Great info Straw!

I just started taking fish oil capsules about 3 weeks ago...
I'm in the learning stages of experimenting with healthy products & recipes so I can not give much advice...

The cheaper china gloves do not bother me but they do my mom... Also China shoes bother my mom...

As you know Straw I'm still searching for better disease resistant roses for my soil & weather conditions...
Double Knockouts do well here... Mister Lincoln has done fairly well here for 4 years but did start getting Powdery Mildew this year...

Gonna try 3 new roses this coming Spring/Summer...
I'll report how they do in the future...

At the risk of showing my ignorance on this forum, I'll mention a few things:
One product I stumbled across is
ALTER ECO DARK BLACKOUT organic chocolate 85% cocoa
The bar comes packaged in a lavendar paper wrapper
It's REALLY good, but I'm out of it and wish I hadn't thought of it.
Have to search for my potato bread recipe for later.
The rose that really got to me was Autumn Damask. It's still small in it's second year, and covered with a blanket of snow now.
The petals easily shatter but the perfume is so exquisite I planted it by the front door where everyone can pass by it. Although it is quite thorny it will tolerate pruning so it can be shaped to not grab negative attention.

Hi Damask: Glad to hear from you ... I'm a fan of chocolate, will have to look for that "ALTER ECO DARK BLACKOUT organic chocolate 85% cocoa". I made chocolate chip cookies, but instead of tiny chips, I put chunks of chocolate bar in.

Another favorite item is Nature Made magnesium citrate. It was wiped out at the store today, due to the 1/2 vitamin sale. I bought CALM (magnesium citrate) in a powder form, since my kid can't swallow pill. For myself, I prefer magnesium citrate in a pill. It helps me to snack less at night. Magnesium is very alkaline, helps to reduce stomach acid, thus less hunger pangs. It helps with my sleep tremendously ... deeper sleep, along with fish oil. vitamin D works best if taken with magnesium & vitamin K. We get vitamin K from the tomato in the garden, it's the magnesium that we lack .. not enough greens in our diet.

Target sells Nature Made brand. I read hundreds of Amazon reviews on the most effective vitamin D, and customers report Nature Made-brand vitamin D as most effective in raising D-level in blood test. There were only a few of that left on the shelf.

I heard lots of good things about Autumn Damask, thank you for that lovely pic. Another rose that gave me joy is Annie L. McDowell, 100% thornless, it perfumes my entire patio. See below a branch of Annie, loaded with buds, next to a bouquet of Austin roses:

Just a few days ago someone gave us a box of calm. Doesn't work yet as we haven't opened it.

Dare I add one more rose to my order form Burling?
Ordered seven roses last year and came in just under a hundred dollars. I've been holding out for a few months researching lucky number 7- maybe Duchesse de Rohan, or Annie L M now that you wrote about it.

GORGEOUS photos Strawberry, feeds my soul when all is white and gray as the snowflakes are falling outside my window.

Hi Damask: What zone & state are you in? Thanks for the info. Duchess de Rohan is worth having, since it's almost thornless. I also like Comte de Chambord, never poke me, since the prickles are so tiny & tiny bush too. Below is Comte de Chambord bloom, next to Evelyn. The white one is Bolero. Comte scent divine, like a French perfume.

Duchess de Rohan scent is stronger than Comte. But Comte has a nice myrrh twist to it. I like Comte so much that I have 3 of them.

CALM (magnesium citrate) works immediately. But the cheap Magnesium oxide produces more diarrhea and is poorly absorbed. Municipals add lime in the form of calcium hydroxide to deodorize tap water, plus prevent pipes from corroding. My sister's water in CA is very alkaline like mine, thanks to hydrated lime. We get too much calcium from our diet (milk, yogurt, cheese), plus hydrated lime in our tap, which raise our water pH. My blood test is very high in calcium.

I notice that when I don't take magnesium before bed, I am tense & sleep very poorly. Magnesium calms and relaxes, versus calcium tenses and contracts muscle. There need to be a balance between the two. I'll post Dr. Carolyn's Dean article here, since she explains it very well, why we need magnesium rather than calcium.

