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

I have no idea how it does for disease resistance, but if you are looking for a brighter orangey color, you might try 'Brown Velvet.' I bought that one just this year by mail order from The Uncommon Rose, and it is tiny, but the flowers are a very nice, bright color. Since this discussion has veered a bit towards color combinations, just thought I'd share that I have planted my new 'Hot Cocoa' not to combine with any other roses at all: it is planted with a purple sand cherry (prunus cistena) to the right, and a dwarf purple barberry to the left in the background, with some bright blue globe thistle (echinops 'Taplow Blue') and 'Naomi Ruth' daylilies in the foreground. I'm especially looking foward to the fiery combination from the purple-leaved plants once my 'Hot Cocoa' gets big enough to pull its part. I think it will really glow, especially when it has the afternoon sun behind it! :)

Super pictures, Kathy! You might find it hard to believe, but it is rather hot here, too! (joke - as I live in Texas, otherwise known as Boiling Acres!) My hybrid teas look like floribundas, unlike your lovely Ingrid Bergman, and my floribundas look like miniatures, unlike Samaritan and Joshua Bradley. Wish I could get Joshua. I hate that Armstrong doesn't sell roses out of state anymore and they have the exclusive rights to that one. Only my minis look good, like yours! I have Route 66 and Midnight Blue, and prefer Route 66 - not sure why. I also recently got Silver Star, accidentally. I bought it for a friend, and then kept it myself. Actually, she went out of town and didn't have time to plant it. Naturally, I didn't have room for it and had to crowd it in, which is a bad idea. But, it has bloomed already and I really like it. Glad to hear it blooms a lot! I am a fellow daylily lover and have as many as I have roses. As your pictures show, they are a great combo!

it's always like a heat wave in orlando LOL but that's our normal :-) going to mid 90's today, humidity near 99% (as usual). last summer we set a heat record, 110 days straight at 90 or above then last winter set record cold with both lowest temps ever recorded and longest length of time at record cold. i was sure we were in for a record summer after a hot spring but it's been pretty normal thou a bit dry. norms right now are 94/77 for 2 more months then we trend down :-) the other evening i put a hygrometer from inside the house out on the lanai, it shot up to 99% humidity in a minute LOL brought it back inside after 15 minutes and it went down to 65% LOL that's dry for us :-) it had not even rained that day! ~ liz