Thanks for the complements on the teas, but as you'll see most of them are other OGRs or even HTs. Thanks for reminding me of Barcelona's special non-tea status, Jeri. I'm relieved to see your comments since I remember a posting from you years ago scolding people who would say "sure, you can grow teas in zone 5". That's one of the reasons I made sure to put lots of qualifiers on this post - in hot, dry, protected zone 5, you can grow mostly unexciting teas, sometimes... Still, Seil, it's delightful to hear I have company in this kind of experimenting, and I look forward to hearing what kinds of teas and other OGRs might do well for you. Jeannie, it's great that your teas grow to their more magnificent potential for you, and we'd love to see pictures! Ok - here as promised are the closeups of the teas. Anne did a very nice job guessing with a wide shot like that and pegged most of them - the teas were #13, 16, 11, and 4. Yep, one bloom each for 11 and 4, and not very impressive at that. I'll show you closeups of all 5 teas that still survive. First, the better blooming teas - #13, Madame Antoine Mari. It's only about 3 feet tall in its third year (whereas you couldn't keep it that short in California), but it blooms reasonably well off and on in the summer. If all my teas bloomed this well, I might be foolish enough to plant more of them. Maman Cochet (#16 in the photo) is a little above knee height and has survived our winters fairly happily. Since she gets hit with the full force of the west winds, she's the first to get protected in the winter. Georgetown Tea is probably my oldest tea, with over 5 years growth on her, and she has the occasional bloom at the front of the border (#11 in the photo above). You can't see but one bloom, even behind a drooping Savoy hotel. Just to prove she did bloom... I couldn't catch a photo of the whole bush with blooms on it, so here it is from a few days ago, still under 3 feet tall. Here's Mrs. BR Cant with most of the bloom in focus (#4 in the group shot). The next photo gives you an idea of how tall she is, and she's probably my biggest topping out above 4 feet. Now for the contrast - here's Mrs. BR Cant in the background looking more or less tea-like (#4 in the photo), and that tiny 18" wimpy twig in the center front is Duchess de Brabant. (it's the one not remotely visible in the group shot). She's 5 years old, and a toddler could jump over her. To be fair, she gets shadowed out by Queen of Sweden and lots of clematis, and she's supposed to be among the smaller of the teas, but really... I can't recall ever seeing a bloom, but I keep holding out hope, and if she's going to survive I'll keep giving her a chance. She's my poster child for "don't think you're really going to grow teas in zone 5". In case you're curious, here are the rest of the rose IDs by number (I think) - obviously I mix roses and never have one bed of any particular type: 1 - Charlotte Brownell 2 - Dream Come True 3 - Jeanne Lajoie (up a shepherd's hook) 4 - Mrs. BR Cant 5 - Queen of Sweden 6 - yep, Dr. Huey - I had no idea it really could look this nice. I actually potted it up after I ripped it out, since I've only ever deliberately shovel pruned one rose. I figure I kill anything in pots, including philodendrons, so only the good Dr. has a chance anyway. 7 - Scepter'd Isle 8 - Rountuit - the only time it blooms all year (sigh) 9 - Madame Isaac Periere - a terrific OGR for our zone 10 - Vick's Caprice being smothered by MIP (he gets back at her in the fall flush though) 11- Georgetown Tea 12 - Savoy Hotel 13 - Madame Antoine Mari 14 - Acropolis 15 - Careless Love (mine rarely has that lovely stripe) 16 - Maman Cochet (just barely) Cynthia

With multiple stems they are likely F. benjamina, and their roots will destroy the masonry walls eventually. These trees have enormous root systems. Keep them short and trimmed back in order to protect your masonry. They get planted in CA because they are fast and cheap. Their aggressive surface roots are huge and buckle pavement and walls. Keeping them clipped into a narrow hedge will hold off damage to your walls--for a while. See if that one is getting less water than the others. Have a look at the root systems--it might scare you. Here is a link that might be useful: USFS fact sheet on F. benjamina

I'll echo Debra's comments - - first and most importantly on your new granddaughter. As for the weather just west of Augusta, GA, its been terrible. Probably by the dsame day you got 109 Augusta set a "hottest day ever recorded" at 108. I don't know how many days we've been over 100, but there have been far too many and the days it "cooled down" it was between 95 and 99! My daylilies are struggling too. Watering just does not get the job done. Friday evening, we had the first thunder storm in two months or more. What a blessing to get 2 1/2 inches of rain. Everything looked much better Saturday morning although several of my first-blooming-year seedlings are still struggling. My established beds look alot like early spring - - what I mean is only a few green leaves showing. The difference is that everything else is crispy, brown leaves. Awfully ugly! We're expecting weather between 98 and 105 again this week. WHen will it end? Larry

Well, good heavens, it is July, you know, and a hotter-than-usual one at that. It doesn't matter how good my garden looks in June, July is a garden-slayer. So, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone....and the fall planting dates are coming up! The heat makes cucumbers bitter, so you can plant another round of cukes for fall and have delicious cucumbers once again. Yellow leaves on a tomato are signs of many things. Often the oldest leaves near the bottom just turn yellow as they age, or it could be a sign of a disease or heat stress. Remove the yellow leaves. Water the tomato (at the ground level to keep water off the foliage) and feed it if you think it needs to be "boosted" at little, and you should see new growth soon. Bumpy bean leaves do indicate a plant virus but, if the plants are still producing beans, I wouldn't pull them yet but would pull them if production has stopped or almost stopped. I can't help you with the pooped-out garden helper, though, because I feel the same way....it is too hot "out there" in the garden to do much of anything. As far as $$$$ spent compared to the harvest received, it will get better as you gain experience AND in the years that the weather cooperates a bit more than it did this year. Remember, too, if you are gardening organically, to consider how much more expensive organic produce is at the grocery store. Finally, if gardening is fun and enjoyable, it is worth the $$$ spent. For me, gardening is a 'lifestyle' and I spend the money on the garden that other people spend on movies and amusement parks and vacations. Since I enjoy my time in the garden so much, it is worth the money to me. I always encourage veggie gardeners to 'try again' in the fall because often the fall gardening season is more productive than the spring/summer one. Of course, it is largely dependent on the late summer/fall weather as well as the timing of the first fall freeze. Still, the produce I get in the fall makes me forget how horrible July and August were. And there's one more "dirty little secret" in the gardening world that no one really talks about, and it is this: While it is nice to have lovely, deep green, lush, healthy-looking tomato plants in spring and early summer, it is normal for them to look yellowing, browning, sad, sick, pitiful, crispy and half-dead as the season wears on. Producing tomatoes, especially in very high heat and intense sunlight, is very, very, very hard on a plant. I just ignore how awful the plants look by mid- to late-July and keep them watered and fed, if needed, and keep on harvesting tomatoes. Am I proud of how the plants look in mid- to late-July? Definitely not. But, are they doing their 'job' of producing fruit? Yes. So, who cares what the plants look like. Hang in there. Cooler weather and the joy of fall gardening are just around the corner! Dawn