Carolyn Dean, M.D. & N.D from the Huffington Post on the link of Magnesium and Vitamin D deficiency:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carolyn-dean-md-nd/bone-health_b_1540931.html

"We know that magnesium is necessary for bone health but it has a much broader scope than even I imagined. Most people think that calcium is the most important factor in bone health. Some are now realizing that vitamin D is also a necessary component. However, it's not well known that magnesium is necessary to convert vitamin D into its active form so that it can turn on calcium absorption.[1]

I became aware of the close association between vitamin D and magnesium after receiving emails from people experiencing magnesium deficiency symptoms after they began taking high doses of Vitamin D.

It turns out that all the enzymes metabolizing vitamin D require magnesium as a necessary co-factor.[2],[3] When you take high doses of Vitamin D and if you are already low in magnesium, the increased amount of metabolic work drains magnesium from its muscle storage sites. That's probably why muscles are the first to suffer magnesium deficiency symptoms -- twitching, leg cramps, restless legs and charlie horses. Angina and even heart attacks affecting the heart muscle are all magnesium deficiency symptoms.

A reader of my blog reported that her vitamin D levels remained chronically low (below 30) despite months of high-dose supplementation of vitamin D. It wasn't until she ADDED magnesium that things changed quite dramatically. After adding magnesium, her last vitamin D level was 67, which for her was a miracle. This turn about surprised her endocrinologist as well. She also noticed a big difference in how she felt. She no longer had chronic "unexplained" muscle tenderness, and could exercise longer on her treadmill and felt great.

Personally, I think we should consider that part of the vitamin D deficiency epidemic is an underlying magnesium deficiency. That could mean that we don't really need extraordinarily high doses of vitamin D, but a combination of vitamin D along with magnesium to make the vitamin D work. I often recommend 1,000-2,000iu along with 600 mg of elemental magnesium.

What about calcium? Magnesium stimulates the hormone calcitonin, which helps to preserve bone structure by drawing calcium out of the blood and soft tissues back into the bones. This action helps lower the likelihood of osteoporosis, some forms of arthritis, heart attack and kidney stones.[2] So, if you're taking lots of calcium and not much magnesium, you are susceptible to these conditions.

Almost half the population of the U.S. (almost 70 percent of adult women) uses dietary supplements containing calcium.[4] In general, we absorb less than half of the calcium we ingest. Some researchers warn that calcium supplements are responsible for an increase in calcification. Calcium causes constipation and builds up in the body in soft tissues where it can harden (calcify). The sites of calcification include artery walls, kidneys, gall bladder, muscles and breast tissue.

Adding to our calcium load are many foods that are fortified with calcium, including orange juice, sports drinks and breakfast cereals.

In 2011, a British Medical Journal meta-analysis sounded the alarm that "Risks outweigh benefits for calcium supplements."[5] The study indicates that calcium supplements do more harm than good. They cause more cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and stroke) than the number of fractures they prevent.

The seven authors of the study expressed concern that with so many people taking calcium supplements, "Even a small increase in incidence of cardiovascular disease could translate into a large burden of disease in the population." They even go so far as to "suggest that a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis is warranted."

That's a huge admission of failure of the main treatment for osteoporosis -- high-dose calcium supplementation. In fact, researchers in a study of postmenopausal women with high milk intake speculate that high levels of calcium may actually be a cause of osteoporosis and osteoporotic bone fractures.[6] The researchers fail to realize that it's not just the high doses of calcium but the lack of magnesium that's the underlying problem. So they can't just say calcium is bad for bones; calcium is required for bones, but so is magnesium.

The effectiveness and benefits of calcium in preventing and treating osteoporosis are enormously impaired in the absence of adequate levels of magnesium. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood. Too much calcium along with too little magnesium can cause some forms of arthritis, kidney stones, osteoporosis and calcification of the arteries, leading to heart attack and cardiovascular disease.[4] So, it's not just the calcium causing these problems but an associated lack of magnesium.

Why have we become a nation of calcium pill poppers? Because it's the agreed-upon solution to osteoporosis and the mantra of the dairy industry that "Everybody needs milk." Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Carolyn Dean and why we need magnesium

Hi Damask & everyone: Thank you for that great pic. of such a precious white rose. I love swirls in Austin and OGR. I'm very tempted by Young Lycidas but I'll wait until Chamblee's carries that one. Chamblee has decent price on Austin roses, plus their gallon size is so HUGE that's worth paying for shipping cost.

