djsmiley2k - the zones don't really map too well onto our climate. I put 8/9 on my tag just as a rough idea of winter minima but over here we don't get anything like the summer heat a US 8/9 would get. re my remark about being amazed ... what I meant was that it is was not too hard to id your plants because they are all so common, not that the plants were amazing. By the way, the plant you labelled as a 'yucca' is not a yucca. It was correctly identified as Cordyline australis which is relatively hardy in the UK. It can grow much taller but tends to look rather leggy. They will reach house height after a few years. If you want to post pictures in future you can cut and paste the html code from your picture hosting site directly into your message. That way we will be able to see your pictures without going into all the individual links. Good gardening. Flora.

This is an easy one that looks great. I see it on a side street I take sometimes, so I haven't stopped for a picture. Maybe this year. Echinacea--Magnus, or even the old reliable Shasta Daisy Becky A small hosta with green and yellow-green leaves and short stalks of closely spaced, darker-than-usual, lavender/purple flowers. The bloom times mesh nicely and all the plants are very easy care. I am working on getting a stand of this going in my yard. The spot I tried is too overrun with maple roots (outside the drip line but thick with those roots nonetheless) so nothing but the daisies really succeeded there. Hard to believe, but the hostas are sulking in that spot. For a few years, I had a nice grouping of orange oriental poppies, Alaska daisies, and purple dutch iris. They all petered out, but one day I may try that again. Steve, I love your yarrow, russian sage and lychnis. I have all of those, I should just get them more chummy so I can enjoy that beautiful look. Everyone's photos are so inspiring. Much better than looking at the plant catalogs. Hepatica

Jeri, Thanks for the feedback; I was hoping you'd write in. You must have posted your first message right when I began to write mine, and so I missed it. As to growing conditions, we have more winter chill and perhaps more summer heat than you, fog not too often during the growing season, heavy soil and perhaps not as alkaline as what you describe. It's significant that rust is practically unknown here, and blackspot isn't a major problem (though I don't like it when it shows up). Actually, when I'm not worrying about drought, landslides, (earthquakes,) and the economic policies of the Italian government, I'm inclined to think that we have a perfect environment for growing roses. (I'm beginning to think this country needs a revolution, AND all its politicians struck down by lightning from heaven: it seems the only way to get rid of them.) 'Gloire des Rosomanes' is probably available in Europe, but I don't believe is common in Italy: I don't remember ever seeing it offered for sale in this country, and no one I know has it. You bet I would like to have it. I seem to recall reading that it's confused in commerce with 'Nur Mahal', in Europe I believe. Taoseeker, Aha! Several years ago I too ordered 'Comte de Chambord', 'Mme. Boll', and 'Mme. Knorr' (from Schultheis in Germany) and ended up with what looked like three identical roses...a wonderful one, to be sure. Like you I'm wondering if there's a unique 'Mme. Knorr' in commerce. I have a fourth plant arrived from who knows where, that looks like these three, but I need to re-compare them all carefully to see whether there are differences. Thanks for reminding me of the dark Hybrid Perpetuals, a group I have no personal experience with, but consider worth looking into. I don't think 'Fantin-Latour' has much Centifolia about it either; I think it falls into the category of what Vintage calls Hybrid Bourbons. It's a wonderful rose, fragrant, vigorous, and healthy, and a pleasure just to handle. The Centifolias and Mosses generally do well for me, but I have easy conditions. With leggy plants sometimes I do have to prune harder: 'La Noblesse' is a good example, and I think I'll have to cut back 'Shailer's White Moss' more than I have in the past. This last rose, so beautiful, is showing bits of pink on a lot of its flowers this year. Suzy, after losing two purchased grafted plants of 'Hebe's Lip' (herbicide and mowing), I got cuttings in a swap and now have three plants of it growing around the property. They're young but growing fine and I'm looking forward to seeing them in their maturity. 'Coupe d'Hebe' is duly noted. Jaxondel, Okay, 'Marquis de Balbiano'; I'll keep it in mind. This is a great discussion. Melissa

Well that's pretty interesting that at least one district collects the numbers of entries by class. New York district does not (or if they do nobody has told me). Not being in the "Handbook for Selecting Roses" just means it's not in the "Handbook for Selecting Roses". Most of my roses aren't. For crying out loud, even Quadra isn't listed in the "Handbook". It's real easy to fall off the straight and narrow. It is a conundrum. We say we want to see more shrubs and OGRs entered in rose shows, but the barriers are considerable. The number of roses I've shown over the years that have changed official exhibition name or show classification is dizzying. It's a lot to expect a person to keep track of. The "Official List of Approved Exhibition Names" is published annually, and costs $10. If we really expect a person to stay current, this information should be available for download. Don't know. I think I'd like to see fewer exhibition classes, and more courts. It's hard to see that the much trumpeted Floribunda court has much relevance here. A shrub court or OGR court? Now your talking! If I had to guess, I would say Rosa setigera will not bloom in time for the Hartford show next week. Many of my favorite roses never make it to a rose show. There's nothing to be done about that. They are what they are.