Thank you, Sheila. We used to be able to post pictures to the ARF right from our Flickr accounts. But, of course, if you delete your photo storage account, any communication that might still exist between the two sites is lost! I still visit the "Antique Rose Forum" from time to time, esp. during the cold winter months when I need a pick me up. I don't post much any more. I do love my gardens and my roses and have had many triumphs as well as disasters over the past five years since I did these postings in 2013. Disaster 1: I now have numerous roses that are 15 feet tall/long. 20 feet tall. And even taller and even longer. And I now realize that, although the idea of giant roses seemed romantic when they were 3 feet tall, they have created a variety of problems in my garden and I am in the process of getting rid of all my monsters except a couple of my most favorite. Disaster 2: I have hundreds of roses. From almost every class. And I have lost track of what I have and what I have lost. Disaster 3: Invasive plants: Japanese anemones. Mexican primrose. Salvia. 4 o'clocks. Sweet violet. Blue globe flower. Black-eyed Susan. And even morning glory. I find poison ivy/oak sprouting in my pots, I invite you to imagine my garden plots. Disaster 4: Thrips. And, though, I love every single one of my roses, even those I am culling, I have found after growing so many, that above all, I love my David Austin roses most. Here are some photos from this year's garden. They may not be great since they were taken with my phone. Best of luck to you in your garden. May it bring you joy and very few disasters.

He said they were large. I get so confused with these swallowtails. You would think by now I would be able to tell the difference without a doubt since I have raised most of them. I just saw "Something" nectaring on my pentas - It is either a female Spicebush, which is what I think it is, or a female Eastern Black. I know that the female EBS has less yellow than the male and more blue. However, it is the shape of the wings that confuse me. I have had female EBS that have the same shape as the male, then I have also watched a female EB that had the same shape wing as the Spicebush. The EBS' front wings seem to be wider than the hing wings to me but this one I saw yesterday laying on my Parlsey had much squarer wings to me. The reason I went out to watch it was several Polydamas were chasing this one butterfly, almost in the same dancing way they have went they are ready to mate, Circling and spiraling up in the sky. But this was much lower to the ground so that the one being chased was almost being kept down so it couldn't fly. By the time I got out there, the Polys had flown on and the one being chased flew off the ground and over to the parlsey and she laid eggs so I know she was an EBS.

Donna, they're definetely dark eyed juncos, I have many in my back yard, they eat more off the ground under the feeders and yes, they chase each other around all the time, at least mine do. They are very pretty birds, funny, I didn't have any last year but this year they arrived at the beginning of November, along with the white throated sparrows and have been here since. They should be getting ready to go north soon. The white throated sparrows left a while ago. ~Linda

Okay so you don't have prefect timing. Had you asked the question last August, timing would have been perfect and you could have done the reno. But if you follow the following guidelines, your weeds will be much nicer than anyone else's weeds. Basics of Lawn Care After reading numerous books and magazines on lawn care, caring for lawns at seven houses in my life, and reading numerous forums where real people write in to discuss their successes and failures, I have decided to side with the real people and dispense with the book and magazine authors. I don't know what star their planet rotates around but it's not mine. With that in mind, here is the collected wisdom of the Internet savvy homeowners and lawn care professionals summarized in a few words. If you follow the advice here you will have conquered at least 50% of all lawn problems. Once you have these three elements mastered, then you can worry about weeds (if you have any), dog spots, and striping your lawn. But if you are not doing these three things, they will be the first three things suggested for you to correct. Watering Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an inch in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. Do not spread this out and water for 10 minutes every day. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. If that does not work, then you might have to water more than once per week during the summer's hottest period. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. You will have to learn to judge when to water your own lawn. If you live in El Paso your watering will be different than if you live in Vermont. Adjust your watering to your type of grass, temperature, humidity, wind, and soil type. It is worth noting that this technique is used successfully by professionals in Phoenix, so...just sayin.' The other factors make a difference. If you normally water 1 inch per week and you get 1/2 inch of rain, then adjust and water only 1/2 inch that week. Mowing Every week mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. However, bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses will become the most dense when they are mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. In fact there are special mowers that can mow these grasses down to 1/16 inch. Dense grass shades out weeds, keeps the soil cooler, and uses less water than thin grass. Tall grass can feed the deep roots you developed in #1 above. Tall grass does not grow faster than short grass nor does it look shaggy sooner. Once all your grass is at the same height, tall grass just looks plush. Fertilizing Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 5 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. Follow the directions on the bag and do not overdo it. Too much is better than too little*. At this point you do not have to worry about weed and feed products - remember at this point you are just trying to grow grass, not perfect it. Besides once you are doing these three things correctly, your weed problems should go away without herbicide. * This used to read, "Too little is better than too much." Recent test results show that you cannot get too much organic fertilizer unless you bury the grass in it.