Here's a little alba news from me.;) I have Chloris on order from Pickering for November delivery. They have sold out of her already, BUT they do 11 other albas still available: Alba Maxima, Blush Hip, Celestial, Felicite Parmentier, Great Maiden's Blush, Konigin von Danemark, Maiden's Blush, Mme Legras de St. Germain, Mme Plantier, Semi-Plena, and Suaveolens, http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/web_store_alba.cgi?&variety=alba Just received an order from High Country Roses in Colorado. Decided to take a chance on an alba found in Denver's Fairmount Cemetery called Jeremiah Pink. It was quite large for the pot (roughly equivalent in size to a band but with a wider and shallower container) and had an abundance of leaves. Arrived during one of our heat waves! but didn't seem to skip a beat. Now in a one gallon pot. See HCR's found rose page, http://highcountryroses.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=009&DEPT=1076372882&CAT=1110979713&BACK=A0007A1B01076372882B1 Heirloom now has one of the Rolf Sievers' albas in stock, Golden Blush. It's a cross of Maiden's Blush with the hybrid tea Golden Giant. The picture on Heirloom's site looks pretty, but HMF describes it as orange-pink, with photos that tend more to the orange side. I have an aversion to orange roses, so I don't know that I will try this one. If they decide to offer Crimson Blush or Summer Blush that will likely be another story. Imagine a RED alba! Heirloom's alba page, http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/old-garden-roses/albas.html?limit=all Look how many are out of stock! It appears there are alba fans wanting to shop.;) Melissa

Did you get rain this weekend? We were on vacation last week (got home Saturday) and had 3/4" in the rain gauge (ok, on the yard and garden too :-) and had another inch and 2/10 last night so I'm in pretty good shape. My neighbor from across the street came over and watered the pots for me every couple of days while we were gone. I swear she must have put Miracle Grow on everything too! They do love this humidity (like today) even if I don't :-)

Actually, in our part of CT -- central to north central -- this was a banner year for milkweed!! Until now, that is... The patch in my meadow must have quadrupled this year, and it was in every bit of land along roads and even in shopping center parking lot strips. However, after Irene, I noticed my large stand in the meadow has shriveled and turned brown. Last year we had monarch caterpillars galore into early October. This year (though I have not yet waded into the remains of it) I can't see much green left, so there can't be much caterpillar activity. But YES! We can all plant milkweed, even if it's just in the back of a border or behind a barn. Massive quantities in the Midwest are gone because the farmers there now have corn that is Roundup resistant -- so they can spray their fields to get rid of the milkweed and not harm the corn. (Though why you want to feed anyone or anything corn that has been sprayed with Roundup is beyond me.) And they DO! NY Times had a great piece about it this summer ... Check out MonarchWatch.org and consider planting a few monarch-friendly plants, maybe even get your yard certified as a Monarch Waystation (there's no minimum size--and I can attest that milkweed will even grow in a pot on your patio, which makes watching those caterpillars work their magic so much easier!). It's a terrific project ... and the monarchs will thank you. I swear, they dip their wings as they head off in the fall ... pretty sure they're saying "thanks!!" Me, I just whisper "Godspeed" as I watch them bank to the southwest over my barn, beginning their amazing journey. Here is a link that might be useful: MonarchWatch.org

Well they still are around, some stores may have dropped them 'cause they are a bit expensive relative to the Chinese junk, but go to google and type in Siemens cordless phones and you can still buy them new. http://sie.onlinephonestore.com/?&arefx=1962231 http://www.shopping.com/xGS-Siemens_Cordless_Phones~NS-1~linkin_id-3055935 http://shopper-search.cnet.com/search?qt=siemens&subj=siemens_cordless_phones&part=google-cnet&tag=23769 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Dblended%26field-keywords%3Dsiemens%20cordless%20phones%26results-process%3Ddefault%26dispatch%3Dsearch%26store-name%3Dall-product-search/ref%3Dpd%5Fsl%5Faw%5Ftops-1%5Felectronics%5F7136345%5F2/104-2799341-5347911