One product we love is Men's Hanes' 100% cotton lounge pants which we ordered through Amazon. Hanes make the most comfortable elastic band, plus having many large sizes. The cotton fabric is super-soft & silky and breathable. The dark colors (black with gray dots) look nice. Medium size fits my hubby, he's 6 ft. tall, 32" waist, as well as me ... I'm barely 5 ft. tall, so I have to hem it up.

Walmart and Target are nearby us, but I can't find such dark-color lounge pants, above the waist, with pockets. Target sells really comfy sport stretchable pants that my daughter loves. However those don't have pockets. Women's pajama pants don't have pockets, plus they come in gaudy & bright prints. I prefer men's pants since they come above my waist, rather than "low-rise" women's pants which expose one's belly button.

Hane's make good underwears, and I am so glad to find louge/pajama pants which look good in the garden. The Walmart's pajamas pants either don't have good elastic, or else come in such gaudy colors. See below link for comfy 100% cotton lounge pants to wear at home & in the garden. It's worth the $2 shipping cost from Amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: HANES Men's ComfortSoft Cotton Printed Lounge Pants

I just looked at Chamblees this morning, are you reading my mail Strawberry?How do you know the question before I ask?
I was wondering to myself, " would the gallon size David Austins be worth the shipping?"
Alnwick is one I want for the raspberry perfume. I just read this morning about StrawberryHill posessing pretty grabby thorns so now I am stand offish toward it unless we move to a bigger yard.
This is such a funny forum, I love the vartiety of topics.
We ordered a cell phone from AMAZON and just received our credit card. I'm super afraid to go off the credit cliff, but if every month I totally pay it off it should work ok. i want the vitamin D first.
Thanks for all your help posting good deals Strawberry.
i wanted pajama pants for Christmas because I live in them, and sad to confess, it saves time getting dressed in the morning to just hop up and start the day in clothes that aren't 30 degrees from the closet.

Forgot to add
my 33 year old son really likes the Burt's Bees almond hand cream I got him as a stocking stuffer. Once in a while i get the right gift that fits.

I need to catch up on this thread but wanted to say hello
to you both and the pics of your roses are fantastic!

Hi Jim: I'm glad to hear from you.

Hi Damask: I have a niece who lives in Nampa, Idaho ... she works as a vet. I didn't realize that your Northern Idaho is that cold. I visited my mother-in-law in Colorado Springs and saw snow way up the mountain, during hot summer. Perhaps with high altitude, the temp. is more extreme. I have lots of roses that died last winter, when it got down -30 below zero, in my zone 5a Chicagoland.

Will check out "Burt's Bees almond hand cream" on Amazon. Thank you, Damask. I use NOW almond oil for my hand, but it's so thin !! My brother the dermatologist recommended petroleum jelly ... the Walmart Equate brand years ago was clean, but the Vaseline brand smells nasty recently. Either we get more pollution, or it depends on the source.

I like almond oil since it has zero smell, and it's food-grade, so even if I make sandwiches (after using almond lotion), I won't contaminate the food with chemical smell. Years ago I ordered a fish-sandwich at a take-out, the lady didn't use gloves ... she had hand-crème on, and made my lettuce & sandwich reeked of chemical lotion.

The garden produce I really like Chickity-doo-doo, sold at Menards at $8 for a HUGE BAG. I fertilized my 40+ roses last month, and only used 1/4 of the bag. I do winter-fertilizing to get ahead. My roses bloom way ahead of the rose park nearby. The late Karl Bapst, zone 5a, observed that too much fertilizer in spring kill the tiny "feeder-roots" that sprout. That's why I fertilize in the winter, so the melted snow can DILUTE the fertilizer, and making it into harmless soluble.

I had Stash peppermint tea last night with dinner. It filled me up. Will get my blood test done in a few months. Some info. from livestrong.com "Other Benefits

Peppermint leaves contain a number of essential oils that have antioxidant properties. These oils are released when the leaves come into contact with water, especially hot water, so the properties are transferred over to mint tea. A 2006 study published in “Phytotherapy Research” found that the antioxidants in mint tea had strong anti-microbial and anti-viral activities, as well as helping relieve the symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome. A 2010 study in “Pharmacognosy Magazine” found that the antioxidants in peppermint also led to lower total cholesterol levels and reduced overall toxicity. In both cases, support for digestive health and lower cholesterol levels can help you meet your diet goals, as well as improve the overall health of your body."

