"Water is the best fertilizer" -- Sure is! And we are getting less and less of it. We did have some unusual cold this winter, and the few HPs and Damask Perpetuals LOVED that. I think it was even good for the Teas. But when the rain stopped far too early we knew we were in trouble. Ingrid, MY list may or may not be helpful to you -- because though we share sandy soil and drought -- we are still markedly cooler than you, over all. And our air is more humid. We do best with Teas and Chinas -- and when I say that, I mean that those roses do some of their best blooming here during the late Fall, the Winter, and early Spring. When things get hot and dry, they shut down. And I think that's one reason so many of them have survived with no care. 'Mme. Lambard' bloomed almost without a pause through Fall, Winter, and into spring. She had one big hurrah, and went bloomless, and I thought to see nothing more from her, for a while. But, deadheaded, she is now covered with new red growth, buds, and opening blooms. De la Vina Mystery, if you could get it, might work. Mons. Tillier, Rosette Delizy, Mutabilis, Archduke Charles FOR SURE, Grandmother's Hat FOR SURE. Mme. Berkeley, whose bloom schedule matches Mme. Lambard pretty well. Old Town Novato hangs tough. Look for White Surprise, which is amazing. RAGGED ROBIN -- Gotta have Ragged Robin International Herald Tribune. But the problem, of course (as I said above) is that these roses which are so good FOR ME, here in a coastal climate may not work in Ingrid's desert setting. Kim's list would likely be better for you. Jeri

Some Echeveria I think? It was just labelled with a stick that said "succulent" and the nursery I bought it from was *packed* that day and I didn't feel like being a pest. *shrug*.

Don't you just love how the Christmas tree looks with presents under it? All that color is so beautiful! Lucy, what a wonderful time you had watching Madison get her jeep! I know the exact feeling. When my oldest grandkids were about 7 and 4, I got each one their own motorized car, Barbie and a sort of motorcyle. We wrapped a huge box with smaller ones inside until they got to the smallest one that instructed them to go to grandma's room. We had a huge bow on each of the cars, and boy were they happy. My now 2 y.o. GD has both cars, and we have to watch her in the backyard because she knows how to push on the pedal and go! We aren't starting our celebration until 9 AM, and I can't wait until I see my grandbaby get her rocking horse that I got her! Merry Christmas and eat all you want, LOL!

Thanks everyone for commenting on having the baby! We have yet to take a photo next to my tomatoes that I was watering...no pun intended! But, I will get a photo standing there with him!! We had joked that I would "have him" in the garden, and with the 25 min. delivery, after I HAD to finish watering my tomatoes before going to the hospital, it almost happened! Funny! So.....do you think that planting early has caused my fruit to set early? Do you think that the tomatoes will stop producing earlier than last year being they are started earlier? I put my plants in on about...the first of May! Oh....I have some plants that I can not reach the top of.....should I just CUT the tops off before fruit sets up there and I need a ladder? It is rather comical!