I think 2 Miss Bateman will look great on that small a fence area. They may look lonesome the first couple years but not very :) This is how she looked the first couple years when she first began blooming in spring. The pic is labeled Henryi. She was supposed to be our 5th one.... She kept blooming a month ahead of our other Henryi. She is the first clematis to bloom here. Foliage and blooms were a little different than our Henryi. Finally identified her as Miss Bateman. She is the only clematis blooming for us right now. Henryi gets to be huge here. You may want to do more checking about him. I've seen reports that he isn't very vigorous. That always surprises me. I don't doubt the accuracy of the reports. I just can't imagine the monster being a wimp. that is our first (planted in 1999). I put a wire hoop on the fence to let him get taller. I don't want to let him spread much in that spot. He will shade too many roses. That is of the same one (taken with the camera held at arm's length over my head). You can see some white blooms in the background by the gate. Two more Henryi are planted on either side of Ernest Markham. They and Ernest are overwhelming the climbers Dublin Bay and Fourth of July. That is the only spot available to let clematis go crazy and climb to the eaves. Deb loves it. You can see some white blooms. There are more high and right. That was a pic of Ernest and I left them out. That Henryi gets 10+ feet tall. He is just unreal for us. I don't spend a lot of time caring for clematis. I am a rose guy. The clematis were Deb's idea. Most of the time I spend with them is keeping them from wrecking the roses. Pink Fantasy is going to be moved. This is her 4th year and she needs more room. There just isn't any room between Miss Bateman and Niobe. She grew a bit taller than the fence last year and I didn't have room to wind the vines along the fence. She does not want to stay 4 feet wide. I'll be moving her over on the west fence between Gillian Blades and Polish Spirit. Deb loves her. I like the clear pink of Hagley Hybrid blooms more than (what I call) the muddy pink of Pink Fantasy. I can only imagine how large she will get this year. Had to toss that one in with HH in the upper right :) Yard photos That link will open a new browser, there are some yard pics in that section of our floribunda album if you want to see some overall ones.

Since you have a car with unknown service history, it would be a good idea to perform a complete service on the car. That way, you will can start fresh with a new history. I'm not sure how much change in coolant temperature is normal for your vehicle, but what you describe is beginning to appear a bit too much. However, if your weather is as hot as it is here, that may be normal. 1. Yet, I think it is a good idea to drain your coolant, flush and refill with fresh coolant plus water pump lube, and change the thermostat. 2. Replace the spark plugs and ignition leads. This is a good time of the year to do items 1 and 2 above while the weather is warm. Don't wait until frost arrives. Tire noise due to uneven wear often make sounds in sync with wheel speed, or a multiple of wheel speed. Wheel bearing noise makes a grinding sound and may not be synchonous with wheel speed. However, you have a Subaru and many of those have all wheel drives. The noise you hear may be in the drive line. If the noise is quiet while going straight, but increases while turning, suspect the front CV joints. If you have a transfer case, check the lubricant level in it. Inspect all joints in the drive line.

I am "just me" as well. Here's what I do....and eat for 2 meals and freeze the rest. 1/4 cup chopped onion 2 T chopped green pepper Sautees slowly in 1 Tbs olive oil When starting to soften, add 1/2 pound lean ground beef and a large clove of garlic sliced thin or chopped. Sautee and stir until the meat is broken up and no longer pink. Add one large can ( think it's 32 oz) of whole canned Italian plum tomatoes. Break them up with your hands, and add 1 small can of continadina (other brands are bitter) tomato paste, and fill the can with dry red wine and add that too. Add herbs...1 bay leaf, 1 tsp dry oregano and 1 tsp dry basil and 1 tsp of dry parsley. Cover and simmer at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over cooked pasta. Makes about 3 to 4 servings. Or....this is more likely to happen in the summer. In a 10 inch fry pan sautee a small sweet onion, half a green pepper and half a red or yellow pepper in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When slightly softened add 2 small zucchini cut into chunks, or one zucchini and one small peeled eggplant, 2 cloves of garlic, several mushrooms...4 to 5 small ones, and 3 or 4 fresh peeled cut up tomatoes. add a handful of fresh mixed basil and parsley with a little oregano or thyme is you have it fresh... Cook fairly rapidly stirring often until most of the liquid has evaporated ands erve over pasta....top with Fresh grated parmesan. Oh my....I love summer!! Linda C

Thanks so much!!! I am definitely in the lead. I did have a bit of a bummer though Saturday and I wanted to mention it for you Quartzite owners. I was re-sealing my Quartzite and realized that it now has two HUGE etched spots. We had a BBQ last weekend and I had a dispenser of Beergaritas (tequila, beer, limeade, and lots of lime juice) and I guess someone had spilled some and it didn't get wiped up right away. I am so tempted now to try at evenly etch the rest of it. I'm probably the only one who will really notice it though. Hopefully I will win this contest so once I have that beautiful Arabesque backsplash, REALLY no one will notice the etchings!