Below is another bouquet with Big Purple rose at the bottom, and Sonia Rykiel on top. Sonia Rykiel is worth every cent of the $20 I spent. The scent is magnificent & lots of blooms ... the prickles are small & less harm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chickity doo doo fertilizer for roses

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Tue, Jan 20, 15 at 11:20

Very nice bouquet Straw! :)

Some days are red days and some pink, today I love the red rose.
Read recently mint tea is really good to kill off lung germs like pnumonia and bronchitis.

Hi Jim: thanks for your compliments. Your being nice is what keep me posting.

Hi Damask: Thank you for that info., much appreciated. If I drink boiled rain-water, I would NOT need to take magnesium. Rain-water pH is 5.6 to 6 ... great for roses. But my hard-well tap water pH is over 8.5, with too much calcium hydroxide added already.

Calcium really TENSE the body. I love Greek yogurt, but every time I eat that before-bed, I CAN'T RELAX and have a hard time falling asleep. Symptoms of excess calcium: cold feet (calcium prevents iron from being absorbed), insomnia, dry skin, and sensitivity to light.

Too much calcium drives down magnesium. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency: vitamin D-deficiency & inability to sleep, plus symptoms from Wikipedia:
•Fatigue, dizziness.
•Muscle twitch, weakness and cramps.
•Stress, anxiety.
•Confusion, memory weakness.

*** From Straw: My blood test showed vitamin D deficiency plus high calcium ... did some research and found that it's linked to magnesium deficiency. I used to take magnesium oxide, but that really upset the stomach & diarrhea. Now I take magnesium citrate (Nature Made brand) ... no problems. The days that I don't take that before bed ... takes longer to fall asleep & zero dreams.

The days that I take magnesium citrate before bed, I always have vivid dreams. I hate to take it every day, but due to my high-pH, high-calcium tap-water ... that's the only solution. Bottled water doesn't work, I already tested bottled water, and its pH is over 8, still alkaline.

Spearmint tea has TWICE the magnesium of peppermint tea, that's why spearmint is used in Celestial tea "Sleepytime", and Yogi bed-time tea. I tested spearmint tea for the past month, it really lower one's body temp and makes one drowsy ... very similar to melatonin. I find spearmint tea to be MORE effective than lemon balm, in inducing sleep. The Tao of Tea, Spearmint, is sold $6 for a big loose-leaf can .. it's cheaper than taking melatonin.

Peppermint has 1/2 the magnesium of spearmint ... doesn't make me sleepy. For magnesium-rich food, I like oat-bran ... it tastes better than wheat-bran for muffins. Okra is also high in magnesium, my Mom used to plant that in her garden in MI ... Okra produces big pretty yellow flowers.

My Dad died of a stroke & glad to find this article in WebMD:

Jan. 20, 2012 -- People who eat more foods rich in the mineral magnesium appear to reduce their odds of having a stroke, a new study shows.

The link between magnesium in the diet and stroke risk was strongest for ischemic stroke, which is when a clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain.

Researchers found that the risk for ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke in older people, was reduced by 9% for each additional 100 milligrams of magnesium a person consumed each day.

Regularly eating magnesium-rich foods also helped modestly reduce the chances of having any type of stroke. The study found that for every 100 additional milligrams of magnesium per day, people cut their risk of stroke by 8%.

The best natural sources for the mineral are whole grain products, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and beans. Foods that supply close to 100 milligrams of magnesium a day include one ounce of almonds or cashews, one cup of beans or brown rice, three-quarters of a cup of cooked spinach, or one cup of cooked oat bran cereal."

Here is a link that might be useful: WebMD: magnesium rich foods lower stroke

Great info Straw on the magnesium rich foods!

Hi Jim & Damask & anyone happen to be reading this: My Mom, now 90 year old, suffers a lot with diabetes. The link between magnesium deficiency and diabetes is VERY STRONG.

One guy I knew had a lot of tummy problems ... he thought that it's celiac, or gluten-sensitivity, but it's from a bad bacteria. Florastor, the #1 probiotic recommended by doctors, is used to treated IBS, gas, bloating, and traveler's diarrhea. My kid had life-long diarrhea. That stopped completely when I paid $8 for a cheaper generic brand, Swanson, for Sacc. Boulardii, which also helps with teenager acne.

