Andie--I have a weakness for those float pens too. I even have a couple of those cheesy pin-up ones. (You know---bathing suit up, bathing suit down...) Mostly I gather pretty random stuff, though I guess I tend to come back with locally packaged food items. Last trip I went on, I stayed down the street from the stinky Pafco tuna cannery, so I left packing a can or two of the local product. There was also a soda I liked that had a somewhat indecent name, but it was impractical to pack. I congratulate myself that I've never opened any of the remaining packs of Cleopatra-brand cigarettes left over from a duty-free carton distributed to still-smoking friends. I always trusted that they would be dreadful--now they would be terribly old and dreadful. We like sea souvenirs. Last trip, I found an intact nautilus shell along a beach during a bike ride. And we're always going to great pains to carefully transport egg-fragile sea urchin shells home. My husband has a penchant for indigenous weapons. If the local population makes something that, during the past 100 years, has been used to clobber someone over the head, he wants it. Oh. And then there are seeds. It's fun to be able to grow, say, basil that came from in front of a pharoah's palace, or a tomato that reminds you of lunch in some sun-drenched place, or even a hyacinth bean from one's favorite Southern city.

You have a very nice list of roses there. Abraham Darby - I grew a couple of bushes of him in North Carolina (hot and humid, z 7b, and he was a splendid and very vigorous performer, a reliable and very good repeater, got quickly huge (6+ft x 4/5ft) but well behaved, rounded shrub, big, lovely and perfumed flowers. While not a terrible BS magnet, he did a lot better with spray, even if only a occasional one. Lovely fruity perfume. In your dry and climate (Crete, right?), disease, especially BS, should not be much of an issue though. Make sure that he and the other Austins get enough water and food, they're greedy for both, and this will make a big difference in their looks (incl. flower size), health, and and performance. Buff Beauty - I grew her also in NC. She produced pretty flowers, but not as regularly as I wished, two or at most three times per season, mainly in spring/early summer and then again in the fall. She will get big and is very sprawly (sideways if not trained otherwise), and very thorny with stiff stems. However, I've seen big upright shrubs of her, also in public spaces, here in England, which stayed healthy without spray. For some reason though, I didn't fall in love with her in NC, perhaps because of her sprawling habit and thorniness, and thus didn't get her again. But it's a good rose. Scent is moderate, sweet musk/tea. Golding Celebration - I love this one. It's been a superbly performing and repeating rose for me both in America and here in England, perhaps best grafted. I wouldn't be without it. The flowers have a wonderful golden color and a terrific scent which starts out as sweet tea and acquires more complex fruity notes and of white wine as the bloom ages. It needed some BS protection in NC, but fares quite well here without any spray it gets some BS but recovers quickly. It's vigorous and will get big quickly (but don't forget the water and the fertilizer!), but never sprawls. Heritage - another favorite of mine with its many many soft pink blooms. The rose is very floriferous and repeats very well if grown well (good soil, food and water), is extremely healthy (no spray, practically no disease here in wet England), and has a nice medium scent. My shrub got very tall in the US, over 6 ft after 3 years, but only a bit over half of that here so far (2 seasons). Nicely uproght and vaseshaped wiut any stiff appearance. I noticed that the rose does not like strong pruning, especially not after the flushes, so keep that to a minimum. Main caveat: the blooms shatter quickly in the heat, but their mass and quick repeat (esp. if not harshly pruned) make up for this. Mme Alfred Carriere - a house eater and once (or once and a half) bloomer from spring into early summer in North Carolina. Very beautiful and sweetly perfumed (medium strength) losely shaped blooms, and quite prone to BS and also powdery mildew, but this may not matter in your climate. But you'll need A LOT of real estate for her, and I don't know if she'll repeat any better where you live. She also seems to be a once bloomer here in England and in Germany from what I've seen so far. I don't grow her anymore. Just too big, not much repeat. Felicia - superbly perfumed and a good repeater, and quite healthy too. I grew her in a very large pot in NC which she quickly detested, vigorous as she was. She'll get very big! I put her in the ground just a few months before I left for the UK. She quickly stopped sulking and looked and bloomed better again. A beautiful and big shrubby rose, worth growing for her perfume alone. Duchesse de Brabant - very pretty light pink flowers with a pleasant perfume, very quick repeat, may be prone to mildew in crowded stuffy conditions, but perhaps not where you live. Mine stayed quite small, 2 ft or so. I wasn't crazy about her but liked her quite a bit. I don't grow her here in England, perhaps because I thought that she lacks just a tad of character. But she's definitely a very good and pretty rose. Francis Dubreuil - what a beauty. He needs afternoon shade, but may be crisping anyway. Very short, wide and open, shrubby habit, mine stayed under 2 ft in NC, very quick repeater, superbly colored and perfumed blooms - a deep smoky damask, a perfect fit for his dark red flowers. But he was a martyr to blackspot, even with spray, in NC. Defoliated quickly, but also rebounded quickly. That being said, I really loved him, and have him now on order from Peter Beales! Sombreuil - a climber with decent but not quick repeat, 2-3 flushes a year in NC. It has an open but somewhat scrawny, edgy habit with fairly thin and thorny canes, and not very many leaves, if I remember correctly. While the flowers were very beautiful, the plant looked a little, well, scrawny. Moderate vigor. Got also BS if not very regularly sprayed, but may behave and look better in a drier climate. The flowers are moderately perfumed, sweet tea, if I remember correctly. I don't grow it here in England. New Dawn - got space? I loved this one when I grew it in NC, the color and shape of its flowers, the sweet wafting scent, its small and shiny leaves that stayed perfectly healthy in hot and humid NC even without spray. Repeat was only so-so, mostly spring/early summer and fall, with some blooms in between, but when it was in full bloom it was just superb. While it's not as much a monster as Mme Alfred Carriere, it will also get very big, so take that into account. Only caveat: it's very thorny (at least the canes are very pliable), and it once took a good bite off my partner's scalp when he forgot to duck on the way out of our front porch. So maybe don't plant it along entrances and walk ways. But other than that, it's a great rose and true classic, my top pick for beauty and scent among the climbers you listed. Sombreuil comes second. Hope this helps, Andrea

Too bad, my life is not interesting enough to automatically curate itself into an Anthropologie store. Speaking of, Sundance Channel has a series called Man Shops Globe--he's a buyer for Anthropologie ABOUT THE SERIES Claiming he has the "greatest job in the world," Keith Johnson invites viewers along on an international treasure hunt on the Sundance Channel original series, MAN SHOPS GLOBE. In out-of-the-way antique shops, private dealerships and craft stalls, Johnson looks for one-of-a-kind home furnishings and accessories. In each half-hour program, Keith travels to a new country in search of fantastic and unusual decorative objects, furniture, and textiles. He also seeks out the world's best artists and crafts people. MAN SHOPS GLOBE follows Johnson, who travels six months of the year, to ends-of-the-earth excursions, from flea markets in Paris to remote villages in India and obscure art studios in Turkey. Here is a link that might be useful: Man Shops Globe

Is he too funny, he just makes me laugh! I have a garden where I feed the birds and squirrels and I just love those little guys. I like to feed them mixed nuts during the holiday season (when they go on sale :) So, since so many people actually dislike squirrels -- my place is Squirrel Heaven cause it's a welcome little haven for them! I've had so much fun with them over the years. Naming the babies too :) Luckily, I started feeding them before feeding the birds, so they don't annoy me for getting into all the bird food :) My whole family enjoys squirrels too, as well as watching the birds.