OITGAD, maybe I can help you with the insertion of pictures. At least I'll try. First you have to upload your pictures to a host site like photobucket or picturetrail. It's really easy to do and when you get them uploaded, photobucket is the easiest, look at your picture and below it will be 3 lines of text. The middle one is the url. Highlight the URL and right click and copy. Come back to the forum and when you have your message typed just right click and paste the URL into the photo. *This is with Photobucket*. If you choose to use another web host then after you upload your picture you will have to right click on the picture and then click properties, copy the URL and then go back to your message and type [img src=this is where you right click and put your URL] where I have put the [ and ] you will need to change those to and that's it. Hit preview and submit. There is a test forum for pictures that you may want to try it in before you use the regular forum and people there who will help you to tell you what you're doing wrong if you have a problem. Good luck and have fun! Nancy

That one, and a pink but otherwise similar one, were from some random rose hips my mom found and sent to me. I have others from trades, those didn't bloom yet because they are rugosas and I don't think they'll bloom until they go through a winter phase. I also currently have freshly gathered rose seeds from my don juan and golden showers roses available to trade. Those are hybrid teas, a deep red and a pale yellow. I also have a new double delight and a rescued old pink noid tea rose, but neither have made hips yet.

Here's a fairly large Double Knock Out in the front yard--in the divider between my property and the neighbor's. Haven't had time to anything with it yet this year, so its looking a bit wild and woolley--and maybe lop-sided. I'll try to get some pruning done before the season is over. : ) Light blue irises came with the property when I bought my house thirty something years ago--don't know their name, but they bloom forever (for an iris). Another iris--name unknown. Sure is lovely. Here's a terrific fully packed white peony called Festiva Maxima--love that blood-red like marking in the middle of the blooms. I read somewhere once that this old classic is a good choice for more southerly gardeners, but I don't remember why. I have 4 of them. BIG blooms. Its getting so exciting now that things are nearly ready to bloom--can't believe the buds all over the yard--have never seen so many. Oddly, however, my hybrid teas are not taking over the show like they usually do. I thought with the mild winter we had, they would do terrifically well, but it seems the shrubs and floribundas are the ones doing best. But maybe that will all change in the next few weeks. This is about 3 weeks early for my roses--any of them--to be blooming. Kate

Lovely clematis, Deborah! I especially like Giselle, I’m not familiar with it. I would enjoy seeing another photo of it at some time! Sherry