Hi Jolene, Humber Nurseries is just outside from BoltonI usually go along the 401 west to hwy 27 north to hwy 7 then left on 7 and go to hwy 50. The signs are marked clearly but they also have one of the largest Butterfly Conservatory around.Great for kids and moms alike. Weekdays are better to go the weekends are busy with limited parking usually down the hwy rd.The road is not like 401 traffic but you still need to take care. There number is 426/798-8733 or 905/7940555. Wear goods these lots of walking and things to see. Hope you get a chance to go. Lynne

Actually, that was the side I didn't do anything to other than cut a few of the larger berry bushes at the bottom of the hill. That birch is in rough shape and without staking it up and waiting several years, it won't survive. I would just assume take it down since it's not really in a great location anyway. I hate to do it since they are becoming relatively scarce due to disease and insects. This picture http://minus.com/lbx4OfKnwRF4xc shows what are definitely blackberry/raspberry bushes. I wouldn't mind having them, in fact I would welcome having a ton more, just not here. Being on the slope they will not be easy to get to when the mature and have fruit. If there was a way to transplant them or something I would love to hear it. I had tried it in the past, but the only way I have ever seen them grow was by accident and negligence. Based on the size of a few of the lower bushes, I would bet they may produce a limited amount of fruit. The smaller ones at the top of the hill however are definitely not mature enough from my experience. Going off on a tangent... I loved having berry bushes growing up and we had a large sandy area on my parent's property that they grew like crazy in. They eventually began to die off and my dad chopped them all down. The began to come back by the time I went to college, but it took a while to get any amount of fruit from them. My last year at college I rented a small cottage on a back road that had the biggest patch of black raspberries I had ever seen. I started picking as soon as they began to ripen and then ever couple days for the next 3 weeks. I stopped for lack of room in the freezer for 1gal ziplock bags. I made at least a dozen pint jars of jam and a few quarts. I gave a bunch away but i'm hoarding the last few of the "good" batch for myself. :) So in other words, I would love to have berry bushes, just not where they are. A lot of what you see on the ground on the left side (looking from the house) is debris and not much in the way of live plants other than some weeds. Obviously it is still very early here and not much has come up yet though. The tree shown in the background of this picture http://minus.com/lbwhVJrx76OE9d appears to be planted from what is left of the mulch/preparation around the base. This shot http://minus.com/lvFny84VUSjeW shows a rock swail that comes down from what is left of the last owners fish pond sort of thing. There is a reddish low lying plant growing on either side that I failed to get a close up picture of. It appears that it will look nice later in the spring but needs some weeding and/or mulching. I will take your advice and try posting some pictures on the "name that plant" forum. In the meantime, would I benefit from getting some sort of tall meadow grass mix to put down in a few weeks? *whoops, I wrote a book

Hello, I was a member of Gardenweb rose forums way back in 04-07 but then life got in the way. I used to go to the Vic Gardenweb meet ups, but I've lost touch with everyone. I've also lost my original rose garden, including my old moss rose collection due to a knockdown/rebuild, where none of the roses could be dug out and saved due to their positioning. I have a new blank slate garden now and need advice on which sellers in Vic are still selling Moss Roses, bourbons and in particular I'm chasing down a Souvenir Du Docteur Jamain to replace the one I had. I'm looking forward to the bare root season next year, which gives me time to chase everything I want down. Lastly, any pure white climbing rose suggestions (not Iceberg) will be welcomed, as I'm looking for something fragrant for the front fence.

Hello All, Thank you so much for your tips and advice. Its lovely to be welcomed back after such a long, long break. David, you jogged my memory. I met Laurie and Jean once more than ten years ago and I trucked out to Reliable Roses and we (and the rest of the Vic crew) spent the day there then had this amazing Indian supper at a restaurant near their place. I wonder if they will remember me, they both used to be forum users way back in the day before Houzz took over gardenweb. I think they will be my first port of call, I remember Laurie being particularly surprised that such a young person had an interest in roses and Jean was just so inspiring and helpful. Its good to know they are still around. I will call them and have a chat about what they're likely to have in stock for the bare root season. I hit the Misty Down's website and saw that it was under construction, really quite sad that they're not doing roses. But thank you for clarifying that David. Thank you for your advice Countess, I was leaning to Lamarque, and I did remember it had the hint of lemon, but I think it would be nice, I'll look at your links to see if there is anything else. Carol, hello, the entire front is going to be white and green plants only and I've been debating which rose since the fence is a gable style with a low wall in the centre, for a total of 8 metres. Originally I had a William Lobb moss on that front fence and it was freakin' spectacular. Until my "very kind" neighbour trimmed back "my messy rose" chopping 8ft flowering canes (which were tied to the fence) down to the ground one year and it never grew right after that. Very unfortunately it could not be saved at all. PortlandMystery: Victoria has Mediterranean style temperatures cold winters, damp but warm spring, hot summers, and warm autumns. Roses have always done well in my garden, owing to the microclimate of the immediate neighbourhood. Lots of people here have big shade trees, loads of roses and underplanting. I never had to use pesticides either. This means that roses usually get far bigger than they're meant to. Every single David Austin rose I had grew four times the size that was recommended and I grew a Westerland on the advice that it would never get bigger than a 6 foot fence and that bloody rose could have taken over my house. Ingrid, Snowbird! That's a good idea as well. It might end up on a different wall in the front garden. I quite like Noisettes but I worry that they are so vigorous that they might be too much for the low fence at the front. Probably a good idea to think about them for pillaring out the back. Curdle, thank you! I definitely want a Docteur Jamian rose for a pillar feature I have. My Docteur Jamain had these beautiful long canes after it got established that I can imagine would work well for a pillar. I wanted to position it between a Zephyrine Drouin if I can find it. Thank you all, you've given me some great starting points and triggered my terrible memory.