From Wikipedia: "Saccharomyces boulardii is a tropical strain of yeast first isolated from lychee and mangosteen fruit in 1923 by French scientist Henri Boulard. Boulard first isolated this yeast after he observed natives of Southeast Asia chewing on the skin of lychee and mangosteen in an attempt to control the symptoms of cholera. In healthy patients, S. boulardii has been shown to be non-pathogenic, non-systemic (it remains in the gastrointestinal tract rather than spreading elsewhere in the body). "

Back to the guy I knew: he observed that when he ate bran-cereal before bed-time, he had the most wonderful sleep .. so he DOES NOT have gluten-sensitivity. Bran cereal is high in magnesium. When I was 8-month pregnant, I had craving for bran cereal and ate that twice a day. My weight was only 110, so the doctor ordered me to gain weight for the fetus ... I had to stuff myself with chocolate cake to achieve the 115 lbs. goal.

When my kid was in kindergarten, I gained weight, so I ate bran-cereal twice a day to lose 20 lbs., down to 97. I used FiberOne and got severe tummy ache. My sister-in-law told me to cut that out, since her toddler also got tummy ache with FiberOne. Upon reading the ingredients of FiberOne, I found that it's mostly corn-bran. Corn is GMO, or genetically-modified, but wheat IS NOT genetically modified, thanks to the strong protest of the wheat farmers against Monsanto.

Since raisins are heavy with pesticides, I use a wheat-bran cereal WITHOUT raisins. Full circle Organic wheat bran is lowest in salt & sugar ... that's always wiped out at my local grocery store. Nature Path is OK, but higher in sugar & too crunchy for me.

Recently I saw an old guy, in his 70s' at the grocery store, with at least 4 boxes of Kashi-whole-grain flakes .... (high protein, with 7 different grains). He looked thin & healthy, so it's a good testimony to getting a variety of whole grains.

Below excerpt is from WebMD on how magnesium (in greens & nuts & whole grains) lower diabetes: "Dec. 23, 2003 -- Want to reduce your diabetes risk? Make a spinach salad your next meal, with a side of whole-wheat bread or almonds.

Two new studies suggest magnesium-rich foods like these can significantly lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even in obese people who are at high risk for the disease. Earlier studies linked magnesium deficiency with an increased risk for diabetes. The latest findings carry this observation further by confirming the mineral's role in protecting against the disease.
Almost 170,000 People Studied

The larger of the two studies involved roughly 85,000 women and 42,000 men who completed dietary intake questionnaires every two to four years. The smaller study had a similar design and involved just under 40,000 women who were 45 or older. Both studies were conducted by researchers from Harvard University, and both are published in the January 2004 issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

In the larger study, the female subjects were followed for 18 years and the men for 12, during which time roughly 5,400 people developed type 2 diabetes. Even after taking into account diabetes risk factors such as age, weight, physical activity, smoking, and family history, those with the highest dietary levels of magnesium were found to have significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes compared with those with the lowest magnesium levels.

Foods highest in magnesium: bran cereal, nuts, spinach, and oat bran."

From Straw: I love shopping at Trader's Joe, since their RAW nuts are fresh. I roast them at 250 for 20 min, in my convection oven, or 300 in my regular oven. Nuts taste so much better when I buy them RAW, and roast them myself. Some roast better in a thick-frying-pan, such as sunflower seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Florastor on Amazon, for IBS & diahrrea

What, had to stuff yourself with chocolate cake? I want to go to that doctor.
Although I am not underweight at this point, all my winter seal blubber hopefully will be worked off gardening in Spring - too bad thinking about gardening does not build muscle.
Ate my homemade cocoa molasses bran muffin while reading up on your healthy living report. Honestly Strawberry you should get paid for your research writing.
" Last one in is a rotten egg !"

Intertesting about the diabetes...
This area of the US I'm in has one of the highest rates
of diabetes cases in the country... Many many people have it here!

Great pic damask55linen! Chocolate cake? I just gained a few pounds thinking about it...lol... Chocolate/peanut butter is so hard for me to resist but I'm getting better at not eatng it so much...

