I understand a number have, which isn't surprising given the position they are planted in and the abundant over growth which has surrounded them for years, trapping moisture, shading them from light and competing underground with their massive root systems. Teas and Chinas can be quite prone to mildew in the wrong conditions, which that space became over time. Very little, if any, "collecting" occurred in the recent past and everything which grew there when we had our very active volunteer core was replicated and spread everywhere they were accepted. My "function" as a volunteer was propagation. I admit I was obsessive about making sure anything which didn't appear to be readily available in the Combined Rose List was propagated and given to any and every nursery and garden who would take it. I've lost rare things before being able to share them. The Huntington had lost rare things before being able to share them. Ralph Moore freely shared rare and interesting things after he learned the hard way, he lost the only plants of something important simply because he treated them as proprietary and didn't spread them around. After suffering that, he made sure anything he valued grew in as many places as they would be accepted. Several of us had the pleasure of restocking him with things he created, used then lost. Had I not shared the seedlings with Mel Hulse for The Heritage, Rayon Butterflies, Annie Laurie McDowell, Super Jane and a few others would be extinct. He was the good steward who preserved them until needed. Every rose in the Tea and China collection; every found and Bermuda Mystery Rose; every polyantha; every rose in the Study Plot; every older HT and floribunda; every odd species which grew at The Huntington was reproduced and sold at the Symposium and Friends sales; shared with Pixie Treasures (now gone), Ashdown (now gone), Sequoia (now gone), Vintage, and several others. Very many I grew in my old Newhall garden and shared freely with anyone seeking cuttings of them. I never want to hold the last unicorn horn as I am sure to lose it. That's too heavy an obligation to endure. I've spread every rose I ever imported as far and wide as they would be accepted to insure they remained here in case mine were lost. It worked with many and failed with several. I imported Louis Lens' Pink Mystery and spread it everywhere I could. It is extinct in this country. The same with R. Arkansana "Woodrow". Anything old, rare, unusual, desirable which grew anywhere on those grounds through the early nineties has been propagated and spread far and wide. Whether it has remained spread around or not, I can't guaranty, but every effort was deliberately made to get them "out there" to preserve them. After that time, there was a deliberate shift at the Library to replace volunteers with docents and the main efforts to collect and propagate ceased. Some purchases were made, but the whole focus changed from preservation and distribution through propagating our own plants for the sales to obtaining commercially available, five gallon, bud and bloom plants. The market changed from "collectors" of the unusual and rare to the "coffee table book crowd" who were willing and able to pay $35 for a pretty rose in a five gallon can, where "collectors" were thrilled with small plants in gallon cans for $6 to $6.50. That change was well under way when I stopped volunteering and working the plant sales. Initially, the commercial stock was donated. That changed as the industry suffered greater losses until I understand the stock was purchased for resale. Potting up commercial bare roots for sale is much less labor and time intensive than collecting cuttings from the gardens and other venues, striking them and nursing them along into retail worthy plants. It takes one-sixth the quantity to produce the same gross dollars at $35 each than $6. It takes significantly less labor to move a couple of hundred five gallon rose than it does a thousand gallons. With that said, no, I don't expect any earth shattering, exciting discoveries to be made from the rose audit there. It's very much the same with what happened with the Mildred Mathias Rare Plant Collection at UCLA. While Ms. Mathias lived and collected plants, they were the only source for their wonderful collection. Once she wasn't collecting and the university didn't support new collecting, often not even supporting propagating what they already had, what they originally had exclusives on became common from multiple growers. Just six years ago, the last I had access to that collection, I could buy two inch pots of "rare" salvias from them for $13 COST each, or four inch pots of the SAME salvia from nearly a dozen other sources for $3 cost, each. To remain a 'rare plant source', you have to continue adding rare plants. Once you stop, what was rare quickly becomes common. Kim

Vickie - I would highly recommend Adamas. It blooms like crazy and multiplies very fast. Val - I purposed didn't make them too wide so I could reach the blooms without breaking off buds or scapes. Ellie - I'm glad you liked Bewitching Eyes. It was an impulse bid on the Lily Auction. The opening price was so low I couldn't resist, and no one else bid on it. I really liked the first bloom and I hope it will continue to have similar blooms even when it's hotter. Chris - I think Ruby Lipstick has only had one bad bloom in five weeks. The blooms are always fully opened and perfect when I go outside at about 6:30 a.m. Yes, that is cardboard under the raised bed. It's all those Priority Mail boxes that my new daylilies were shipped in, plus a couple more boxes. Debra

Beth, I have been so delighted and educated with all these posts. I love the evolution of your wonderfully charming home! You are an amazing woman! I share several of the decorating dilemmas you've mentioned. My "living room" is about 2' more narrow and 2' shorter than your area. I'm learning a lot from your post. The repurposed gun cabinet idea is absolute genius. Please share a photo when you've installed the shelves and contents. Regarding the non-glare glass for your larger artwork. The price of non-glare glass has become simply ridiculous. I have an entire hallway lined with (Gasp!) a family gallery wall. It includes photos from more than 100 years ago to this year's school pics of the great-nephew. Color, colorized, sepia toned, black and white, all mixed together and mostly in their original mismatched frames. That just about breaks all the rules, but I love my wall. Several of the older photos - Mom's 1954 graduation photo; MIL's 1952 wedding photo, etc. - had plain glass. I can't tolerate the glare either. I made a note in my iPod of all the frame sizes that needed replacement non-glare glass. Every time I'm at a thrift shop or yard sale I check out the "frames" area. You can often find large pictures that may be in horrid frames, but they will have non-glare glass! I buy the frame, take out the glass, and toss the rest. I found one very large print of ballet slippers framed with non-glare that was big enough to cut down into several pieces. It made one 8x10 and three 5x7 pieces of non-glare glass for my wall, all for $1. With their permission, I took the glass out at the shop, tossed the faded print, and re-donated the empty frame back to them.

Thank you! The Captain is sending out suckers in the direction of little Alfred de Dalmas, that's my only worry.... I should probably remove them right? I've only had to deal with suckers once but it was a DA rootstock and a) it was easier to locate and remove, I just had to dig down a bit at the base of the plant and cut it away with secateurs, and b)I didn't care so much about it. I have anxiety about accidentally damaging both John and Alfred, roses I love very much. Perhaps I'll take photos and you can advise me.... Ingrid, I think my disease-free spring is probably over. It's rained AGAIN (that ol' sun-rain-warm combo)! And I'm starting to notice rust on Capitaine John Ingram, a little mildew on Baron Girod de l'Ain, and I can just SENSE GC wanting to misbehave and develop black spot or something.... if only it would stop raining for TWO SECONDS!