketer called and I picked up the phone (before caller I.D.!) and they wanted to do a survey on what kinds of cigarettes my husband smokes. Thoroughly disgusted, I exclaimed, "My husband has NEVER smoked." End of discussion. I was so proud of the fact that I ended THOSE phone calls. Awhile later my husband wondered why Marlboro wasn't sending him free racing tee-shirts and stuff anymore. Somehow we got on the conversation about that phone call and how I couldn't believe they thought he smoked. My husband looked at me with this incredulous look and said, "You didn't tell them I don't smoke, did you?" Yep. He was so upset and STILL is. Now they won't send him anything because they know the truth and he is still mad about it! So he has that one racing shirt that has little holes starting in the neckline but he refuses to part with it. And I definitely will *not* be the one to give away, considering I'm already in the doghouse about the other stuff! Sheryl