I am so glad to find out the source of my problem that it seems like a victory to squash them. One can do a lot of damage. I had some kale leaves on my window sill in water hoping to watch hatching of green lace wing eggs and one green caterpillar ate about a fourth of a leaf when I wasn't looking. He must have been an egg because I had handled those leaves a lot. Now I am after Colorado potato beetle larva nasty looking things. I wonder where all that orange pigment comes from because they are only eating potatoes. One adult can lay 300 eggs I read so I am not letting them get to the adult stage.

I checked that site and found many many varieties that I had personally introduced, so checked them first,and much wrong information.Which extends to other varieties as well. Here's the description there for Ste Pierre; (Really nice red round but slightly lobed slicer, 4 to 6 oz. fruit. Good CSA variety, ships well. The color and full flavor make it a good mid to late season market tomato. From Geza Korbely, Hungary on St. Pierre Island. Tags: Red, Season Mid, Medium, Round.) I know Geza very well and yes he lives in Hungary and the description was poorly written b'c it should have said he GOT it from the Island of Ste Pierre. And the island of te Pierre is in France, not Hungary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_Island There is no Ste Pierre Island in Hungary. Geza is a very very active seed trader and participates at many many message sites looking for trades. And has very very long lists of tomatoes that he offers in trade. I'm no tsure why got his seeds from France, maybe one of his contacts there,maybe b'c he too knew that the variety originated in France since seeds for Ste. Pierre are available at many seed sites outside of the US as well as many here in the US: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/St._Pierre#tab=Seed_Availability Above is the same link I gave above to Tania's page for it but this time I linked to seed availability so you could see the many many seed vendors who list it. I do hope that clarifies this for you and that you can be more comfortable with this variety actually originating in France. ( smile) Carolyn

I haven't made that cake but have made or eaten rose flavored desserts for Shakespearian, Elizabethan, or Persian dinners. Rose is somewhat of an acquired taste so if you want to make a pink birthday cake for your GD, I would stick with a more conventional flavor like strawberry or raspberry and make the Ispahan cake for an event where other desserts will be present. Here's a drink using rose water that is made in Iran for special occasions. ALMOND ROSE WATER DRINK (Schraab el'Loz) - 4 servings 3/4 cup blanched whole almonds 2 1/2 cups ice water 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. rose water 20 ice cubes In a food processor, grind the almonds until very fine. Transfer the almonds to a blender, add 1 cup of the ice water and process until frothy. Spread a large piece of doubled cheesecloth over the top of a large bowl and pour the almond mixture into the center of the cloth. Gather the sides of the cloth together to form a bag and gently squeeze the bottom in order to extract the "milk" of the almonds. When most of the liquid from the almonds has been extracted, open the bag and pour in 1/2 cup more of the ice water over the almonds and squeeze for another 5 minutes. Once the almonds have lost all their taste, discard them along with the cheesecloth. Transfer the almond "milk" to a small saucepan. Add the sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat until the liquid is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the rose water. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours. (You may freeze the almond syrup in a covered jar at this point. When ready to serve, defrost completely and continue with next step of recipe.) When ready to serve, place the remaining 1 cup ice water, almond syrup, and ice cubes in a blender and mix on high speed until frothy like a slushy drink (add ice cubes 2 to 3 at a time, tasting as you go so as not to dilute the drink too much). Serve in tall glasses or champagne flutes.

Strangely for So Cal, it is overcast today at 10am. My iPhone takes better pictures without glaring sun so I will take just a few more. Forgive me, it's not often anyone asks about this one, and while I have it blooming. I had some palm trees removed several months ago and thought this rose was a casualty. It has come back as if nothing happened to it. I thought teas didn't like to be pruned, and this one was broken to the ground level. A determined rose I think. As strange as is sounds, I have not yet killed a single rose, not even when I've tried to remove it.(brilliant pink iceberg) Must be my climate? I digress, here are some hopefully better pictures of Flamingo Gardens Tea. Purchased from Angel Gardens. Sorry, I see that the one below is a double. I don't know how to remove it. L AND I have to admit that as the blooms age I see a little bit of salmon color. Some of it is little specks that could be thrips or water spots, but I'm not sure. Sheila, my apologies. You may have seen what I did not. I'll try to get a good picture of a bloom with a bit of salmon coloring in it and then you all can decide if it's damage or true color. Lisa