Just thought I'd respond to your wish list from another zone 5 roseaholic. I doubt that Duquesa de Peñaranda or Angèle Pernet would survive well in your yard, as I've had bad hardiness from the Pernetianas and Dot roses in my zone. I also have had Belle Epoque die on me, but only once so far (which means it has two more tries) and since Mike grows it in his Michigan yard it should be fine. Jocelyn's another notorious wimp that isn't likely to get another chance with me. Among the other ones, Black Lady is a sturdy rose that mostly laughs at winter - the blooms are small but that elusive dark red I seek out. Peggy Rockefeller doesn't bloom as often but her blooms are delicious dark red and larger, and she survives in my zone 4 pocket. Aloha is tall and narrow and just in its fourth year growing beyond the 6' pillar it has been - reliably hardy, healthy and well formed blooms. I have both Polarstern and Paloma Blanca in the same bed, and Polarstern is definitely hardier and taller. I'll have to try Paloma Blanca on a warmer side of the house. Savoy Hotel has been a reliable tall bloomer, very healthy, though not as much rebloom as I'd like. Scarlet Velvet blooms off and on in my HT back bed and isn't particularly memorable for me, but that also means it's trouble free. Chic is a nice blend of colors and relatively modest grower so far in its 3rd year. Roberto Capucci is just in his second year, but a friend in my zone swears by him for regular fragrant double blooms. I'll bet no one in your neighborhood but the rest of the rose fanatics has heard of any of these roses, so in that sense they all are "rare" roses, and worth bringing to broader circulation. The more we grow these roses, the more excitement we hope to build in your average gardener to try them for themselves. Cynthia

With a subject like this, I had to see what was posted! I am one that can "see" patterns in human behavior, church bibles, priests, and preachers, or should I say religious organizations? Obviously things are going in the wrong direction, but this was predicted a long time ago. I am sure we all know or have noticed the war, weather and natural disasters are getting a tad worse each year, with a few years of breaks between? If not, read your library magazines like Popular Science and such. I am not the only one that notices these things. Of course when so many bad things are going on and reported daily in the media, people tend to seek ways to avoid the danagers and possible disasters many are predicting. It is correct to say "your world" will end soon, but that is a word riddle about life and death of any and all human government (rule) types, and lifestyles. Among us here there has already been a few endings of "world", followed by a number of new beginnings (Genesis). Change is good, normally if it means coming away from dependency on human rulers, meaning generals, and merchants also. Doing so tends to make a person feel less like a victim, and more like a "self-reliant" individual. Call it survivalist if you like, but what we are seeking is a closer move towards our nomadic parent's lifestyle; totally free of human rulers of any kind, but also linked to the natural world in a very personal way, more like the animals that tend to survive disasters. Since humans are at the top of the food chain, and can stay there with knowledge and wisdom, our only real enemy is another person wanting to rule over us in some way instead of living as an equal. Living as equals is where the sharing idea came from, but hording and merchandizing came from the "settler" way of thinking, seeking to "profit" from others. This is why the church bibles are full of stories about nomads (Hebrews) not getting along with settler (Gentile) types, and the basic message was nomadic is the better choice for a number of reasons, including peace, even if some tent dwellers tended to be violent pirates. Not wanting to preach the "Hebrew" viewpoint all that much more, let me say "organic" is wise, and requires knowledge shared among equals since the merchants have another objective; dependancy. The reason the superstores have stuff so cheap is to enslave those without knowledge and the wisdom of self-reliance. "Heirloom" fruits and vegetables don't need seed packet salers either if you know how to keep your own seeds each year, so that is why the merchants only offer hybreds; the seeds tend to not reproduce faithfully by design. Wisdom and experience teaches hybred seeds and plants are self-destructive, and continues the city victim (settler) cycle. Your deep desire for self-reliance is based on wisdom from experience and an unexplainable lust to be less dependant on others, even if this is never fully possible over an entire life cycle. We call it an instinct that tends to show itself in powerful ways during various stages in life. Think "teenager", lol, as one example. So my advice is to continue to walk the new path towards more and more self-reliance and share your failures and successes for the benefit of others just getting on the same path. In my mind this is living as an equal knowing a time will come, as before (many times over), when times are going to be tuff for the survivors among us seeking a more nomadic freedom. Why these times come, and when they come are the messages of the "seers", and predictions, some call prophecy. That is a "time of sharing" for another day and subject title. Obviously many here know by instinct they need to be more self-reliant, but may have trouble explaining why, and what is in the back of their mind. Take encouragement from my words and keep walking away from being in a victimizing lifestyle. Tsavah

I have two bhut jalokias and one naga dorsett growing, that I started on 2-1, and are already flowering - indoors, under HPS. The BJs are larger, but not by much, and the ND is the first one to have flowers that opened. Still have no idea when they will produce and ripen, but I started them very early, so I won't have to wait until Oct.! And I have a guy at work who is going to be the first to try them, that eats my gold bullets and makes comments like "I thought that was a gold bullet, not a cold bullet!" The red savinas definitely aren't what they used to be, and the testing confirmed my "unscientific" testing, though they used to be much hotter. One chocolate variety got him pretty well, but still wasn't what the RSs were years ago. I am hoping these will call his bluff... Here are the photos of their growth. It is strange, in that both loose many lower leaves, then where the leaves were, another stem is beginning to grow. Maybe this happens with habs out in my garden, but they are so packed together I don't notice, as when right in front of me like this (I usually don't start them this early). http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c18/pepperhead212/Bhut%20Jalokia%20and%20Naga%20Dorsett/

Netla, the first book that came to mind, though an old classic was Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life by Mrs Gaskell, written in the time of those 'dark satanic mills'. Modern writers from that area include Val McDermid, popular crime writer and Jeanette Winterson Oranges are Not the Only Fruit; she has become an increasing angry lesbian so don't know about her other work. ;-( You will love both Durham and York, both small enough to easily walk around and with beautiful church and other buildings. There is The Story of Durham by Douglas Pocock which looks interesting (though pricey). The site below gives some eg's of books set in/about York. Loads of history . . . Roman, Viking, railways, chocolate-making etc. Whitby is also interesting. Look out for anything from Saint Hilda to Captain Cook . .. and Dracula! Hope this helps a bit. Here is a link that might be useful: Books Set in York