Chance, I don't think you are "mad". I think you just haven't been educated yet in exactly HOW to count roses. HOW TO COUNT ROSES -- Kim_SC at Gardenweb 1. Mini roses donÂt count. 2. Floribundas  because they are not full-fledged hybrid teas  count as half. 3. Shrubs, Climbers, Ramblers, Old Garden Roses, etc. donÂt count because they can be considered "landscaping." 4. Roses not planted  or in pots  donÂt count. (See the "Territory" Clause). 5. Roses that were discounted count as half. 6. Roses received as gifts donÂt count. 7. Odd numbers must always be rounded offÂif youÂre out of room, round the number down. For every one-hundred, divide by two. This is known as a "stock split." 8. Roses whose names you donÂt know or can't remember obviously donÂt count. 9. Roses that are on Shovel Prune Watch donÂt count; the roses that replace them also donÂt count as they cancel each other out. Duplicate/multiples count as one as they are considered a set. Roses that are not planted in a bed donÂt count. (See the "Landscaping" Addendum). Bareroots donÂt count because they are dormant when they arrive; once you plant them and they start to bud outÂwell, youÂve already done your count, so you will just have to wait until next seasonÂby which time youÂll be sure you already counted them. Mislabeled roses donÂt count because you probably already have one of them somewhere, which has already been counted onceÂprobably. Anything less than Grade 1 counts only a fraction, and since fractions are not whole numbers they can be rounded off (remember the rounding off rule). Roses that you think you might give away can be excluded from the countÂmakes it easier to part with them; if, by some chance you wind up keeping them, wellÂoh well. HTs that get huge and wind up taking more than one space should be counted twice, but remember the duplicate rule. NowÂif, after counting, you have under a hundred roses, you must immediately place some ordersÂand they donÂt count because theyÂre in transit and therefore not in the ground. Roses ordered on a whim really donÂt count because they were never on a list. (This is known as the list rule: If itÂs not on a list, it doesnÂt existÂmost likely). If you cut many roses and give them away, this is considered Charity, and everyone knows that you get special allowances for CharityÂwhich brings us to Tax Deductions (see Claiming Roses as Dependants). See? You really didnÂt have as many as you thought you didÂtime to go order some more. K.

I was reading to my daughter from an illustrated children's Bible, and we came to a scene where some ancient Jewish king was killed in his garden . . . yes, I know, a lovely scene to read about to a child anyway! . . . but then I turned the page and saw that in the illustration the desperate fellow was fleeing through formal beds of hybrid teas. No way!!! We also have a beautiful park in town that was especially designed for a "natural" look, with many types of ornamental grasses and species shrubs, rosa nitida, etc. The only false note in the whole thing is three hybrid teas that someone plopped down, all by themselves, at a very prominent juncture along one of the paths. You can tell by looking at them that the designer never intended for them to be there! I'll bet that the man who donated the park and named it in honor of his wife probably insisted on including those hybrid teas because they were his wife's favorite flower, or something like that. I shudder every time I see them!

I'm about the same age I think, and I will say that I had full intentions of getting an MBA or other graduate degree once I had worked a few years. But, it's been much more difficult than I imagined and now I'm 6 years into my professional career and I have no intentions of getting one. Balancing a full career, which often means late nights and weekends, with a degree program is very tough. And I'm speaking as a single person with no kids. A family would make it even worse. And tuition assistance can vary greatly. I've worked for companies where the only assistance is $100 a semester, which really doesn't go far. I guess my point is that yes, in this economy it's good to get a job as soon as you can but if you're talking only a year between a bachelors degree and a master's degree, I would do it because it becomes very easy to settle into a routine once you're in the work force. And once you have a family, it's hard to give up that free time to go to school. So if you can get it done beforehand, I would go for that. Also, if he goes another year, he can try to get an internship, if he hasn't already. Those internships can make all the difference in even getting an interview, and they often lead to real jobs after graduation. When I was in college, I couldn't find an internship that reflected what I wanted to do so I made up my own by contacting local business owners and offering my services for free in exchange for the experience. It worked, and I had a good job after college because of it. Another huge thing to consider is the recruiting. Most good jobs out of college are found via recruiting and I'd be willing to bet the recruiting is probably better for the graduate students. Perhaps he could talk to a career center or other similar resource and see what sort of options there are for recruiting. Our current economy isn't great and I don't know how it will be in a year. It may be better, it may be worse. But if it's worse, there's no guarantee he wouldn't be laid off anyway and I think he'd be better off with a graduate degree when he's competing with all the other college graduates.

Thanks for your comments folks. I totally agree that the whole premise is flawed since there isn't even one rose that we all on GW would agree would fit in everyone's garden. We have too many climates, or conditions, or preferences, or color schemes, to make this kind of blanket statement anything but hype. I'm with Seil - I recognize this as hype and it's no more egregious lying than any other marketing. "Best minivan for the price, "Low calorie ice cream", "Tastes great, less filling"... they're all seriously flawed statements, and arguably something we wouldn't even want (if I indulge in ice cream, I want the full glory and decadent taste, not a pale substitute). As Michael commented, marketers inherently serve their own interests, which is why I got a kick out of road signs up to Yellowstone this year like "Cody cattlewomen urge you to eat more beef". No bones (pardon the pun) about why they're recommending that strategy, and the same is true of J&P. I guess my curiosity about this list was more - are these arguably "very good" roses and relatively desirable among the roses J&P sells, or just whatever they have extras of this year and are trying to market to us. No way to know the latter, of course, but it's encouraging to hear for instance that Radiant Perfume does actually have a fantastic scent and seem to be a good rose. I can accept that Moondance or Sedona could be good roses just not in my yard, and I'm still hoping the latter works out for me. I have heard the mixed reviews on Zephrine Drouhin and dithered about it for years, but there aren't many thornless climbers and I do have enough cold that she might be happy. I agree that the quality of J&P roses has declined so much lately that they're my last choice of a vendor if a given rose is available anywhere else, but there still are a few roses only they sell for now. Cynthia