Great to hear that the irrigation is bringing new life to your garden, Ingrid! Here, I'm watching things get ready for Winter sleep -- though the unseasonably high temperatures in the 60s and 70s are keeping the Chinas, Polyanthas, and Teas blooming.

I put down grass seed a couple weeks ago, and it's starting to sprout. It's covered with Milorganite, then peat moss, then coffee grounds, so it's easy to find the baby blades in the bare spots where the crabgrass died off. I did this about a month later than I should have, but this extended warm weather should give it extra time to get going before hard frosts. Several projected forecasts for this area predicted warmer than average temperatures through December, then a bout of colder than average temperatures through until early March. This is also where I toss leftover food from Sammy and Monkey -- sprouted seed mix -- so whatever the wild birds missed has also started to grow. If Winter doesn't kill them off, the mower will next year.

Elsewhere, I'm continuing to put down fresh layers of coffee grounds wherever I can fit them. I finished the "boxed bed" in front of my house...

(where my baby 'Pink Soupert' is having another flush)

...then the south-facing strip against the neighbor's house where I put some of my new Chinas. Before adding grounds there, I cut back the seedling Verbena bonairensis that I planted between the roses. Then I snipped them to bits and laid them down, finally covering them with about two to three inches of coffee grounds.

Now I'm about halfway through the north-facing strip against my house, where I put shade-loving things. Unfortunately, they're getting hit with more sun than I anticipated, so I'm planning to add some Polyanthas there next year. By planting time, this layer of coffee grounds should further improve the soil there.

I'm waiting for hard frosts to knock back the foliage on companion perennials and annuals in the main beds before adding grounds there. I've just about used up any bare patches that could fit another layer back there, but I see areas where the level is below where I want it to be for next year. The Nicotiana 'Bella' and 'Cranberry Isles' I sowed have such lush leafy growth, I can't bear to smother them yet. Since they're still blooming, I'm also waiting for as many seeds to form for next year as possible.

I'm thinking of how to protect my potted Teas and Chinas and miscellaneous roses. I was hoping to use the garage, but the landlord still hasn't fixed the door, and I'm not in the mood to deal with that. There is room in my enclosed back porch, but I'm considering another option. Between my garage and the fence, I've been depositing a lot of coffee filters from my daily Starbucks hauls. The layer is approaching 12" thick now. I'm considering digging holes through them and dropping the pots inside up to the pot rims, then dropping a whole bunch of tree leaves on top to cover the canes. I'm considering this for the roses still in 1- or 2-gal containers, as I'm starting to worry that their smaller size will be subject to too much freeze-thaw stress even in my back porch. The 15" pots should be fine in the porch, I think.

I'm also looking around at all the tree leaves piling up. Last year I gathered them whole and threw them in the beds, finishing with abut 2" of coffee grounds. I learned that one must shred them first if one has Spring bulbs underneath, since the leaves didn't decompose until Summer. I also learned that the ubiquitous weed tree Ailanthus altissima casts lots of seeds, which tend to accumulate in the leaf piles on my street. Last Spring I was pulling up seedlings by the hundreds. I'm still undecided about whether to capitalize on this free organic matter and invest in a leaf blower/vac/shredder to use it, being as I'll also be "sowing" lots of weed-tree seeds that will likely be unharmed by the shredding. Since I'm also thinking of using leaves to cover the potted roses -- and weeds there are easily smothered by continued layers of coffee filters -- perhaps I'll hold off on making the purchase.

:-)

~Christopher

..it's fun to read what everyone is doing here...we're always looking ahead...

...I've been developing a small area here, that encloses seating for two... the weather has been mild, no frosts and so we've had a long season of opportunity to get things done... and I felt it needed a bit of oomph....

..the roses I have now in this section, which includes a greenhouse and garden shed, are.... 'Armada' - a short climbing rose on an obelisk with Clematis 'Niobe'... 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' at the base... 'St Swithun' climber.... found rose L19 Laos...2 x Blush Noisettes.... 'Mrs John Laing' newly planted today, with 'Mme. Ernest Calvat'... 'Reine des Violettes' and 'Jacques Cartier' roses.... climbers 'Lady Hillingdon' and surprisingly healthy 'Zephirine Drouhin', which I was given and now presents a colour clash with Lady H....

