I don't quite know what happened with my post. I've seen the text go to the right margins when a photo is too large, but my photos were all "normal" sizes....... Molie, now I just want to cry!! I ordered a paprika earlier last year to go in a bed where I have crimson Pygmy barberry and wanted a hotter colored bed. They shipped me cherry pie by mistake. Called them and they sent a replacement. Sent cherry pie again, so they must have had them all mislabeled. I kept both in the bed, but they're both going to get ripped out and moved because the cherry color just doesn't work and I really yearn for the orange. Now that I see what paprika really looks like in your garden, I'm going to try again to find them. Bill, your garden is VERY special. Don't ever underestimate it. You should self-nominate for the Garden Conservancy Open Days program. It's a real gem that other gardeners would really enjoy. I just looked at my camellia that I purchased earlier this year (thanks to your pictures!) and it has ONE bud! Woo HOO! It's such a little plant I really didn't expect anything. In your experience with smaller camellias, do you think the bud will actually open? I'm half expecting it to whither on the plant. Or have you bought all of yours a bit bigger? If its better to answer this question on your camellia thread that's fine with me.

Hello Michelle, Showing is fun. A vase of flowers like that may fit into the display section of the Rose Society Victoria's Rose shows. The schedule for the spring show is just about to be sent out. You do not have to be a member of the Society to show your roses at the shows but it is much easier if you are I think. One of the monthly meetings per year is dedicated to showing people how to Stage their roses for showing, but I think that is usually before the Autumn show in March. Max Marriner is the show manager and will steer you in the right direction. Joyce Chapman ( not Janice) is the current acting Sceretary for the Society and she is also very helpful to novices at shows. See you in November Laurie. Vivienne

Below is the info. that Floweraremusic (zone 5) in Washington gave on her 2020 winter-survival. She has alkaline clay with rocks at bottom like mine & less snow in winter: "My hardiest roses are the Canadians. John Davis, John Cabot, Wm. Baffin, Morden Sunrise, Morden Blush and Morden Centennial, Victorian Memory aka Isabelle Skinner, also a Canadian rose. All these only have tiny bit of tip damage and bloom a lot with no special care. Also, my Hybrid Perpetuals only have tip damage after winter. Magna Charta, Mrs. John Laing, Black Prince and Marchesa Buccella. The only negative is they don’t have long enough cutting stems. All my Austins are very hardy. The one I just can not grow is Jude. Leonardo da Vinci is super hardy and always healthy. Quietness comes through winter very well. Even Rouge Royale survives beautifully. Cinderella Fairy Tale is very hardy. Gruss an Aachen also. Ballerina and Marjorie Fair are both hardy. Poseidon, Princess Charlene de Monaco and Crazy Love didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. The surprise losses this year are Quicksilver, and Dames de Chenonceau who is left with only 1 cane. Versigny is also reduced down to almost nothing. This was a mild winter with very little snow. " Floweraremusic (zone 5). From StrawChicago (zone 5a with hard black-gumbo alkaline clay & less snow but with freezing rain in winter). Versigny didn't survive winter either. So I lost Versigny TWICE. Besides Versigny, other wimpy own-root roses that don't survive winter well: Paul Neyron, Anna's Promise, Pink Peace (own-root died 1st winter, but grafted-Pink Peace survives many winter), Elantyne, Jude the Obscure, Young Lycidas (bought as grafted-on-Dr.Huey, now with only one cane), Mary Daly, and many floribundas don't survive my zone 5a: Pink Chiffon, Sheila's perfume, King Arthur, Deep Purple, Shocking blue, Honey Bouquet (survived 1 winter). Polka Climber (survived 1 winter), Cloutilde Soupert (died twice on me). Sutter's Gold didn't survive winter, same with many fragrant mini-roses from Burlington nursery. Below are my hardy OWN-ROOT roses in my zone 5a alkaline clay, only Double Delight, Young Lycidas and Lavender Crush are grafted-on-Dr.Huey. Bold-faced are the very vigorous ones: Own-roots with 3 feet of green canes: Carding Mill (since 2012), Princess Charlene of Monaco, Duchess de Rohan, Crown Princess Magareta (since 2012), Zepherine Drouhin, Lady of Shalott, James Galway, Lavender Crush, Queen of Sweden (gave away but very hardy), Poseidon (right below the rain-spout, dug down to 2.5 feet), Scepter'd Isle (very big & hardy own-root but gave that away with its lousy scent). Own-roots with 2 feet of green canes: La Reine (many winters), Blue Mist (since 2012), Prairie Harvest (since 2014), Mary Magdalene (since 2011), Evelyn (since 2012), Radio Times (since 2011), Pat Austin (since 2011), Christopher Marlowe (since 2011), Golden Celebration (since 2011), Lilian Austin (gave away but very hardy), the Squire, the Dark Lady, Wise Portia survived 4 winters but died in poor drainage clay, Dee-lish (since 2015), Twilight Zone (since 2016), William Shakespeare. 2000 (since 2011), Comte de Chambord (since 2012), Princess Anne, Sweet Mademoiselles, Aloha climber, Orchid Romance, Bohemian Rhapsody, Marie Pavie, Lagerfeld (since 2017), Frederic Mistral survived 2 winters but died when I didn't winter-protect with leaves, Sonia Rykiel (survived 3 winters) but died in freezing rain winter, same with 1/4 of the street-trees in my neighborhood, Excellenz von Shubert (since 2013), Own-roots with less than 1 foot of green canes: Gina's rose, Tchaikosky (since 2015), Cornelia (since 2018), Bolero (few winters), Peter Mayle, Sharifa Asma, Neil Diamond, Amber Queen, A Shopshire Lad, Strike it Rich, Old Port (since 2012), Veteran's Honor (many winters), Double Delight (grafted on Dr.Huey), Savannah, Tess of d'Uberville, Gene Boerner (since 2014), thornless Yves Seedling (since 2013), Stephen big Purple (since 2012), Louise Este, Mirandy, Crimson Glory, Liv Tyler survived 1 winter but needs winter-protection, Rouge Royal (bought last year with no winter-protection). Annie L. McDowell (survived 2 winters but needs a wet-spot since it's almost thornless), Nahema (survived 1 winter then died during freezing-rain winter), same with Eyes-for-you (drought-tolerant and doesn't like freezing wet winter), Souvenir du President Lincoln, Madame Issac Pererie and Madame Earnest Calvat, Firefighter (survived 2 winters) but died since it's next to tree. Bayes Blueberry (survived many winters but I gave away), Charles Darwin (gave away since it fades badly), Arthur Bell (since 2012 & killed it since I don't like the flowers). StrawChicago.

Thanks Dee for the compliment, I'm always having fun in the garden! This summer the weather was amazing, literally only four days in which I was not out there due to inclement conditions, the rest pretty well textbook phenomenal with high temperatures, glorious low humidity and very few mosquitoes, only did suffer from lack of rain, but just enough to keep things from being frustrated fried up. I did a vast amount of digging, dividing and resetting, am sure have placed 150 or more divisions and having purchased very many upright junipers, cedars and a few choice conifers. Conifers are something I haven't paid nearly enough attention to, though made a count that over the years have planted 85 or 90, and recently was nice to hear a friend say "Ohhh, Terry, just look at all your conifers!" The growing season is short and I dislike looking at a bare slate when all has been frosted and carted off to the compost, thus the conifers keep the interest going and of course are the bones of the garden. I still have some beds to fill, though am getting there, next year "maybe" I'll post some wide angle photos.