Glad you liked the photo Jim, it was of a large man-made pond built by a fancy new restaurant in Spokane Washington. A few problems arose and all the expensive coy fish died. Not quite a plague of biblical proportions but all the foaming chemicals in the world could not correct the fine balance nature provides.
I wish the poor ducks did not choose to land in such an icky environment but the snow probably helped to dilute the contaminants. Ducks don't think of things like that when there's another day to enjoy life and quack it up together.

Hi Damask and Jim: Your collective humor is what keeps me posting. Damask, you cracked me up many times ... your humor is a great blessing to me & this forum.

Jim, you are right that your area PA has a higher risk of diabetes. I checked, and the below link listed these states, from highest incidence of diabetes: #1 West Virginia, #2 Puerto Rico, #3 Mississippi, #4 North Carolina, #5 TN, #7 South Carolina, Louisiana, #12 Pennsylvania, #14 Florida , #16 Michigan, and #18 New York.

Notice that regions with alkaline clay ARE NOT in the chart of highest diabetes, such as my Chicagoland and California. Folks in the soil forum is right about the stickier the clay, the higher the magnesium. My rock-hard & sticky-mud clay is tested exceedingly high in magnesium by EarthCo.

Even with high-magnesium soil, I can't skip taking magnesium citrate before bed. Every time I skip, I don't sleep deep enough, or zero dreams. The chemicals used to process our drinking water, calcium hydroxide, really overload our system with calcium, thus creating a magnesium deficiency. Fluoridation of water also makes Magnesium unavailable.

My Mom was diagnosed with diabetes when she was in her early 60's in Michigan. My sister in New York is pre-diabetes ... she's skinny, athletic, eat healthy. I don't have diabetes although I'm chubby, rarely exercise, and IV myself with juice.

Unless I eat greens grown from my garden (high magnesium soil), then I can access magnesium. Coffee is highest in magnesium, and studies showed that coffee lower heart attacks and diabetes. Green tea is higher in magnesium than black tea, due to less tannin. See below:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000120000000000000000-7.html?

Here is a link that might be useful: Comparing states by diabetes incidence

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Fri, Jan 23, 15 at 10:28

Thanks for the info Straw! I think the study I looked at a few years ago was saying our county (Blair) had the highest ratio of diabetes. It was either compared within our own state or compared to the entire country I can't remember...
Example we have 25,000 people in Blair Country and a very large number of those people have diabetes compared to elsewhere...
( Not exact figures... lol)

Hi friends!

This is all pretty useful information. I shop at Amazon quite a bit as well. I'll need to try the lemon balm tea listed here.

Thank you for posting pretty photos. It is so nice to see beautiful flowers! It makes me yearn for my roses. Is it summer yet? :)

So, I placed a couple of orders with the roses nurseries after swearing that I was NOT going to add anymore roses this year. What are you all getting this year?

This is what I have ordered so far:

Roseraie de l'hay
Poseidon
Heaven on Earth
Cinderella Fairy Tale
Versigny
Munstead Wood
Polareis
Passionate Kisses
Savoy Hotel
Melody Parfumee

Hi Mas Loves Roses,
I believe you do, those are some beauties.
This is my Spring order from Burlington Nursery in California;

Abe Darby
Eugene de Beauharnais -oh i can't wait to see how this little gem looks and smells
Xiang Fen Lian -I am pushing the zone, it is really for Z 7
Francis Dubreuil
Reine des Violettes
Mons Tillier -another 6/7 I hope will winter ok with protection
and I didn't intend more until i saw your list-
Can I ask where you found Versigney?
Iv'e heard Heaven on earth is a wonderful big bloom.
Munstead wood is one I really hope to get someday,just gorgeous
Did you see on HelpMeFind website CinderellaFT won a gold medal

Hi Mas Loves Roses,
I believe you do, those are some beauties.
This is my Spring order from Burlington Nursery in California;

Abe Darby
Eugene de Beauharnais -oh i can't wait to see how this little gem looks and smells
Xiang Fen Lian -I am pushing the zone, it is really for Z 7
Francis Dubreuil
Reine des Violettes
Mons Tillier -another 6/7 I hope will winter ok with protection
and I didn't intend more until i saw your list-
Can I ask where you found Versigney?
Iv'e heard Heaven on earth is a wonderful big bloom.
Munstead wood is one I really hope to get someday,just gorgeous
Did you see on HelpMeFind website CinderellaFT won a gold medal

Hmmm, the more i try to edit posts, it duplicates!
ou of frustration I'm going to take a nap.

