UPS delivered 6 Tightwads to my front porch today. He called out "Live Plants!...Like you need some more!" :) They had a wonderful bonus. Their fall color is stunning: purple to bronze to bright red. I ordered them from Sooner Plant Farm. This was my first order from them. They give a twenty percent discount if you order more than 3 of the same kind of something. Their service was excellent. I actually got an E-mail THIS MORNING to expect delivery TODAY. And, it was some of the best packaging I have seen for mail order plants. I will order from them again for sure. Thanks to you all for your help in making the selection. I am looking forward to next summer already. And yes, Ken, I did squeak a bit....:)

It's true that where I am in So. CA, the roses can get really really big in a hurry. Many times I had to find another spot for a rose because it got much bigger than any description in the book or catalog. Some tolerated the pruning and some wanted to be left alone. I think you just have to try and see what works best. I was trying to keep my Heritage at 4 feet like I saw at the LA Arboretum, then I saw a big poofy one in someone's yard and was smitten by that look. I have an old no name climber going up an apple tree that I ignore. It has a few ancient canes and all the young growth is sky high. I never see any new growth from lower down and I wonder if I should have cut it back years ago. Whatever happens, I'll just enjoy the plant as long as it's there. I think it's too late now to try removing the old canes. When the HTs are left alone, they get so tall. Lagerfeld/Starlight and Honor will go way over my head and the flowers are up in the sky where no one can see or smell them. Then too, when you cut the flowers, a wierd kind of pruning happens and the canes get shortened by taking the flowers off. I suppose just snapping off the hips is best, but I can't resist a bouquet. Around August, I get some strange tallish looking HTs and everyone is talking about plans for a nice fall flush and how they are going to trim the plants and when. I usually cave in at that point and shorten them down because they look untidy from the street and I have fall flush visions in my head. Besides, the flowers look terrible in the summer heat and I am longing for some really pretty ones in the cooler weather. Some years it's better than others. Last year, I had a great big crop of fall flowers on the DA roses after a light pruning, but the year before was not spectacular even though I thought I pruned them the same. This last year, I left a few alone, thinking they did not like the 2007 fall-flush pruning and they did nothing in the fall of 2008 but are now really dense with wood so I am hoping for a big spring bloom this year. Regarding my modern HTs, I notice that if I just snap off hips, they have intermittent flowers up to the hottest times in summer. Then when it cools off a little,there are intermittent flowers until January. I can't seem to get a big bloom in fall unless I deliberately prune them. By January they are really tall again and it's hard to enjoy the flowers on the HTs when they are up that high. I like it when people can see them and smell them. If they are out of reach, no one pays any attention. The first roses of the year are like celebrities with the fresh mulch and new shiny leaves. If I let them alone and they flower off and on through the winter, I wonder if they would have the big spring bloom I always look forward to.

I have heard that Walmart is going to stop carrying DMC floss, but so far mine still carries it. Hoffmandis.com is a great source for charts. You cannot order from them, but you can figure out the ones you want and have a shop order them for you. I can't find charts any more at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or Joanne's. I prefer local shops for my charts & nicer fabrics. Seems the Aida is getting to be a lesser quality, even from Charles Crafts. I've not checked into buy it in bulk at Hobby Lobby though. I lived in Austin for years & had access to the best shop in the world there, so I was spoiled. I left there in 97 and still haven't found a brick and mortar store to compare. Ginger's Needlearts, Austin, TX. Her site is not that great, but if you are within a couple of hours of Austin, it is well worth the trip. Stitches N Things is an online shop that is brick and mortar in MI - she's got one of the best online newsletters and sites. I do need to get some fabric. I'm in CO now and there is one store within an hour of me. I checked in Boulder...Ginger said there used to be a great one there, but it's closed in the last few years. I believe there are a few in Denver and I need to go check them out with my SIL next trip down there. I'm also wanting to go to the one in Cheyenne as soon as the weather settles--in June. (we had snow in May of last year :)) Cathy - where do you live in Tx?I did find a shop in W Texas online--can't remember the name now but the gal I talked to was lovely.

oh, enough w/ thanking people for being part of your special day--I swear, I'm gonna gag if I see that phrase one more time. plus, they haven't even shown up yet! Stick w/ "we're hoping you can join us" or "we're looking forward to seeing you" They're cliches too, I know, but they're not as goopy! (frankly, one written "thank you for coming" is enough--save it fr the thank-you notes after they give you a gift. Sure, they're doing you a favor coming, but you did them a favor INVITING them, feeding them, etc. I consider it a major honor to be invited to a wedding; the bride & groom don't need to grovel)