Hi folks Glad you find this list useful! I realize it's a bit of overkill of information when you might only be looking for suggestions for a few roses, but like Seil I enjoy comparing notes with others to see what survives (and decide if it's worth trying a rose that died one more time). And Jacqueline, the point for me in a list like this is to see what to grow to be as lazy as possible, since anything in my yard has to be hardy enough to thrive without spray or fussing. Enjoy the first rose season, Nummykitchen, and don't blame yourself if roses do die - I fear the HTs that have died in my yard may be as long as the ones that survived, but you never know till you try. Ispahan, glad to help and I hope this isn't too much info to process for what you'd asked about. Like you I spend a lot of time double checking information on HMF, but it's always nice to hear from someone in a similar zone with their experiences too. As for Black Lady, I dearly love that rose and it's tough as nails. It truly is that elusive burgundy dark red color all the time in my yard - no pinking out like some dark reds - and it's thoroughly hardy and disease free as far as my strains of blackspot go (we don't get mildew much here). It's one of only a handful of roses I have multiple plants of in different beds and it holds its own on a nicely compact plant of around 3' or less (both sites have some part sun). My only quibble would be the relatively small flowers compared to other HTs - no more than 2" across or less - maybe between an apricot and a plum size on a good day. I can't vouch for the fragrance with my nose, but I certainly don't detect much of a scent. Still, it's a good rebloomer and entirely trouble free from me. Tantau is another breeder I like a lot, though they do stretch into some roses that aren't good for my zone at times. Glad this is helpful and you're welcome to ask for more input on anything else I grow. Cynthia

You might look into Norwegian and/or Pacific Sunset Maples. Not real large trees, potential for nice fall color, should be fairly drought tolerant since they are a Shuntung Maple X Norway Maple Hybrid and grow rather fast. Probable not much on spring flowers, though our Shuntung is surprisingly decorative in it's small yellow spring flowers. Yellowwod might work. Old trees can get larger, but they are OLD. The Arkansas state champion tree is not what I would overall call a "large" tree. Yellowwood has hanging panicles of white flowers (there is a pink form too), fairly drought tolerant, and nice yellow fall color. There are many of them planted in a local stores landscape islands of the parking lot. American Smoke Tree might be an option, though NOTE, THIS TREE NEEDS A DRY SITE. Clay is fine, but if the site tends to stay wet, it will get root disease and die. However, you get a beautiful unique tree with potential for FANTASTIC fall color, summer leaf color like I have seen nowhere else, and the some of the the "smoke" that gives them their name, though they are not as showy in this regard as the European Smoke Tree. American Smoke Tree is also VERY HEAT AND DROUGHT tolerant. These are the first things that come into my head. As for salt tolerance of all these, I do not know. calliope, one thing to realize about Nebraska is that there are very few native trees to that state. The climate is pretty harsh, and as a result the native land form was almost entirely grassland. So the tree you found listed are probable those that can survive those conditions in a suburban environment. Arktrees

We are that way with birds too. Lovely and really cute pics of them eating jelly. I will show DH tonight. He will get a real charge out of it. The Baltimore Oriole is just gorgeous. I haven't seen them in years. I buy birdseed with dehydrated cherries in the mix. It is a good all-around mix for many species. I know the Cardinals rob my cherry trees every year. I am lucky if I have enough to make a few pints of preserves. The Blue Jays do too and they peck our peaches and apples. I just cut out the pecks and eat them anyway. I haven't seen the Cardinals go after anything except the cherries. Anyway, I love your wonderful anecdotal stories and photos. ~Annie

GH, Landreth is on the east side of B'more - probably a hike for you! I've never been there before, either, but I live on the SW side of town, so it looks like a quick trip thru the old Harbor Tunnel should get me there easily. I missed the Cylburn sale - Mother's Day weekend was really busy for me. I'm quite familiar with Valley View, as I work in Hunt Valley, on McCormick Rd, just around the corner from VV. I've bought a lot of stuff from them over the years - mostly supplies, as I grow a lot of stuff from seed, and get more stuff from the GW swaps! I've been to Watsons once or twice, but admittedly, I don't hang out in the Towson/Lutherville/etc. area, as I try to get out of there as early as possible to beat the Beltway traffic. On my side of town, we have Garland's Gardens in Catonsville, plus there are several larger nurseries in Columbia. But if I REALLY want a nursery fix, I head down I-95 to Behnke's in Beltsville.