Yes, it is a burden but speaking as a mom myself we will water to help. You can show me how just remember that I don't love or understand YOUR orchids the way you do (possibly you're mom/dad never had or did well with plants) Don't require the plants to survive if you do this, just remember that each time they were watered for all those college years ,whether too often or too little, they were watered by a volunteer who loves YOU dearly, not your plants :) Also remember that the same holds true for your vacations, camps, long term away because of school group activities, and times when you are too busy with clubs/sports and need coverage. Things can get crazy in high school if you're involved in lots of stuff. Same also holds true for cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils, fish, snakes, various rodents, etc.....Yes, I have a daughter in college :) Since you have a lot of time yet why not see if your mom/dad might be interested in learning about orchids now. Could end up being a shared hobby, the quality time thing. You never know! Getting involved and knowing people from a local orchid group is also a great suggestion.

I made my collage yesterday, entered the coupon code in checkout (opting for store pickup), but for some reason the system kept trying to charge me! Granted, it was only about $5, but still. I tried to chat with a rep online, but was left in the queue forever. I may try again today. Not sure why I was having trouble getting it to go through correctly yesterday! Anyway, it is a very good deal (or it will be, if the coupon code is accepted!). Thanks for heads up, Lynn!

So, I've decided on adhering the photos on stretched canvas, with a nail head trim. I've got a test piece going, and bought two 28x48 inches which I plan to hang horizontally on my wall. The first pic is my test piece. I tried putting the decoupage medium on top of the photos, but didn't like that. I do plan to get my pics reprinted in matte, rather than glossy. So, questions: --I'm thinking of experimenting with an antiquing glaze to soften the contrast. What do you think? --the nailheads: I'm having trouble getting the tacks in straight. I don't know if it's my poor hammering technique (quite possible); if my hammer is too heavy, or if it's because the surface of the tacks is not even. Are there any tips you can give me on this? Second pic is a sample layout on the larger board, so you can see what I'm thinking. Comments appreciated!

Diane - Thank you for nice comments - especially from such a great gardener! Just wanted to say a bit more about Leander's size. I often refer to the book below by Clair G. Martin who was the curator of the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA as a helpful guide to many of the older Austins. Martin has been very accurate in his descriptions of the size and character of roses like Brother Cadfael, Happy Child, The Prince, and Prospero to name a few. His guide distinguishes between warm and cool climates, and offered a more realistic idea of what a warm climate grower of Austin roses could expect given how different the climate of most of England is compared to most of California. Here's what he says about Leander's size: Stature and Habit: 6 feet x 8 feet (warm climate); 6 feet x 5 feet (cool climate) "Like 'Cymbeline', 'Leander' shares a problem with others of the same habit: It grows much wider than tall, and unless self-pegged, it flowers only at the ends of the long, sinuous canes. Self-pegging will help to control the size and encourage more flower production. Otherwise, this is definitely a rose for a low wall or fence where the arching canes can be trained to display the charming flowers to their utmost." He says a lot of nice things about this rose and he clearly likes it, but wishes the growth habit was different. Here's a collage I made of photos I took of Leander today using my weed bucket as a reference point for size. After six months, he's about 18" high and about 2.5 ft wide. The lower right corner shows how the blooms are sitting on top of the canes, which corresponds to Clair Martin's description. Leander and Brother Cadfael (which I've had for 5 years), share Charles Austin as a parent. My expectation is that Leander will be wider, about 5ft compared to Brother Cadfael's 3ft or so, but about the same height, 6ft as the tag from DA says. I'm sure there's someone out there who grew a 14' Leander but I'm going with Clair Martin's experience, and my experience with BC in my climate. Here's a lovely arrangement from the Celebration of Old Roses earlier this spring which was aspirational! I had already planted my Leander but was happy to see and smell this beautiful bouquet. I wish I could have talked to the grower; many people kept coming back to Leander to check it out and smell it. My Madame Ernst Calvat is a sport of Madame Issac Periere which is a darker pink version of MEC. Both are beautiful and fragrant, but typically I prefer a medium pink over dark pink. MEC is a bourbon rose and not a once bloomer; she has bloomed sporadically since the spring flush but she's still so young, and not too developed yet. I've heard that if she's "well grown", she'll do very well in terms of re-bloom, but we'll see. Recently a bird dumped a huge amount of poop all over her and I had to clean all the leaves after it had dried for awhile. So if well grown means poop cleaning, I guess I've done my part. :)) I have considered Chianti, but I'm afraid I don't have room for once bloomers. It's a lovely rose though! Ann