If your diseases work out to be like mine, I'd say: -- Paul Bocuse for a very ornamental bloom and excellent fragrance and doesn't grow out of bounds. If I had to pick the healthiest, easily-manageable rose with a large, old-fashioned bloom I have, I'd say he's my best. -- Bow Bells has less fragrance and the bloom is simpler, but she is even easier to grow well (like you can forget to water her!). Still doesn't grow out of bounds (here). Low thorn, too. -- Bonica is very easy, with no fragrance. Just a really easy rose that still has blooms that are more HT-like than most of my workhorses. Her blooms are smaller. Great hips late in the year! -- Morey's Pink is prettier than Bonica, imho, and just as easy, but the blooms are getting a bit small for this list. The quantity of well-formed blooms and ease make this one of my top 5 roses, so I have to suggest her, though! No fragrance to my nose. I've heard great things about Our Lady of Guadalupe, but I've never grown her. I adore the Kordes roses, but mine kind of sprawl and grow more unruly and large unless I train them or prune certain ways. I don't mind that a bit, but that's why I didn't include them or other roses that can get a bit wild and big. Weeding is tougher, etc. I just think the others are easier, but my Kordes are certainly healthy.

Thanks for the ideas and input -- - On the tax revenues issue: No doubt, a scrape and rebuild produces more revenue than leaving an unimproved old house. But in our specific case, the tax base would be increased by allowing us to expand, and remain flat by denying our variance request since there's no chance of a 'scrape' happening while we're still living here. (And we'd live here a while since reselling would be so $ painful.) In fact, if they don't allow the expansion, we'd be foolish to invest ANYTHING in improving our property further as it would probably be considered either a white elephant (no master BR or functional garage) or a scrape by the future buyer -- so sold for lot value. (Reference prices: Lot $800K, w/ Phase II ~$1.8M, post-scrape ~$2.2M) - We've already talked to each of out neighbors about our plans for the house, and they said supportive things. Of course putting it in writing or taking the time to show up in person is a different thing... If you were on the zoning variance board, what type of communication would be most persuasive to you? I could draft a letter/petition and ask them to sign, ask them to write their own letters (who's got time?), or?... - The reason we split Phase I and Phase II was because we were not 100% firm on the space configuration for Phase II. Well, not certain enough to draft it and permit it. And indeed, our vision for the space has changed substantially a few times -- though most recently back to the original! But there seems to be very little sympathy on the board for either the "old administration said it would be OK" or the "it'll be financially devastating" arguments... - I'm not sure how persuasive the 'landfill' arguments would be since our little village doesn't have it's own landfill and hauling off construction debris would all be on us in any case.

At the very local level there are many Block Clubs in our area, and there's a larger Historic Preservation group and also the Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). My husband is the current president of our particular Block Club. It involves an area about 9 blocks square, and tends to focus on safety, crime, restoration and beautification issues with a lot of socializing mixed in. We are a non-profit organization. The website DH created for it actually includes a lot of information about the larger area. The HPOZ includes an area about 3 times the size of the block club, and focuses exclusively on individual building's restorations/remodelings. Here's its part of the general city website: http://www.preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/adams-normandie The local Historic Preservation group, the West Adams Heritage Association, is a much bigger organization, with hundreds of members. It's been active since its founding 25 years ago in saving many historic buildings, creating a network of people who live here, it has a great newsletter, it pressures the city when necessary, etc. It also is a non profit. It hosts large tours 3 times a year. I was on the Board of Directors for about 6 years. http://www.westadamsheritage.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 (My husband also created this website.) All 3 groups have by laws and rules, but aren't dehumanized by them. And sure, there have been internal conflicts, some pretty messy. You can't have any group of humans without some conflict! But our need for what these groups accomplish is great enough to be able to overcome just about anything. Here is a link that might be useful: Block Club

Jamies, Would you by any chance be talking about Indian Village? If so, then you know that it has always been a desireable area and the prices fluctuate with the general economic times of the city, but even during really bad times, there's a premium paid and a constant interest in this area. I would think an area realtor could get you some specific historic data over a fairly long period of time, including previous economic downturns (or check city tax records on a handful of specific properties) to see how they've fared over the years. I'm not sure comparing Detroit to another city will be all that helpful. But if you think Detroit in general will turn around? I grew up there. Moved west in 1981. I go back regularly. It always seems one step forward two steps back. Although there's lots of big money development projects from time to time... from RenCen to Comerica Park, there never seems to be a real renaissance in the neighborhoods. I pulled this data from the web: Detroit City Population 1950 1,849,568 13.9% 1960 1,670,144 -9.7% 1970 1,514,063 -9.3% 1980 1,203,368 -20.5% 1990 1,027,974 -14.6% 2000 951,270 -7.5% Est. 2007 918,849 -3.4% To lose 1/2 the city's population in a constant 50-year decline is pretty shocking. A saw another statistic of more than 40,000 vacant homes in the city, just rotting away. Here's another article about the specifics: Detroit to host summit focusing on home foreclosures November 19, 2007 By ZACHARY GORCHOW FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER The foreclosed vacant house next door to Kristi Katsma in Detroit's Indian Village neighborhood symbolizes the potential rot the foreclosure crisis creates for neighborhoods. Broken into repeatedly and stripped of copper piping and architectural elements, the house on Seminole is one of many that residents have banded together to help, setting up security systems and caring for the yard in hopes of protecting their neighborhood's character. "In part, we're doing this to safeguard our investment," said Katsma, 37. "The longer a house is empty, the more it's in disrepair and the great a chance that it's going to get broken into." With thousands of foreclosed homes like the one on Seminole eating away at Detroit's neighborhoods, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will announce Tuesday that several mayors from across the country will convene next week in Detroit to brainstorm ways to confront a crisis that is plaguing communities everywhere. Key areas for discussion will be ways for the city to work with lenders and community advocates to target homeowners in danger of foreclosure to prevent them from losing their homes, get borrowers in adjustable rate mortgages into a lower fixed rate mortgage and confront the security and blight issues created by vacant houses. Kilpatrick will also soon begin appearing in a series of public service announcements on radio and television where he urges people to confront any problems they are having or could have in paying off their loans by calling their lender or a financial counselor. With the collapse of subprime loans and the poor economy, banks have seized thousands of homes in Detroit and throughout the area. Just last week, the firm RealtyTrac reported that the Detroit metro area ranked second in the nation among the 100 largest metropolitan regions with one out of 33 homes subject to a foreclosure filing. One source of angst that will be a topic of the mayor's meeting is how to address maintenance of homes in foreclosure. After neighbors caught a man who had broken into the neighboring vacant house, police detained him, but the bank that owns the home declined to press charges, much to the neighborhood's fury. Steve Wasko, president of the Indian Village Association, said residents have done all they can with efforts like "Saturday board up parties" to board up broken windows at vacant homes and need lenders to take responsibility. "We're now at the limit to what we can do," he said. Here is a link that might be useful: Detroit Economic Growth Corp.