I have heard Marie Van Houtte will do just fine on her own roots here. John Lin Gardens has several teas on their own roots, doing fine. Seminiole Springs Rose and Herb Farm also has many roses on their own roots. I just recently planted William R. Smith, and it has doubled in size already. Beautiful blooms. No disease whatsoever. He is a new one for me though. Maggie is doing wonderfully for me. She is about a year in the ground. I haven't sprayed her and she is totally clean. Blooms all the time. She's on her own roots. She is about 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide, planted from a two gallon, but certainly didn't fill out the pot. She was more like a one gallon. I think her growth in this little amount of time is impressive. Niles Cochet just went in the ground and seems happy, but I can't comment on him yet. I'm going to take the liberty to suggest a few not on your list that are fabulous roses and do not need spray...at least they don't for me. Mrs. BR Cant is exceptional so far own root. She needs lots of room though. 9 to 10 foot spacing. Madame Lombard is also exceptional on her own roots, never needs to be sprayed, and her flowers do not suffer from thrips-at all. The Bermuda Mystery rose "Trinity" never needs spray. It is own root. The found rose "Spice" never needs spray, but I do have trouble with thrips on that one. Own root. The chinas Archduke Charles, Louis Philippe, Cramoisi Superieur, Old Blush, and Napoleon have not ever needed to be sprayed. Own root. I have been told Bon Silene is also a good rose and never needs spray. I may get one. The flowers are not real full, but her color is pretty. Madame Antoine Mari and Gilbert Nabonnand, both teas, have never needed spray. Own root. Gilbert is a gorgeous rose and heavy bloomer. The noisette Crepuscule is fabulous own root. Not a speck of disease and what a bloomer! Some thrips bothered it in the spring, but they are leaving Crepuscule alone now. Hardly any thorns. The key is ample spacing between the bushes, adequate irrigation, lots of sun, and feed your soil with organic fertilizer. When I used the cheap chemical fertilizers it seems I had to battle disease. Amazingly, my hybrid teas are all OK so far. I haven't sprayed them in 2 months. However, hybrid teas DO need to be sprayed here as a rule. I'm phasing them out and just keeping the few I delight in seeing, as I hate spraying when it is hot out (I wear lots of protection). I guess I'm working towards no spray, as I have had to admit to myself that I would rather have a root canal than go out and spray. I have a lot of roses, and almost all are in the tea and china category. Sandy

Ah yes, the bullsnake... we have them by the tons! They get a little aggressive when disturbed, but they're practically harmless. They do eat garden pests, so I leave them alone... but that doesn't mean I have to like them! I much prefer the beautiful praying mantises we have all over the garden beds! I do hope they made a lot of huge egg cases for next year! The few bulbs I've gotten this year have been beautiful... large sized, firm, free of any rot or fungus. I can't complain at all. Last season, I ran into a few that required a little cleaning and minor surgery. Easy to accomplish, and once healed, they performed fine. What I did learn last season, was that the medium we use needs to be porous and able to dry out between waterings. It's the combination of too much moisture and the decomposing soil that makes a perfect environment for fungus and molds to grow and thrive in. There's a certain balance of fungi and bacteria in a garden environment that is sadly lacking in a container environment. I switched mediums so often last year that my husband thought I was going off the deep end! All that experimenting was well worth it, though... I found a very good balance of medium ingredients, which very closely resembles a bonsai mix. The ingredients are mostly inorganic and don't decompose... they don't compact as quickly as regular potting soil, so the roots don't suffocate. I haven't had a rot or mold or fungus problem since I began using this new mix. I think adding a bit of Captan to every bulb I pot up helps, too. Bulb flesh is so tender and prone to rotting that it was worth it to me to search out the information I needed, and switch mediums until I found what works best. It's also worth it to me to water a little more often, because I know I've got healthy root systems on all my bulbs.

Well, we definitely love it! It was embarrassingly expensive and I was told there were very limited quantities. If we ever move I am taking that stone off the island and putting the unobtrusive one we have elsewhere (leathered Cambrian Black, very nice) on the island for selling the house! Sorry you can't find it in NY/NJ. It did take quite a bit of time for me to get this one. The place we got it, Cumar, had stones with this *name* but not as vibrant, and we spent weeks trying to talk ourselves into liking what they had. Somehow we found this one. Good luck - there are definitely a LOT of beautiful stones out there! (And, I have to say, sheepishly, that five years later we kinda have to remind ourselves how glorious our stone is. We just have gotten used to it.)

Oakley, American Robin eggs are blue, according to every book and website I have ever seen. There are other types of robins-could those be what you are referring to? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says this:. "Egg Description: Sky blue or blue-green and unmarked." The Audubon Society agrees: "Usually 4, sometimes 3-7. Pale blue or 'robin's-egg blue.'" eta:. Sites like your link with the photos are not always accurate in their identifications. eta 2: love all the pictures and really, really want a couple of goats!