I have an arbor & a pergola (both high traffic , so have to be nearly thornless) that need a disease resistant climber for zone 6. I have been looking at Eden, Jasmina, Nahema, Renae, Zephrine Drouhin, Heritage, Excellenz von Schubert & Laguna. I was thinking Zephrine & Laguna would be too vigorous. I am looking for a rose to grow over the arbor, not eat it. I am leaning towards Eden for the pergola & either Jasmina, Nahema or Renae for the arbor. Any experience with these roses or suggestions? I am feeling a bit overwhemed..lol. Ty in advance

Hi MiSchelle, Gee, sounds like me. I've been a member for years too and never missed a day logging in. Then, for some reason, I just became lax. Just yesterday, thought about it and 'got hooked' again:) I, too, have loved gardening since a small child. We lived in an apartment in NYC, and my grandfather had this 'garden' for me on the fire escape of a third floor!! p.s. I didn't know until years later that is illegal to put ANYTHING on a fire escape; but it was the top floor anyway:) I've never lost the love of gardening and would rather take care of gardens on ten properties than do housecleaning!! I have about 2 acres here but I learned quickly how planting here is NOT the same as planting in NY. I had to have backhoes come in to dig up all the 'boulders' and clay soil ..... only to have to bring in semis of soil to backfill. It took a good couple of years to get the soil 'right' and I still have a very long way to go. I don't know about where you are, but here it is very 'wooded' .... oaks and pines almost 100 feet high all around. p.s. IRL, I ALSO am known to "talk a LOT" :) Peggy

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. And how smart you are making this inquiry! You can't go wrong with All-Clad, but it's very pricey. IMHO, it's not worth the money. You can't go wrong with the private brands from either Costco or Sam's Club. My Sam's club set is tri-ply and does a beautiful job with whatever I'm cooking. The Costco set has a 5-ply bottome, but it doesn't go up the sides. Regardless, it has wonderful reviews. Go see the sets for yourself, paying particular attention to the weight and balance of the pans. Check out the prices for Le Creuset on Amazon. I have the 5- and 7 1/2 quart round Dutch ovens. (If I were to purchase them now, I would opt for the oval shape. It's more versatile.) Keep the heat down on the stove top and they'll serve you well for the rest of your life.

Vee, thanks for the link to the woman speaking Welsh. Mary, I listened to the woman in the video and detected the back-of-the-throat gutturals similar to the German (e.g. the /ch/ of Bach) and Scottish (e.g. /ch/ of loch). Those sounds are probably difficult for English speakers over the age of about fifteen to produce. Those under fifteen, unless they have a speech disability, shouldn't have many/any problems. I didn't notice much 'R' rolling from this particular speaker, a feature of pronunciation (such as in Scottish and Spanish) that many (adult) English speakers can't reproduce and have a tendency to disparage because of it. Many Americans, interestingly to me, don't have problems 'rolling Rs' but, of course, some Americans can barely pronounce 'R' at all. The double letters and the sounds they represent are interesting. English speakers, of course, wind up in most cases just pronouncing them as single sounds, such as giving the Ll of Welsh the sound of English L. The Welsh start with the tongue in the position to say L but barely get the sound initiated when they switch to the guttural sound of /ch/ (as in loch). Now that's a feat! It's the perfect shibboleth for the Welsh, isn't it, Vee? Instead of persisting in saying 'Welsh', I should be referring to the language as 'Cymraeg'. From the etymology of the word 'Welsh', it's a wonder the people of Cymru put up with the unflattering derivation.