Thanks for the complements on the teas, but as you'll see most of them are other OGRs or even HTs. Thanks for reminding me of Barcelona's special non-tea status, Jeri. I'm relieved to see your comments since I remember a posting from you years ago scolding people who would say "sure, you can grow teas in zone 5". That's one of the reasons I made sure to put lots of qualifiers on this post - in hot, dry, protected zone 5, you can grow mostly unexciting teas, sometimes... Still, Seil, it's delightful to hear I have company in this kind of experimenting, and I look forward to hearing what kinds of teas and other OGRs might do well for you. Jeannie, it's great that your teas grow to their more magnificent potential for you, and we'd love to see pictures! Ok - here as promised are the closeups of the teas. Anne did a very nice job guessing with a wide shot like that and pegged most of them - the teas were #13, 16, 11, and 4. Yep, one bloom each for 11 and 4, and not very impressive at that. I'll show you closeups of all 5 teas that still survive. First, the better blooming teas - #13, Madame Antoine Mari. It's only about 3 feet tall in its third year (whereas you couldn't keep it that short in California), but it blooms reasonably well off and on in the summer. If all my teas bloomed this well, I might be foolish enough to plant more of them. Maman Cochet (#16 in the photo) is a little above knee height and has survived our winters fairly happily. Since she gets hit with the full force of the west winds, she's the first to get protected in the winter. Georgetown Tea is probably my oldest tea, with over 5 years growth on her, and she has the occasional bloom at the front of the border (#11 in the photo above). You can't see but one bloom, even behind a drooping Savoy hotel. Just to prove she did bloom... I couldn't catch a photo of the whole bush with blooms on it, so here it is from a few days ago, still under 3 feet tall. Here's Mrs. BR Cant with most of the bloom in focus (#4 in the group shot). The next photo gives you an idea of how tall she is, and she's probably my biggest topping out above 4 feet. Now for the contrast - here's Mrs. BR Cant in the background looking more or less tea-like (#4 in the photo), and that tiny 18" wimpy twig in the center front is Duchess de Brabant. (it's the one not remotely visible in the group shot). She's 5 years old, and a toddler could jump over her. To be fair, she gets shadowed out by Queen of Sweden and lots of clematis, and she's supposed to be among the smaller of the teas, but really... I can't recall ever seeing a bloom, but I keep holding out hope, and if she's going to survive I'll keep giving her a chance. She's my poster child for "don't think you're really going to grow teas in zone 5". In case you're curious, here are the rest of the rose IDs by number (I think) - obviously I mix roses and never have one bed of any particular type: 1 - Charlotte Brownell 2 - Dream Come True 3 - Jeanne Lajoie (up a shepherd's hook) 4 - Mrs. BR Cant 5 - Queen of Sweden 6 - yep, Dr. Huey - I had no idea it really could look this nice. I actually potted it up after I ripped it out, since I've only ever deliberately shovel pruned one rose. I figure I kill anything in pots, including philodendrons, so only the good Dr. has a chance anyway. 7 - Scepter'd Isle 8 - Rountuit - the only time it blooms all year (sigh) 9 - Madame Isaac Periere - a terrific OGR for our zone 10 - Vick's Caprice being smothered by MIP (he gets back at her in the fall flush though) 11- Georgetown Tea 12 - Savoy Hotel 13 - Madame Antoine Mari 14 - Acropolis 15 - Careless Love (mine rarely has that lovely stripe) 16 - Maman Cochet (just barely) Cynthia

