I'm new to the GW and I'm learning a lot. I've ordered roses and clematis so that I can grow them together. What I didn't realized was that clematis had different types. I'm going to have to do some research on the various kinds that I've ordered to find out there type; some are double flowers. Once they're established, does any one have advice on how to propagate them? I have heirlooms that I've ordered too. Any advice on how to get them established in the garden? I've ordered them over the Internet. The last time I ordered over the Internet before they went out of business (The Uncommon Rose-Cardinal Richelieu & Armide)I had really good luck with them. They are still doing very well, and I live in Arizona!I have not planted any clematis with my heirlooms yet, but I have ordered them so that I could. I'll take any advice I can get for the heirloom roses and the clematis. Thanks in advance. Loretta aka Bethany and Jonathon's grandma :o)

"Mistress of the White House: The Story of Dolly Madison" - Helen L. Morgan

I'll start by saying I don't have definite zaps - yet - but there are a bunch on my 'watch list.' They may get a second chance either this year or next, but right now they are not my faves and if they don't shape up they will ship out! A few important notes: 2015 was kind of a strange year of highs and lows with our tomatoes. It was my first year starting seed, which worked out really well. I had some lovely, lovely transplants. We started out with a very warm May, but June was a rainy mess - it literally rained 28 out of 30 days. And this wasn't the kind of rain where it sprinkles and then the sun comes out. We are talking constant wet weather, which brought on septoria (and I think also early blight) since I didn't know about preventative spraying (not that I really could have done it with all the constant rain). Finally, we had a new garden bed, which never is the best for production the first year. That said, here are my comments: The two positive standouts were Jersey Devil (indeterminate, red, paste-type) and Vorlon (indeterminate, PL, black beefsteak). These two plants were monsters. Vorlon pumped out a massive amount of massive tomatoes in July, and both - while affected by the septoria and early blight just kept going, and going and going. My biggest problems were keeping them supported (I finally gave up) and beating the birds/animals to my ripe tomatoes. The Vorlon had a few fruit with BER but not many and I think it was later in the season. These are definite keepers and are on my 2016 list. I was also impressed with Isis Candy and Black Cherry (indeterminate cherries). They were a little rough in the beginning (rain, new bed, leaf diseases, etc) but really rallied in July and started putting out fruit. I can only imagine what they would have been without setbacks. Will definitely plant again, probably only one in 2016 but that is just a space issue. Cherokee Purple and Persimmon (indeterminate, orange) get shout outs for really, really TRYING to produce even with the new bed and foliage issues. They both rallied once the rain stopped and I could spray with Daconil. I would regrow, and in fact Persimmon is on my list for 2016 because we really like the taste. Our first year we bought a plant and it made gorgeous big, tasty fruit even in a bad garden bed. Last year the fruit were much smaller, but still delicious and it gets points for trying. Arbuznyi was pretty much a bust. Again, new bed + foliage issues. It tried to rally but unsuccessfully. It is close to zapping but will probably give it another chance, maybe next year. My three worst ones were Pineapple, Sweet Adelaide, and Malachite Box. I had high hopes for Pineapple but it was SUPER SLOW to produce any flowers or fruit even when it was healthy. We literally got one fruit. Honestly, other plants worse affected by the septoria and early blight pumped out more fruit. Sad because we really liked the bi-color we grew the year before (Virginia Sweets) but I couldn't find seeds for it. I may give this one another chance this year. I'm not bothering with the other two again - maybe in a few years when the memories fade. Sweet Adelaide is a dwarf, and it was pretty useless. I did grow in a container - but a big one. I think all the rain really killed it. Lots of trouble with BER. Both of my Malachite Box plants didn't do much, and I had to pull one because it had some crazy thing happening that I suspected was more than just septoria or early blight. That's my list! Starting to plan for 2016 and really love reading everyone's feedback.

Belle of the Ball -- Donna Simpson (Why do I feel like the straight man whose job is to set up Yoyo's and Vee's jokes?)