Hi Damask: Once you click on the tiny print "edit" in the upper right hand of your old post, you'll have to SCROLL ALL THE WAY down, click inside your old post, and delete everything you wrote. PLUS you have to type in something, "I deleted", then hit submit button. If you don't type in anything, after you edit & delete, then it won't go through.

I would love to see your new roses, Damask, esp. Xiang Fen Lian and Eugene de Beauharnais .. those are rare. Eugene de Beauharnais has a wimpy reputation, even in pots. Warm zoners have good luck with that, but not so much cold-zoners. I changed my order on Burlington so many times .. so she politely asked for 2 times of changing only.

Hi Mas: I'm glad to hear from you. You got lots of nice selection. I googled Polareis, but could not find any info. so that must be a new one. I'm excited about seeing your new roses in the future.

Hi Damask and Strawberryhill,

I got Versigny and Heaven on Earth from Roses Unlimited. They seem to be the only ones that have these two roses in commerce. I've been drooling over Heaven on Earth for a couple of years now so decided to finally get it. it always seems to be in bloom wherever I see it. Strawberryhill has more experience with Versigny as she has grown it but it is supposed to be very fragrant.

Damask, you have a wonderful list of roses. When I lived in Utah, Eugene de Beauharnais was a fantastic rose. Once I moved to Indianapolis, I decided to grow it on a pot (because of hardiness) however, this rose was a BS and mildew magnet. It was the only rose to mildew in my yard. I believe that different areas are different for roses. It is a wonderful rose indeed but make sure that she has plenty of air circulation.

I don't have M. Tillier but I do grow teas in pots. Rosette Delizy is one of them. It is NEVER out of blooms. And this is a very young plant so not fully established yet but it does not stop blooming.

Strawberryhill, the Polareis is a rugosa. My friend recommended it because of its fragrance and because she is rarely out of blooms. here is a link to the images.

Here is a link that might be useful: Polareis Rugosa

This post was edited by Mas_Loves_Roses on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 23:36

Another rose that I am considering is La Reine. Has either of you grown it?

Hi Mas: thank you for the info., I asked about your current state (in another post), since I didn't read this thread yet. So you live in Indiana, known for loamy, less alkaline soil, with decent rain. Eugene de Beauharnais mildews and BS in a pot makes sense, since potting soil is neutral pH (MG moisture control, and Organic potting soil). MG regular potting soil is acidic, at pH 6.5. Plus the rain factor, acidic at 5.6 to 6.

Damask lives in Idaho ... that would depend on how alkaline her soil, and how much rain she gets. Eugene de Beauharnais does well for folks in CA with alkaline tap water & less rain. La Reine blooms very well for folks in CA. La Reine blooms well for my pH 7.7 clay, and over 8.5 tap water. But I was disappointed with its fragrance, but that could be my alkaline clay, where the fruity or myrrh scents are strong, but the old garden rose is faint.

Below is a bouquet with Ra Reine the dark pink rose, on lower left corner.

Great looking bouquet Straw!
Ra Reine and all the others blooms look fantastic! :)

Hi gals,

Thank you for the information, Strawberryhill. I did not know that Damask lived in Idaho. I thought that she lived somewhere on the east coast. She will have no problem with BS or even mildew in Idaho. I had no problem with fungal diseases when I lived in Utah. The weather there is so dry. My Eugene grew beautifully there. It was when I moved to the Midwest that things went south for her. What you say makes sense about the pH. Maybe one of these years I'll try growing her in the grown.

I was going through my wish list from last year, and I wanted to ask you which rose do you think performs better: Old Port or Stephen's Big Purple?

Your bouquets always looks so lovely! Thank you for sharing. These pictures really get us through the winter. I sure definitely need to take more this year.

Hi Mas: I look forward to seeing roses from your Indianapolis garden. You have lots of new ones coming, that's exciting. Old Port is tiny, 1' x 1' in my zone 5a, the scent is blah ... I could hardy smell much, compare to Versigny which sent me to heaven with its great scent.

