I am Trish and I am a rose potaholic. I don't have a spot to grow them in the ground and I have taken up all the available spots at my parents'. Being English and Welsh respectively they have an innate love for roses so that is good. I started my rose obsession through tragedy. Our son was stillborn in the fall of 2006 (sorry to those who have heard this already) and being already into gardening in general I thought it would be nice to have something growing in his memory. I debated a tattoo but was too broke and could not find the 'perfect' image. I did a bit of research on "the language of flowers" and came across the white rose. I asked on gardenweb for recommendations for a nice white rose as some of you will remember. I ended up deciding on Madame Hardy but by then I was a goner anyway. Now I have used up all available space at my parents' and a few pots outside and still eyeing up more. Face it, we're sunk Aggierose.

If anyone is looking for these, NOW is the time of year to be getting them at local garden centers. For anyone in the Denver area, you should be able to get them at Paulino's and/or Timberline Gardens. In their catalog this year, Paulino's lists these varieties: 'Lord Baltimore', 'Lady Baltimore', 'Clown', 'Crimson Wonder', 'Fantasia', 'Kopper King', 'Moy Grande', 'Blue River II', 'Southern Belle Mix', and 'Disco Belle' in all the colors. If you stop by there, be sure to ask for a copy of their perennial catalog. The heights of these, depending on variety, range from about 4' to 7' or more, and the flower size ranges from about 6" to a good foot in diameter. Each flower lasts only one day, but they are constantly replaced by many, many more until fall. Mine continued until almost Halloween last year. The wilting flowers will drop off by themselves in a few days, but to keep them looking neater (since there are so many flowers on established plants), I usually go around every couple days and pull dying flowers off--you don't need a scissors. If I don't have something with me to collect them in, I just toss them in a pile at the bottom of the plant and pick up the pile later. Last fall, when I was cutting them down for winter, I snipped off a whole bunch of the dry seed heads to use in dried arrangements. These are definitely NOT xeric perennials, and will require consistant watering all summer. They can be grown in wet to boggy soil, so you don't need to worry about overwatering them. The most important thing to know about them is that they come up very, very, very late in spring! I have 3 established Disco Belle's, and they didn't appear at all until the beginning of June this year. So be sure you know where they are and just wait--and wait--and wait for them. When they do come up they grow VERY quickly! BUT, she said with a tear in her eye, my 3 beautiful pink Disco Belle's that are supposed to get about 4' tall and are already almost 5', and just started blooming within the last 2 weeks, got TOTALLY smooshed down by the inch of rain I got yesterday in less than half an hour! I'm not really complaining since we need the rain so badly, but I sure do hope they're able to stand back up by themselves when they dry off. (It's raining again right now (Thornton), and with what I got overnight, I'm up to almost 2 inches now!. Boy, is everything ever green!) Here's a link to the Hibiscus info at Perennials.com. They list 17 varieties, but, unfortunately, only have pictures of a few of them. Happy gardening all, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Hibiscus at Perennials.com

Dear Friends, Bless you all for your kind and loving words and prayers. We are just doing o.k....trying to take it one day at a time. Sunday was a hard day...one week...and yesterday was a really bad day for me. We got together at my nieces house...like we do every year...we all missed Mom so much. Dad is trying but he is so sad and at times the tears flow. I try to be with him and then try to let him have his time....he told me that being by himself is something he has to do and the Lord will see him thur. We are going this week to look at a headstone....we have gotten so many beautiful cards from friends and family...my boss at the florist shop gave me a beautiful small handpainted trunk to put cards and memories from Mom's funeral in....my daughter will try to help me put Mom's picture on here for you all to see...she was a beautiful lady. At times I have such a hard time going down those stairs....I want my Mom to be there!!! I know many of you understand. Again bless you all for being here for me....keep my sweet Dad in your prayers. Love, Nora

Three!!!!! I am so thrilled you responded to this thread. How are YOU? Daniel is eating most everything. He is on some very powerful medicine to keep his disease at bay but it seems to be working well for him. So far his tests have been great. His veggie garden is really funny. He knew nothing in the beginning and his garden reflects it. His plants are planted way too close and he planted plants that generally aren't planted together- but it's a first garden - grown more out of his understanding of the need of survival than of companionship. We're gently helping him refine his technique while loving his effort, which is getting B grades, maybe more for effort than anything else. There's Jack in the Pulpits planted with squash, which means you have to look pretty close to see everything... His garden is almost an exact mirror of his life experience. LOL! Still, the effort is there and nothing has died. Please tell us how you are!