No-one noticed the look that passed between Jeeves and Bunter as they hurried to collect the few remaining guests and herd them to the elegant drawing room. Cece was growing impatient. She had an important meeting to attend and wasnÂt used to being kept waiting. She fixed a cigarette into an ivory holder, lit it and tapped her blood-red finger nails on the ten foot square partners desk left to her by her immensely wealthy third husband. "Why this delay?" she demanded of Chris. My goodness to think they had been roomies in their sophomore year at Vassar. Chris was from one of the oldest Baltimore families, the InthevalleyÂs went right back to pre-electricity days. She was a person worth cultivating. Chris eyed her friend speculatively from behind half-closed eyes and coughed loudly. "Ring for the maid to open a window, Cece. The smoke is bad for my health and the smell in here is getting worse." An ancient shapeless maid creaked into the room, holding a duster and a blood-soaked copy of a little regarded Booker prize winner ÂThe Siege of Krishnapur. The wealthy American matrons eyed her with distaste. Since the US had annexed the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom had become the fifty-something state the standard of hired help had gone right down the pan. "Vee. How many times must I tell you not to drip blood on my Maplewood floors?" Cece didnÂt know why she continued to employ these old-world wet-backs. They showed her scant deference, and couldnÂt make an Old Fashioned or a Whiskey Sour to save their lives. She has won Jeeves in a poker game, he had refused to work without Bunter from whom he seemed inseparable and Vee had arrived as a Special from Wal-Mart. But as Chris had pointed out she did have a cute British accent when answering the phone. "When you have opened the windows, Vee, make sure you have ironed the creases out of my white gloves. I have a meeting of the Junior League in an hour." She turned to Chris. "I plan on ousting Mrs Van Staedhowser III as chairperson of the fundraising committee." "Yeah" thought Chris. "And be voted Phenomenal Woman of the Year. Should be easy with all the money from those three so soon lost husbands." Vee watched as the two old buddies made their way towards the now-full drawing room and ignoring the instructions from her employer headed back to the mudroom where three policemen from Scotland Yard (now a branch of the FBI) where throwing themselves against the door. The smell was getting stronger . . .

Thanks, Sheila. For some reason my brain had you living near Seattle - obviously not. I have relatives in Ashland, and I know how hot it gets there. You are right - our climate (now) is not that hot at all. We have only made 100 one day all of this summer, and most days have been in the 80s, with a few in the 90s. My mystery Dijon tea (the current bush I am dealing with, not the ancient one which is still living inside of a hedge) was originally planted in our side garden, among several tea roses. They are thriving, blooming with large blooms and very happy. At first it stayed small with very small, only pink blooms. Eventually it disappeared entirely - the nearby teas were overwhelming it. I had to actually crawl under them to find it, and yes, completely shaded by them, it had some larger blooms of the soft buff color peeking out from their cover. So, I guess here shade might be the answer - I don't want to move it again until its roots recover from being moved about 2 months ago, but we have decided that that shady corner of our new garden might be a good place for it. The shade cloth is just a short term attempt to keep a little less sun on it until we move it, and see how it reacts. I can't complain - one of the reasons I love old roses is how variable their colors and blooms are - have to be careful what I wish for! Jackie

Ingrid, I still have some roses left, but in the main they're not thriving. Kim diagnosed powdery mildew. The ones that are left are starting to look not just sad but out of place. Mme Lombard soldiers on, but I'm not crazy about the colour most of the year. It's rather a harsh pink once it heats up. In Spring she was lovely though. Marie van Houtte is still huge despite me cutting away more than a third, but there's a mass of dead stuff underneath. G Nabonnand is very leggy and dying back constantly but still has beautiful blooms sometimes. I bought Bliss Parfuma 2 or 3 years ago. I had it in a pot and it didn't do well but planted it out a few months ago and it is giving me more pleasure than any other - fat, blush pink, fragrant blooms. I added Mutabilis (lost the previous one), Lady Hillingdon and Rose de Rescht (substituted for Mme Caroline Testout which I really wanted) this year. They look ok so far, but Mrs BR Cant in the same area is dying back severely. I really must pull her out. She had a few sumptuous and fragrant blooms in Spring (without the tan colour), so I've been reluctant. We're really enjoying our new native areas though, so it's not all doom and gloom! As for my health, thanks for your concern. I'm sure I'll be sorted soon! The procedure was very easy. I may need another one but am fine with that.