I also prefer cool colors in roses. A few evergreen rosebushes will increase your bloom season by another 1 and 1/2 months to 2 months a year, these include "Reve d'Or" a soft yellow with apricot that bleaches to palest peach in hot summer sun. We keep it grown as a 5 and 1/2' tall shrub but it also makes a beautiful climber. I would plant that in the very center of the beds as a taller shrub. "Mlle. Cecille Brunner" is the full name of the shortest form of the rose of that name. This one grows to be c. 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide in our zone. Hortico.com sells it as do most vintage rose nurseries. Tea roses have beautiful blooms that repeat more often than Hybrid Tea rosebushes grown under the same conditons: the smaller Tea rosebushes that can be grown in a 3'-6' plot include "Lady Hillingdon", a soft hue of apricot, against plum hued new foliage. Easy to grow and a great favorite among Tea roses for more than 100 years. "Mme. Antoine Mari" c. 5' X 4' heartbreakingly elegant light pink and cream blooms against pretty foliage. "Westside Road Cream Tea": one of the smallest Tea rosebushes that matures at c. 4 and 1/2 feet tall, by c. 4 feet wide. vintagegardens.com and roguevalleyroses.com both sell this lovely rose. I have two of these flanking my front entry walk, beside two "Mlle. Cecille Brunner". Noisette: "Nastarana" white and "Narrow Water" pale pink are both quite fragrant both maturing at c. 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide. All Old Garden Tea rosebushes and Noisette rosebushes have abundant foliage and to my eyes, show a more graceful growth habit than the upright and rather rigid growing group of Hybrid Tea rosebushes, just my opinion. A real advantage is that being evergreen, most Old Garden Teas and Noisette rosebushes keep their foliage through all but 4 weeks during winter, where I live. Best wishes for a beautiful rose garden. Luxrosa

Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, is almost always monoclinous (hermaphroditic) but occasionally is andromonoecious (having male and hermaphroditic flowers).

Thank you, everyone, for the welcome! Roselee, I looked at your garden and it is beautiful! Phoenix, I was on the fence about starting tuberosa and think I'll go ahead. I have an idea for overwintering it. Omar, I see you like to trade too. :) Wantonamara, maybe we'll "bump" into each other occasionally on a topic. lol Lou, yes the gardens at SFASU are awesome. I hope to attend the plant sale this fall. Once again, thank you all for a warm welcome. LaDena

If you are buying a lot of furniture, you really should go to North Carolina (Hickory and High Point especially). The furniture stores are vast, and the prices much better than most places you will see in the US. If you time a trip for after market, many of the stores will be having sales. If there are particular lines you like, you should get on the mailing list--they'll let you know when they are having specials. I lived in NC for several years and I ended up furnishing about 8 homes (mine, family members, and friends) exclusively from deals picked up in the clearance centers. And of course, don't forget your local 'Craig's List' for used furniture--that can be the best deal of all. It helps if you've looked at tons of furniture, because then you can spot quality, you know makers you like, and you know not to believe everything the previous owner tells you. Virtually everything advertised on Craig's List is called 'solid wood' and about 10% of it is. I love a beautiful veneer, but that's more rare than the solid wood. I have some wonderful second-hand furniture, and you might want to consider going that route too. Good luck, and happy shopping. And when you do, make sure you check out your shipper--movingscam.com is a good forum to find out companies to use and avoid. (Yes, I have been through the nightmare international move--it turned a $15,000 move into a $50,000, be sure to start researching that NOW. But double verify everything, before they start loading, licenses, permits, etc.) What was a good company, can turn into something awful very quickly.