Hi Everyone! I am sorry I haven't been on GW for so long. I will try to do better. Skip has been gone for almost 4 weeks, and I have had a lot going on around here, with the business, the house, the garden, looking for a job, etc. He will be gone another 6 weeks. I went down to Georgia last weekend to see him, (14 hour drive) and to pick up Devin. I have been working in the garden a lot, and my garden looks pretty good this year. I have been helping the kids a lot. Mary Kate is pregnant and she has been really sick. Throwing up 5 and 6 times a day. She had to go to the hospital once to have an IV because she was dehydrated. There were a few days that I had to go over there to help out because she could barely hold her head up. But the past three days, she hasn't thrown up, so that is good. She is due the day after Christmas. Bug, your clematis are amazingly gorgeous! Thanks for putting the pictures up. I have 4 of them, and my favorite is Betty Corning. She blooms nonstop all season. I hope all is well with Leo. I see you mentioned he had to go to the doctor, but I can't seem to find an earlier posting. Julie, glad TCS enjoyed his school year, and sorry to hear about your knife accident. Kathy, the pictures of your trip are beautiful. What a treat! Cindy, how exciting that your brother hosted a tour! It's fun to have family who has a common interest. Woody, looks like you are becoming quite the clematis collector too! I love the picture of the neighbors house on the garden tour :).. Glad you enjoyed it! Your gardens look really nice, and I wanted to tell you that I have been looking for a Bressingham Blue all season with no luck to far :). After seeing yours, it is on my must have list! Michelle, that penstemon is gorgeous!! I saw a pina colada red at the garden center yesterday, but it looked more like a foxglove. Couldn't find yours. Mary, sorry if you have been feeling out of the loop. I plan to go to Idyllunion this year, and can't wait to see you! It seems like it will be a smaller group this year, but we will have a lot of fun, of that I am sure!! I have to go now, and take the dogs out, feed the herd that I now have hanging out in my backyard, and do some laundry. Hope you all have a nice evening!! Drema

Gorgeous roses and pictures, Kathy! I had to laugh at your title. It does seem to be a rose you either love or hate. I love the blooms on mine and I agree they are not brassy at all. What I hate is the gawky, awkward way the plant grows. I've tried and tried to shape it with pruning but it refuses to cooperate!

NHSuzanne - There are two ways of organizing a garage sale. I find the best way is to group items. You can either group them by price or by categories. If you group them by price then you don't have to individually price items, which is a huge time saver. But it is harder for people to find things. If you group them by category, people will gravitate to the items they are interested in. You can buy garage sale stickers that already have the prices printed on them and then just slap those on quickly. Some clever signs and/or balloons, etc. will attract attention to the sale. I usually put items that sell fast towards the front, because we usually get alot of drive bys. If they see something they like, they will stop. And I don't know about in NH, but around here, no price is set in stone. Every one haggles and I mean even on an item priced at 25 cents. They will want it for a dime or two for 25 cents. So I price things with that in mind and give myself some wiggle room. Our kids used to set up a cooler with drinks and sell cold pop (soda). On a hot day, that will attract people too. And lastly, remember that what you may consider too junky to even put out at the sale, may be exactly what someone else is looking for. There were so many times I wanted to pitch something, but DH convinced me to put it out, and it sold. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks Seil and Ken. Ken, I don't know the rootstock, but my best guess is Dr Huey since it's commonly used here. Alana, I wouldn't say this rose needs a lot of shade. It simply put out ugly pink blooms when we were growing it full morning and filtered afternoon sun. It ended up in rose purgatory after I got sick of having an unsatisfactory rose in a prime spot. Rose purgatory is a crowded, mostly shady area where homeless roses are kept "on hold" until re-homed. The bloom color is a rich russet in the shade, but it still throws gnarly canes appropriate for a horror flick, and it doesn't bloom much. Morning sun may do the trick in your garden, especially if your weather is cooler than ours. I hope you'll let us know how yours does. . . . 
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