Thank you, Mike and Mom! Your words are appreciated very much! Honestly, I don't think too much about color when planting... it just worked out nicely, I think. I'm more concerned with height and size, to be honest. I always seem to be in such a hurry to get everything planted that I really don't have time to coordinate, but I much prefer a wilder look, anyway... like that's the way things just grew! The Knock Out series can't be beat for ease of growing. I highly recommend roses from this series for those gardeners just beginning to grow roses. They require very little care... a little shaping or removal of dead wood in early spring, some fertilizer, and enough moisture and sunlight will keep them happy and blooming all summer. All they require for winter is a good layer of mulch, and I let the leaves that fall and other debris stay on the garden until spring, just as a little added insulation. I have a couple of the Sunny Yellow Knock Outs growing among the other roses and perennials, and I love the double reds and the pinks! The yellow fades a bit as the blooms age, but they're still very nice. Mike, yours looks lovely! And there isn't a weed in sight! Our gardens are loaded with weeds at the moment! We did have a girl helping part time, but she quit. I guess weed pulling wasn't as glamorous as she thought it might be. I don't know why, but there seems to be a lot lacking these days when it comes to work ethic. Everyone wants to get paid, but very few are prepared, or equipped, to earn that pay. Jude the Obscure is an English rose, from David Austin. It's a lovely and very full bloom, fragrant, with a very subtle color. I love the English roses, though they seem not to be as hardy as some other types. We have several Austin roses, though we mulch them a little heavier, and try to plant them where they are afforded a bit more protection. So far, though, it has survived our brutal winters like a champ. It's funny... when researching roses for cold hardiness, different sources seem to assign different zones to each one. We're zone 5, and growing own-root roses affords us a little more cold hardiness than growing grafted varieties, but we still have to dig to find out which sources are being truthful and which aren't. We're able to grow a few roses that are listed as only being hardy to zone 6, but those are the ones that we give a little protection to, and the ones we are prepared to lose in the event of an exceedingly cold winter, different from the norm. I don't have the time or energy to baby any plants, rose or otherwise, so if a plant can't tolerate our climate and environment, it can't be here as part of the landscape. We've lost a few roses along the way, but it's a good learning experience. We replace the lost varieties with different ones, always keeping to our goal of growing own-root, very hardy roses that are preferably scented and continual blooming. Some of the Old Garden roses aren't continual bloomers, but they put on a heck of a nice full flush in spring or summer. It's sometimes a sacrifice we're willing to make, just because the rose variety will be very heavily scented, or because it has a unique color or shape, or some other wonderful quality. The Clematis is almost a blue, leaning toward purple. I think it's a common variety, having large flowers. It probably looks more blue due to my camera, and the fact that it's in the shade in the photo. It's not really that blue. I think it might be Jackmanii, or another of the more commonly sold types. To successfully grow Clematis, it helps a lot to plant companion plants that will shade the roots of the vine. Clematis love to have their "heads" in the sun, but they like their "feet" kept cool. If no shade or thick mulch is offered to help cool the roots, Clematis will often wilt or sulk. Ours are planted on the west side of a tall fence, and they all have other perennials growing to help keep the root/soil temperature cool. Once established, they bloom very reliably. There are several other types I'd love to grow, and now that we have the new fencing up for the rose gardens, I have more space to add a few! Believe it or not, we grow everything in the gardens organically. I've used no sprays, no chemicals, no insecticides or herbicides. We rely very heavily on the good predators in the gardens, such as toads, tree frogs, snakes, birds, spiders, and we have cultivated a rather nice population of praying mantises. We've been really lucky not to have any infestations of aphids or other pests. The only bad bugs that we occasionally battle are the Asian Beetles, which can strip a garden bare if you let them! For those, we might be forced to use a chemical, but we haven't had to so far. I just came in a little while ago. I filled and emptied my large wheelbarrow twice with weeds, and that's about all my body will allow for one afternoon. I'm tired, sweaty, and my back is sore! I feel dehydrated, so I'm sipping some cold water. I might go back out and try to get one more wheelbarrow filled with weeds for the day... it depends on how revived this cold water make me feel! :-) The pictures would look a lot more professional if there weren't any visible weeds in them! But, I'm only one person... and good help is hard to find! I'm glad you enjoyed the rose tour... there will be a lot more as the different roses bloom. New Dawn is loaded with buds as I write this... only one is partially open. It should look amazing when the whole plant is in full flush! There's a miniature climber full of buds, also... they should open into loads of small pink blossoms! And my favorite, Autumn Damask, is soon to bloom, too! The Lilies, Daylilies, Gaillardia, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Monarda, and other perennials have yet to bloom... This is why I love it all so much... it's a constantly changing palate of color and shape and texture and scent... a feast for the senses! It's often overwhelming... I just love taking the camera outside, and wandering the yard in search of the latest blooms! Well... there's more to come... stay tuned! :-)

When you have some time on your hands do a search for ...philosophy of gardening. Many thoughts and history expressed there to get your mind around. Lots of memories flashed through my mind as I read the original post. Through the years good fortune has blessed me with customers who taught me that gardening philosophy is unique to each gardener. The 85 year old famous military person who wanted to buy a single English holly in a small pot to be planted where he could watch it grow. Another woman of fame who would wander into the nursery, garden gloves in her back pocket offering to give me hand. " I have pulled all my weeds. Nothing to do in my garden today. May I get my hands dirty here for awhile?" The numerous customers who would leap from their cars demanding to know "what is new? I must have it." And those who would wander with enjoyment through the growing fields touching and smelling, reading labels. Then leave without buying anything. I learned that each customer had his/her own agenda, own gardening interest and philosophy. I tried to take time to talk with them all and they in turn became friends. We were partners in the earth, each growing plants for our own interests and needs. Every customer had a gardening story or growing tip to tell me. I listened. And, as you all know, thoughtful gardeners are kind and sharing people. Today, many are turning to organic gardening and are begining to understand the frustrations it presents. We all understand the philosophy of organics, but how to cope with the day to day problems discourages many. Do I grow a lawn? Am I a bad person if I grow a lawn? Etc. Etc. We get many questions on this Forum from those encountering growing problems in their organic yards. Sadly they do not do a Forum search before asking as many of these questions have been answered over and over. Some of us have tired of responding and pretty much dropped out. To define the Philosophy of Gardening each gardener should question himself, why he gardens and what satisfaction level he receives.

Yes - as Carol23 says. Not strictly-speaking a weed since it is not a native plant here. It is considered a rare alien in the wild in the UK so yours will probably have been planted by someone either in your garden or nearby. Would cost you �3.50 at the link. Here is a link that might be useful: persicaria capitata

Thank you for the suggestions. Today I mowed a bit low with the bag on to catch all of the flowers that keep popping up wherever this weed (which I think is spurge) is. Normally I mulch mow, but today I wanted to decapitate the weeds. I think that my amended "hybrid" approach this year will be: 1) organic feedings...which I have been doing since last year 2) preemergent....which I didn't do last year and paid the price for it 3) spot spraying 4) no weed-n-feed or large scale spraying But I think I am going to wait it out a wee bit longer before deciding on any spraying at all. I think I will let the grass grow high, spend one day pulling the spurge, put down a bit extra preemergent, and then hope, hope, hope that nothing grows back. My big decision will take place in the fall. I really want to renovate with an elite kbg, but I don't know if my wife will let me. Plus, I can't stomach the thought of spraying Roundup all over the lawn. The only thing that makes spraying the Roundup palatable is that a healthier stand of an elite kbg will be a better guard against weeds and will, therefore, require less spot spraying.