I'm wondering, Carol, how long you will have at each of the gardens - two days isn't much to do all four. We easily did both Sissinghurst and Great Dixter in a single day. We gave a day to Wisley. It's bit, and a terrific garden but we were unimpressed with their rather ordinary rose garden - the long, long, long border and rock garden were much better. We went to Mottisfont several different days, and I would think it needs at least half a day, if possible - hope you aren't too jet lagged on your first day in England. Mottisfont's rose gardens aren't huge, but there is so much to look at and it is so beautifully done that I couldn't stop looking! I think it might be open a bit later than usual in June, if you are staying nearby. Janelle and I did fine on our first day in the UK without a nap, and really adjusted without much jet lag. I slept in a bit later than usual the first few mornings - she didn't. When I went to London with my husband some years ago, I didn't do as well - literally fell asleep on my feet while visiting a museum. Maybe it was an advantage to be outside in fresh air, sunshine, and gardens rather than inside. I got sick on the trip to London, but was utterly healthy and thriving during the garden trip. In any case, your trip sounds wonderful. I think you've said that your husband isn't really a rose garden kind of guy, so how nice that you are getting these two days plus a day at Kew. My husband isn't much for gardens, but he was pretty enthusiastic about Kew. I still think that Kew is a great choice, but have to say that we heard good things about St. Albans from the people on Clair Martin's Great Rosarians trip last year. It wasn't open to the general public but was open to RNRS members and tour groups. We could always have joined the RNRS and gotten to see it, but we just didn't make the time. Anita

Got curious about compost tea. This is the second time I checked. Early this summer time I spent 1 hour researching but was disappointed. Here's one link from United Kingdom on compost tea (unbiased, NOT sponsored by compost-tea industry): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/11121288/Compost-tea-does-it-really-work.html " What did they find? In a glasshouse study on lavender and choisya, none of the compost teas had any effect on growth or on susceptibility to botrytis (grey mould) or spider mites. Sometimes plants treated with compost tea were taller, sometimes they were shorter, sometimes there was no difference. Sometimes plants treated with compost tea were of higher quality, but often they weren’t, and treated choisya plants at one nursery were significantly worse. In short, the effects of compost teas were “extremely inconsistent”. Other links from U.S.A: http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/compost-tea-does-it-work/ From University of New Hampshire: https://extension.unh.edu/articles/Does-compost-tea-really-work From University of Vermont: http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html Excerpt from above link: " It’s not clear whether it’s necessary to aerate during compost tea production. Aeration can speed up the production time, but it may also add to equipment cost and complexity. There are claims that aeration helps kill off the organisms that can cause illness. Very few studies have compared aerated and non-aerated compost teas. Some recent research. A 2-year study by the Rodale Institute and Pennsylvania State University evaluated the use of aerated compost tea for disease suppression and crop stimulation in grapes, potatoes, and pumpkins. During year one, approximately 50% suppression of powdery mildew was observed in the compost tea treated grape plots. A slight reduction of gray mold, along with an INCREASE in the level of downy mildew, was observed in the compost tea treated plot during the first year at one of the vineyards. Compost tea failed to suppress powdery mildew on Howden pumpkins in year one, but reduced the number and size of pathogen colonies in year two. Compost tea did not reduce severity of late blight on Superior potatoes when disease was present in year two. " http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html *** From Straw: FOR ROSES, just spraying with alkaline tap water alone is enough to suppress mildew, as testified by Roseseek (Kim Rupert) in CA and rosarian Dave Boyd in HMF. For mildew, just plain tap-water spray (alkaline pH over 8) is enough to contain mildew, as rosarian Dave Boyd in a dry climate (only 13" of moisture per year) testified in HMF: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=3.4748

More roses from the SJ Heritage Rose Garden Sunsprite - there's another Sunsprite that's a lighter yellow next to this one. Couldn't find the one below in HMF. Cimarosa, floribunda 1989 hybridized by Louis Lens. Prairie Star, grandiflora 1989 Captain Harry Stebbings, HT 1989 Donna Faye, miniature 1976 Anna Pavlova, HT 1981 Beales - love this fragrant rose! Radox Bouquet, floribunda 1981 - very fragrant! Out of Yesteryear, shrub, 1999 Ralph Moore. Iced Ginger, floribunda 1971 Hope you enjoyed the photos! Ann

Please Note a correction: Lexington is in Z6 NOT Z7! This is the lovely view when entering from the Fragrant Garden. The plants in front of the split rail are various peonies. Click to enlarge. The roses bounded by this fencing and the stone walls are mainly modern Landscape roses such as Knock-outs and Red and Pink Drifts. On the far side is a Polyantha bed. It had robust if not BSy specimens of Yvonne Rabier and Cecile Brunner. ( I don't know why CB is so widely recommended for my general area as it Bs and defoliates terribly.) The best specimens were an unmarked pink and Mignonette and Marjorie Palmer. After researching, I'm on the lookout for these two. I think this is a pic of the NOID pink Poly or Mignonette. In what I can only guess is the Star Roses "test" bed were many Kordes varieties some of which were clearly mis-marked as I recognized them from my own garden. I suspect they were recently planted since the acquisition by Star Roses of the distribution rights for Kordes from Newflora. They had many I grow or recognized such as Summer Romance, First Crush, Dark Desire and Lavender Veranda, but they were even smaller than my plantings. Very fragrant, but BSy was Orchid Romance which surprised me as a Kentuckian had recently recommended this one. Maybe she sprays. It was a lovely flower in a wonderful hue. It will be interesting to revisit next year. Moving beyond this section are rows of HTs which all looked spent and very frail. I have none to recommend from that section. They are just visible in the RH corner of this pic and in that following.