...further along I now have 'Gloire de Ducher' on trellis, an established 'Kew Gardens' and fairly new 'Purple Skyliner'....with an Austin 'Desdemona' in front of all these...

...next I have an Austin 'Ancient Mariner' against a fence, next to this I will be trialling clg. 'Devoniensis' up the shed wall, but this may not like my garden... also an 'Escapade' [Harkness] rose will be in there too...this area has herbs, specie Hemerocallis and more Geraniums for company...

...in the greenhouse where I have a patch of border soil, 'Mme. Berard' will be used to climb, with 3 potted roses for company...'Odee Pink noisette'...'Comtesse de Leusse' a Tea, and 'Cels Multiflore' if it's still alive..

....the rose borders outside are all underplanted with bulbs Narcissus 'Beauvallon'...'Falconet' and 'Acropolis'... Tulips 'Peach Blossom'..'Ballerina'... and Crocus...

..shrubs include a pruned Cotinus 'Grace'..a winter flowering Daphne, dwarf Fargesia bamboo... and blue conifers... there's also a Clematis 'Etoile Violette' rambling through the lot...

....perennials are Persicaria, Gaura and Phlox.... with underplantings of various Geraniums, my favourites being 'Rozanne' 'Patricia' 'Elke' and 'Vorjura''...

...also Aster 'Wunder von Stafa' will be making a show I hope...

...as you can see, I cram everything in, some roses are planted close, and my seating area will no doubt disappear under the cascading blossoms before very long...

Since I can't add more than ten pics per post, here's the north-facing strip against my house where I need to add more coffee grounds -- and Polyanthas to shade the ferns next year.

:-)

~Christopher

Christopher, I see that you have a fairly large, seemingly circular area of grass. Have you considered putting a bed in the middle and adding either a great specimen rose or a bed of smaller roses such as polyanthas? Your Pink Soupert, by the way, is really lovely.

I always wondered why you removed the filters from the coffee grounds. Would they not just rot away in the rose beds and not be visible since you put leaves over the coffee grounds? It does sound like quite a bit of work to separate them out. However, your idea of using them to cover pots for the winter sounds sensible. Of course, I'm the last person who should say that since I know nothing about winterizing plants (thank goodness).

Marlorena, you have such beautiful rose varieties, not to mention other plants, that your garden sounds sublime. I know it is from having seen different parts, although I must confess that I don't know your layout since most of your pictures show only smaller parts. I'd really like to see a picture from a bit further way, if that can be done, to get an idea of the whole.

Ingrid, I'd rather keep that piece of lawn there so as to not turn the entire yard into a display area. I share this space with my neighbors -- two houses on one lot, same landlord. And in any case, when it's green and full, the grass area really sets off the surrounding beds.

I figured you'd like 'Pink Soupert' since it is definitely "your type". It smells very nice as well. Blooms are about two inches in diameter, pinker and with slightly fewer petals than 'Clotilde Soupert'. Otherwise, so far the two are very similar -- smooth canes, identical foliage, and similar scent. Apparently, Rogue Valley Roses is the only source for it anymore.

I remove the filters because in many areas I have bulbs and/or self-seeding annuals, and I don't want the filters to smother them. What I do is dump the whole can into a wheelbarrow, setting the empty can and a pickle bucket close by. I scoop the grounds into the bucket, pulling filters as I uncover them and toss them into the can. An average day's haul fills the bucket three times. Occasionally the can is really full, and I get four buckets out of it. The north-facing border doesn't have bulbs or self-seeding annuals, so I threw a few down there -- but only one-layer-thick. Total time to "deal with" a day's haul of grounds is under an hour -- and that includes separating the filters, scooping the grounds into the bucket, and applying them where I want.

Incidentally, I've been putting the grounds down far thicker than online articles advise. What I notice happening here is that a sprinkled-thin layer quickly disappears, an inch can form an impenetrable crust, but two or more inches forms a "cracked crust" that allows water to seep right down. Putting a thick layer down just before Winter means it will freeze and thaw -- and by Spring, has the texture of sand, no longer "crusting".