Stephen's Big Purple scent is VERY NICE in cool weather. It's a big producer, someone grew that in a pot and it gave her 40+ buds/blooms. Mine is in the ground, and it bloomed a lot, see pic. below:

One product that we like is Bowflex exercise machine. Last week it was on sale for $949, today, it jumped over $1,000. We bought Bowflex 12 years ago, and it's still good. Husband use it for his muscles. I use Bowflex's built-in rowing machine, also take the top bench piece to put on the floor to support my back while I do sit-up.

Bowflex has a nice sturdy bench. The last thing I want to do after 1 hour of shoving snow is to use the treadmill, the elliptical machine, or the Nordic-ski-machine. It's nice to sit down on a Bowflex to row, or do sit-up agaist the Bowflex piece (taken from the bench). See below my home-made sit-up incline (taken from Bowflex machine), it works great to prevent backache & tighten tummy muscle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bowflex blaze homegym on Amazon

We have a Total Gym but I just need to start using it...lol
The bowflex is a very nice machine Straw!

Hi Jim: We used to have our Nordic ski-machine and Bow Flex in the basement. We didn't use them much since it's so dark, cold, and gloomy in the basement. Then we brought it upstairs in the living room, right in front of the TV. I use them everyday ever since. Watching the Biggest Loser on Hulu has been very motivational. We pay $7 per month for Hulu, and it's worth it.

Straw, thanks for your input on Stephen's Big Purple. Sounds like a winner.

We got a new exercise machine as an gift from my husband work anniversary last year. It has not done anything to tone our muscles...maybe we need to take it out the box? :)

Hi Mas: That was funny !! One runner-up in Biggest Loser stated: no matter how much one works out, if one doesn't change how one eats, it doesn't matter much. SO TRUE !! I put in 2 hours of snow-shoveling yesterday, and lost only 1/2 lb. on the scale. Compare that to 3 lb. a week, with zero work, when I drastically changed my eating a decade ago.

For me eating while watching TV for the past years caused weight gain .. I mindlessly throw stuff into my mouth without thinking. So I took away the table in front of the TV, and put my Nordic-ski-machine, plus a Bow-flex. It works !! Now I eat slowly at the kitchen table, drink herbal tea while eating, plus lots of RAW veggies ... that really cut down my intake of food. Eating mindlessly, esp. in front of the TV, can pack on pounds. It didn't dawn on me, until I asked Jesus to help me with losing weight.

Hi Frances & Damask & Jim: So glad to have all of you here with your strong faiths. To improve my kid's handwring, I copy & paste Bible verses from my Pinterest into Microsoft Word document. I chose a nice font at size 18, print in light blue, and made her trace that in black ink. One verse that she traced today: 2 Peter 2:19 "They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for "people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.""

Also Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make our paths straight." Below is the link to my Pinterest with pics. of roses, plus Bible verses, recipes, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Straw's collection of rose pics, Bible verse, recipes

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Mon, Feb 2, 15 at 15:29

hi friends!

Straw, what was the name of the mail order nursery that you recommended for antique roses other than Burlington? I think it was somewhere in the south?

BTW, I found this awesome video touring the rose garden at Mottisfont. It is a sight for sore eyes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Show about Old Garden Roses

Straw, love the link you share. Those recipes look yummy! The little picture of your kid is very cute too.

Hi Mas: Burlington is the cheapest, but I like Chamblee's Nursery in Texas for Austin & newest roses in LARGE gallon-size containers for $10 to $12. Someone posted in Rose forum comparing Chamblee to Roses Unlimited, Chamblee is a lot cheaper.

tHANK YOU, Mas, to the link to the video. Rachel the narrator is charming, and Rose Mundi & the Apocathery rose look great in the video. It's nice to see so many English gardens. I like their companion plants: blue catmint & other blue & green ground cover.

thanks for the info!

I'm glad you liked the video. I've watched it again. I'm sure that I will continue watching it through the winter. The show made me want to grow more OGRs. I already grow Rosa Mundi and love it. It grows where no other rose would and blooms beautifully. It also stays small. I might have shared this already last spring but this is a bouquet of Rosa Mundi and Louise Odier.

The video makes me want to grow Rosa Gallica Officinalis as well.

Mas, that looks great !! I love that bouquet and GLAD to see that again. I enjoy that video too, and look forward to more pics. of your roses.

Thanks! Spring cannot come soon enough. I am ready for some blooms.

Nice bouquet Mas_Loves_Roses! :)

Straw, our Total Gym is up in our cold upstairs spare room.
Only location it will fit in...lol