David, I want to add to what the others have said. I have really missed your posts and gardening comments and those beautiful pictures to make it all come to life for us. I have saved several for reference...you have touched so many lives with your garden, you should be very proud. I hope everythings gets resolved in a satisfactory manner for you and you can get back to gardening, even a tiny one. It is great therapy, as, I am sure, you know. Best wishes from the lower Midwest. gld

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 414 PM PST MON DEC 5 2005 ...FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 8 AM PST TUESDAY.. A FREEZE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR TUESDAY MORNING FOR THE SACRAMENTO AND NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEYS. A COLD AIRMASS IN PLACE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COMBINED WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS NEAR MORNING WILL PRODUCE FREEZING TEMPERATURES. OVERNIGHT MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 25 TO 28 DEGREES OVER MUCH OF THE AREA WITH BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES OCCURRING FOR 4 HOURS OR MORE. CAZ015>017-019-060815- /O.NEW.KSTO.FZ.W.0001.051206T1100Z-051206T1600Z/ NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY- SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 414 PM PST MON DEC 5 2005 ...FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 8 AM PST TUESDAY.. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 8 AM PST TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER TO THE MID AND UPPER 20S WITH TEMPERATURES REMAINING BELOW FREEZING FOR 4 HOURS OR MORE. A FREEZE WARNING MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE IMMINENT OR HIGHLY LIKELY. THESE CONDITIONS WILL KILL CROPS AND OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION. PROTECT EXPOSED WATER PIPES TO KEEP THEM FROM FREEZING. $$ Brenda

Many thanks Steve. I live in Spokane by the way and yes you are far from the INW! I have tried the IEDS and haven't received a response yet. I actually did dig one up yesterday when I cut them back just to see how visible the eyes were, which they are. I wont be able to dig them up until Saturday anyhow and we're supposed to freeze tomorrow night. Looks like it's experiment time! My main concern at this point is storage. I'm going to prepare their winter "bed" and stick a thermometer in it to monitor temps for now. A bit colder in Chewelah, where did you store? Also, what are your feelings/experiences with fungicide treatment (as opposed to none)? After sleeping on it that's about all I'm left pondering. Thanks again for the response!

Thanks for the encouragement! I had a busy morning and dozed away the rest of the day yesterday, so it was fun to read all your comments this morning. Ingrid, the pink rose is Princess Charlene de Monaco. Not an OGR, but lovely and fragrant. Anyway, progress will go from my usual crawl to a near standstill, now that it has gotten so warm. I am kicking myself for not getting more done while it was cooler. Here is more of the bed that gets the morning sun and afternoon shade. That's the DA Mary Rose in the center. I have a lot of flowering tobacco in here, most of it lime green. There is some of the Mutabillis here as well, but I cut it down. It reaches 8 feet high by June, but always reseeds, so I'll be seeing it again. The red in the picture is more flowering tobacco. I purchased seed one year, and somehow ended up with red. Every year it reseeds, because I'm just too slow about removing things once it gets hot. Lots of cardboard here. I was happy to read that you have a cardboard garden, as well Carol. It looks bad, but it's the cheap and easy way to go! I even have Hosta and a few Astible in the shade here. I planted them 5 years ago, before I knew better. They get extra water from nextdoor under the fence. That's the only reason they've survived.I know a good tidying up would help in here. Perhaps one evening when I'm feeling up to it. The very last of the Nicotiana mutabilis. It is lovely in full bloom, with fragrant dark pink, soft pink, and white little trumpets, all blooming at once. I'm hitting submit. I don't dare lose this. I must be getting braver, or losing my mind because I'm just about to show a very wide shot. Where are all the others? Robin?? I'm airing my dirty laundry here in hopes that others will see that ALL gardens have a place on this forum. Virginia, yours is too lovely to count. It's lush and well kept! I like the watermelon turk watchamacallit too. View from the patio, looking towards the morning sun/cardboard bed. Veggie box between patio and bed. View from the patio looking to the slope. Arch unsecured, more cardboard, more plans, more work:) On the right side of the arch is newly planted Lady Ashe climbing rose and Rooguchi clematis. They are being shaded from the afternoon sun. Ingrid and Sheila, I do have some Tea roses. I have Duchess de Brabant, and Flamingo Garden Tea. I feel as though I have more... brain foggy today. I kind of thought Paul Barden's October Moon and Siren Keep might have some Tea in them, but it looks like SK does not. I don't recall October Moon. I wish those Teas didn't get so ginormous here in So CA! I know I am in prime Tea growing land. I live on a tiny lot, and want to grow a variety of roses with annuals and perennials in between them. I like bouquet material!! I wish there were some that truly stayed 3x3 in So CA. Marlorena, yes I love the Orlaya. I bought a single plant last year, knowing I could scatter the seed around. I had not counted on how much better it would do this year, with its earlier start and our extra rain. It is 3x as large as the original was last year. They've thrown things off quite a bit in that bed. Well, now I know not to place them in front next year. Virginia, you're exactly correct. I couldn't stand the thought of all that Privet hedge instead of roses. The craziness was thinking I could remove any of it myself. The spot where I hacked at it was to give the Winchester Cathedral Rose in front of it some more light and air. It was doing so poorly. The roots of that mighty hedge sucked every drop of water and nutrients it could get for at least 10 feet in every direction. WC has bloomed more in the last 4 months than in the 6 years previously. I am so happy with the new space, with one drawback. My patio is now hotter. The hedge no longer shades it. This will be resolved as the roses grow. Anna-Lysaa, that slope is my biggest challenge! I emphasize with you. I did put one enormous climbing rose at the top. I tied him to the fence and I let him trail down the hill. He covers a lot of ground already, for only being in the ground about 8(ish) months. I only had space for one giant, and chose Paul Barden's, Mel's Heritage. I love it! I need to take a break. I'll have to look for mistakes later. "Herding cats", is no longer just a funny saying around here:) Lisa