Pretty! This is a catmint, right? If so, do you find that it attracts cats to your pretty garden and that they roll all over it, or not?? I have neighborhood cats that freely roam, and while I am definitely a "cat person", I don't want to encourage them to visit (unless they will deal with the chipmunks!)...

That is just beautiful, Jeri! Growing up in TX, I have a real sentimental spot for China roses. Orange Smith’s wonderful example of watercolor darkening is one of the characteristics I love most about Chinas! Thank you for sharing. A real day enhancer! Carol

Our friend’s son’s wedding was planned for October 2020, they had booked at a beautiful venue. Of course, As arcy_gw mentioned they had a very difficult time getting back their deposit. When the venue reopened the couple tried to reschedule,. The original booking was for a Saturday afternnoon/evening event, once the venue started working with the couple to reschedule, the venue had no available Saturday nights for over a year. The venue coordinator tried to to get the couple to take a Sunday, not what the couple wanted at all. Apparently the venue had been adding in new bookings but not rescheduling the cancelled events. After a couple of months of back and forth the couple couple’s large deposit was returned. The couple were able to book a beautiful venue that had just opened, for a Saturday night October 2022. The venue was fabulous, but they had to spend twice as much for this location, so that was a big hit financially. Thankfully, all of the other vendors worked with them, no deposits lost. The couple did have a small wedding for immediate family in October 2020, at the groom’s parents home. No vendors involved. We were not directly impacted, although I do beleive it changed the end result of my daughter’s wedding. I do understand that the issues related to her wedding are nothing compared to those who had already booked dates. My daughter’s engagment was delayed: her fiance had already asked for our blessing, he planned to pop the question during a trip to Sedona, booked for April 2020. The actual proposal happened in Sedona in March of 2021. Wedding dress shopping in 2021 was still difficult, no Saturdays appointments for a couple of months out, so my daughter took time off work to go during the week. The large bridal salon limited the appointments to 2 brides at a time, and a max of 2 people with the bride. My daughter did not plan on a large entourage but she had wanted to bring her aunt who does not have any daughters, along with the moms. Vendors were much more difficult to book, and venues were basically unavailable on a weekend for up to 2 years,. The end result was a lovely wedding for immediate family only, at our home the Tuesday before Thanksgiving 2022. The small at-home wedding was a complete blessing when we had to move the date at the last minute due to the groom’s father falling and fracturing his skull 3 days before the original date, a Saturday in October 2022. 5 months later they had a larger casual party at a brewery to celebrate with extended family and friends. Everyone is happy with the outcome but I do feel bad that they had so few options. I feel worse for my son who graduated college 2020 and never had a graduation ceremony.

Just beautiful, Esther. Those are wonderful choices for a new garden and they are obviously healthy and happy roses. You have started with some classics that have stood the test of time. I hope you will share them with us again in June. That seems so far away, but I know I will be scampering to get the early spring chores done so I can enjoy the roses in June. Zone 7 would be my dream zone to grow roses! Thank you for giving us a first look at what's to come.