Pink H.P.s that I love dearly include: 1. I've never seen an H.P. as delicate as: "Comtesse Cecile de Chabrillant", Darling pink roses have a delicate shape and style, and foliage is abundant and attractive making this a good plant for near the front of a border. Fragrance is moderate. Near San Francisco this rosebush blooms as often as an average H.T.. I love this rose more and more each year. 2. "Arrilaga" produces amazing roses, large pink rose blossoms that have a spiral center, of an elegant hue, which can appear a bit bland in too much sun. A rose I could never mistake for any other. Lots of foliage makes this a pretty plant. "Mrs. John Laing" for for its' lovely though elusive lilac hues which however only show here in the cool spring and autumn. I planted alyssium around her to help cover her bare calves. 4. "Pauls' Early Blush" I've long preferred this pink rose over the Bourbon S.D.L.M. for a shorter border plant. "Early" is a true statement, it blooms weeks before the other H.P.s and also blooms as often as an average H.T.. 5. "Miriam Wilkins" if you can find it in Europe,blossoms of a medium pink, very fragrant and one of the healthiest H.P.s I've ever seen.. 6. "La Reine" and "Grandmothers Hat" I love equally. I find "La Reine" to be more fragrant. All the roses listed above are grown without any spray near San Francisco, where conditions favor p.m. greatly and blackspot less often. "Ulrich Brunner fils" a bit of a gawky plant, but fragrant, substantial blooms, gets more p.m. than those listed above where I live, but not enough to defoliate at all, or decrease bloom. "La France" was originally sold as a Hybrid Perpetual though I would consider it borderline for its long buds. I would grow it for it has a lovely fragrance. Red I was recently seduced by "Hugh Dickson" which wowed me in a neighbors garden, for I usually greatly prefer pale roses to those of a red color. Very large crimson roses sometimes open wide enough to show yellow stamens. Truly deeply richly fragrant of Damask rose. In our part of the world, it is very healthy for a red H.P... "Yolande d'Aragorn" was suggested to me for its beauty and fragrance. Best wishes for beautiful roses, Luxrosa

Six feet tall? If this rose suddenly disappears from your garden you'll know who stole it. I ordered this band from a very reputable nursery and would be terrified to dig it up and look at the roots. I doubt it could sustain such trauma. For now, I'll just keep babying it and see if this year brings any improvement. It does have some tiny nubbins of new growth on it, and overall the rose looks healthy, what there is of it. Since it's the runt of the litter I do have some sort of maternal affection for it, when I'm not feeling exasperated. I'm hoping this rose season will bring a miracle. Thank you for your input. Ingrid

I think that in Mobile, we are too far removed to participate in a plant swap such as this October fest you are planning. But we had to back off watering as well, even with an irrigation meter. I bought two 85 gallon plastic thingys to put under the downspouts, and it promptly went into drought mode. So I did not install them yet. Also, the new strip of land we bought from our neighbor was cleared in the early spring, and that is under the pecan trees and gets afternoon shade most of the year. But going back there, where I've planted the bananas, elephant ears, aspidistra, leriope, etc, it feels like a sauna most of the time. I can feel my hair drooping. And somewhere in the middle of all this, I fell in love with hostas. Getting some with the fragrance gene seems my best bet, but I'm really gambling with it. My brief flirtation with zone 5B MA gardening is coming to an end this fall, so I'll devote full time to real south Alabama gardening. Even with all its trials and being beyond the zone for many gorgeous plants, I can chop down camphor tree shoots with the best of you guys. Even if I have to take small pauses quite often.

Belle Gallica, how do Austins do for you? Paul's 'Marianne' and 'Allegra' are listed as zones 6b-9b and 4b-10b...probably due to Austin parents? 'Marianne' is from 'Abe Darby' and 'Allegra' is from 'St.Swithin'. Also, 'Etienne' (4a and warmer) is from 'Chianti'. I know from experience that they rival the old classics and look every bit OGR/Gallica, although I'd say 'Marianne" looks like 'Gloire de Dijon' and 'Charles de Mills' had productive sex. I grew 'Etienne' but gave it away to dear friends who had never seen such decadent, beetroot blooms. The 'Allegra' growing in Paul's garden is speech-defyingly exquisite and my current obsession. I grow a young 'Marianne' since I kept purchasing her, growing her, digging her up and passing her along to people who fell in love. I'm RVR waitlisted again for the other two and WILL NOT dig up and gift my current 'Marianne.' I hope you have wonderful luck with 'Rosa Mundi'. She's lovely! Lindsey, maybe there should be a thread asking everyone to guesstimate the bloom period of their Gallicas, including Paul Barden's? I know, in general, his do bloom for quite a stretch in my garden, but I've never calculated how long, and mine are all rather young because I keep giving them away to friends or acquaintances that are both unfamiliar with them and bewitched by their old rose beauty. Since they are easy keepers here in Portland, I know they will flourish in their new homes unlike blackspot-on-a-stick HTs. I tell everyone that they are like camellias and rhododendrons. Who wouldn't grow a camellia just because it only blooms once a year? Sheila, love the Duchesse! Chris and Lindsey, I'll try to find a shot of my Indigo, too. I have one somewhere. To me, 'Indigo' looks and acts like a (moderately spreading) Gallica, smells like a Damask and repeats like a HP/Portland. It's very healthy here. No "damask crud" noted. How's its health for you, Chris? Carol