Thanks all.. I done ordered my "Moats"... and you know ctnchpr, I was thinking about "off" also thought about WD40... works on lots of things LOL sure makes my steps go up in the motor home..so it definitely give them ants a few slips...LOL.... Ok, now you all just fill them with water...not petroleum jelly..so that would mean as my housekeeper comes over to do the feeders she can refill too...Oh I know she'll love this ...Why not...what's one more thing..hahahaha..but she's gonna enjoy how they get to know you... they sure do watch when you're near the feeder...buzzed by me a few times ...and one was even floating by me today as I wiped away those buggers...(ants) I looked an low and behold..looked like he was in suspended animation..hahaha then I heard the buzzzzzzz and away he went.. Can ya tell I'm definitely loving this ...I know I'll shed a tear as I pull out my drive way..worrying that they will be ok...Lordy ... God Bless BarbZeee

I clean it by mixing borax or laundry soap, water and bleach in an orchard sprayer. Pump it up, spray it on, let stand 5 or 10 minutes (don't do it when the sun is beating down on the siding) then either scrub and rinse or just rinse depending on how bad it is. Bleach is only thing that will kill black mildew. The borax or laundry soap helps wash the stain away. As for the green stuff, it usually grows only where there isn't enough light and/or air circulation. Remove as much vegetation as possible and keep the grass cut low on that side. You might give some thought to whether it's possible that the mildew is behind the siding. Depending on what the siding is made of Power washing could force water behind the siding where it becomes trapped and starts growing mold, mildew and wood rot. I had the green stuff bad on the north side of the house until I cut down the cedar trees that were near the house on that side.

Trim molding can split where nails are placed with expansion or contraction (again - humidity levels and heat or cold), especially if the nails were not placed well or they were too large. Also, my home is about 25 yrs old. Hate to tell you but 20-25 years from standard builder windows is not out of the ordinary. They do neeed maintenance and there is the option to replace and upgrade. Some of my neighbors ave replaced some or all of their windows and others need to. We have been talking about it and hope to do ours this spring. I want double paned windows. The garage floor is the one thing that sounds most like a sois issue. I didn't catch where you are located. Are you in an areaig t known to have faults or earth ovement? Having extreme climate conditions over the last couple of years (aren't we all)? Your home is 20 yrs old -- it is going to require repairs. Prioritize the ones you know about and try to keep up with any maintenance so you can avoid as many ugly surprise as possible. And get an expert to come and inspect anything you aren't sure of, Most don't charge or are small eees -- and you'll sleep better at night if you know what to expect and can figure out how to deal with it.

HI Sara-Ann FWIW, every rose you list has not been hardy for me in zone 5 and I've tried them all. The only survivors have been Ch-Ching over one winter (looks dead this spring) and JFK in my warmest protected zone 6 spot for a couple of years. The others died over the winters even in my protected virtual zone 6, so that means they're only marginal in zone 6. The best thing you can do I think is give them some added protection over the winter in zone 6, so that they have a chance of some surviving cane to regrow from in the spring. As you mention, they survive so are likely to bloom eventually, but they spend so much energy regrowing all that cane they don't have much left for flowering when that's done. Some roses recover well from being pruned to the ground and are robust by June, but these roses just aren't that kind of robust in cold zones like ours. I haven't found that extra fertilizer helps with wimpy roses like this until they have some substantial growth to benefit from it, but some diluted fish fertilizer or other organics might help in the short run. Of course, virtually none of my roses get fertilized more than once so I'm only speaking hypothetically. Cynthia