Folks if you like orioles, enjoy gardening and have the space I have a truly cool tip: plant a grape arbor. I live in Boston near downtown and have always enjoyed gardening. Living in the city, seeing orioles was a rare treat... but not any more. Three years ago I planted a concord grape and trained it up to cover our 2nd story deck. The number of birds attracted has risen exponentially of these three years. Seeing ten orioles at a time is now pretty common. Also attracted are cardinals, jays, and catbirds. There are so many birds out there right now that there probably won't be enough grapes to make jam once they fully ripen. Do I mind, not at all

WTG, Claire! Good bird mother. That's a happy thrush. Glad your power stayed on. What a relief. I can't answer nhbabs's curiosity about why we Southerners only see Hermit Thrushes in the winter, but after checking my 'Thrushes' folder, yup, all the pictures are in winter. They must summer in NH and winter in the flatlands, I guess. Today is the first time I was able to capture a RB Woodpecker twice in flight after leaving the suet cage. Downloaded a free copy of GIMP, (a free rendition of Photoshop) and tried to superimpose the two pictures. I need practice, but here it is: Jane This post was edited by corunum on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 16:29

I think soil amendments and other care is more likely a problem, rather than alkalinity, in growing rugosas in Southern California. You are probably right Ingrid that most roses planted here are not planted in strictly native soil. But mine are because I want roses that like the natural conditions here. And from what I've read on rugosas, they like lean, sandy, fast draining soil. That is precisely what I have. Those that seem to get into trouble with rugosas (and some others such as Reine des Violettes--Jon in Wessex, England, grows his on chalk, which is ultra alkaline, without chlorosis) amend the soil, heavily mulch, fertilize often, and repeatedly add acidifiers to the soil. I've never used an acidifier to the soil for my roses. It is too alkaline to grow things such as blueberries (many in the neighborhood have tried unsuccessfully for years). But rugosas look fine. I have 9 different rugosas and none seem to have any trouble with the soil/conditions in my garden. Some are even grafted on multiflora (from Pickering, and that includes Wild Edric), which doesn't seem to matter. There is a theory that these roses do not to like alkaline soil, but I think this theory is flawed. I haven't had any problems, yet I don't do anything to prevent them. Here's a photo of Wasagaming, in between Reine des Violettes and the hybrid tea Limelight. All are in very sandy, lean soil up close to, and in the root zone of a huge ash tree (trunk is around 4 feet in diameter). No soil amendments for any of them when planted. No mulch except what they get from the ash tree's leaves. Fed occasionally with diluted fish emulsion. Nothing else. Water from the garden hose. Surrounded by native California salvias which would not tolerate rich treatment. Sorry, this was a vertical picture and Houzz turned it sideways. RdV is at the bottom, the small plant in the middle with the white tag is Wasagaming, the green leaved rose at the top is Limelight. Foliage on the rugosa Snowden (own root from Heirloom): Foliage on the rugosa Polareis (grafted on multiflora from Pickering): Foliage on the rugosa Frau Dagmar Hartopp (own root from High Country Roses), arrived September 2014 and was baked in shipment like Wasagaming. I have her in a tomato cage to protect from canine friends: Foliage and blooms on the rugosa Wild Edric (grafted on multiflora from Pickering):

Hello Girls the box is safe and sitting in my kitchen. I may wait till tomorrow so I can enjoy it.. I cleaned the community garden today. Pulling wood stakes ,string and labels. Anything that will jam up a rototiller next year. Then had to unload and clean the car. My hands are killing me. I am looking forward to see what my OBF friends have included for next years garden Thank you