It sounds like a lot of work, but I look forward to my "daily garden chore" after my morning coffee beverage grants me the power to face the day.

:-)

~Christopher

Ingrid, thank you... yes, I tend to show only bits and pieces as I seem to be perpetually ''under development''... maybe next season I can show more... but there really isn't as much as it might sound... it's surprising what can be fitted into smaller spaces.... pruning is essential...

...I might also say the same of yours inasmuch that, I rarely see your 'Tea Rose Row'.... and it always sounds so nice....

What's happening? Not a lot, thought I, "I did my large scale reshaping (large scale for a small suburban garden anyway!) last winter."

Except, now I think of it....

I've twenty (mumble-something-daren't-actually-count) roses to go in, and several already in to move, and half a dozen to pull out.

I'm putting in a new arch to walk under as you enter the garden from the passage way at the back.

I've vine eyes and wires to put in for climbers on the back wall of the house.

I'm reshaping one of the new curved lawn edges - it doesn't quite work on reflection (gah).

I'm building a couple of new raised beds, and three large square planters.

I have a boatload of perennials to go in that I've been holding back till the new roses are in.

I have a LOT of bulbs to go in. This will be the last en masse bulb planting for a while - I will see what sort of top up rate I need over the next few years. I do love my tulips.

I've a wild cherry to take out. I confess, that it will most probably get topped, and then (heresy) Treestump killer'd to prevent it regrowing, and the stump used as an impromptu pillar, as stump grinding right there is impractical. I know, more decomposing bloody tree roots to steal the tiny amount of free nitrogen in my depleted soil.

The mini pond project is complete - just the planting around the edge to finish. Hearing how big Anna Olivier might get has kinda thrown me for a loop - I'm worried about spacing on it now. However, I can pot if I have to for a year. In general, I need to nail down my planting plan - I need to spend a few hours just looking at angles etc - I find it hard to visualise and daylight hours are so, so precious this time of the year.

I may have to move Le Vesuve to a bigger spot - it's easily four times the size of General Schablikine, which has the prime big spot and consequently looks slightly silly in it.

I have to completely re-do the red beds - they haven't worked at all this year, and SdDrJ and cl. EdH are definitely moving. *sigh*

The blue beds are also in need of a big overhaul - they were the first beds planted and are looking terribly tired. Plus, hah, there are four roses for each bed to go in.

I need to paint trim and exterior walls where work has been done on the french windows at the back.

I bought a 'lutyens' bench, heavily reduced for faulty paint, which is waiting to be repainted.

I need to move the pot ghetto, because the drain under the patio is being worked on next week.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something ugh. Quite apart from the mundane realities of pruning, mowing, tying in and stuff. I think winter veg are going written off this year, I'm so far behind.

This is all on top of the three indoor rooms I have to decorate, although I only have to have ONE of those done before Christmas.

Ingrid, Marlorena, you do 'whole garden' shots and I will too - not that mine is very impressive - unless you count the extent of stuffed in plants, because I can't go to a garden centre without coming home with more!

Anyway, I guess my weekends are somewhat spoken for for the forseable future. I feel a bit wobbly looking at that list.

Absolutely lovely, Ingrid. I don't believe I've seen any of this before. Your hardscape does a wonderful job of setting off the plants, which have been very well placed. My cramped beds and small yard don't allow for the paths you have, and that I long for. I'm glad I had a chance to see these photos. Diane

I'm glad you finally got to see these pics, Diane, and thank you for your nice comments. I can't take credit for the paths; they were already there, although the rest of the landscape when we moved in was five plots of grass, one bougainvillea and one unidentified climbing plant that took most of the light from the living room window.

Your hardscape is wonderful, Ingrid. Good job buying the property so you could focus on the plants.

Ingrid....thanks for posting those, and I can see many of us have enjoyed viewing them again....yes I confess now to seeing these before but I hadn't realised that was what you meant..... I had been thinking of another area of your garden that I rarely see,...maybe around the back or somewhere, the property looks different - pillars or somesuch - and I always thought that was your Tea Rose Row... I like the appellation very much... it's most suitable...

Christopher, I can recommend the Toro leaf blower/vac. Make sure you get the one with the metal blade. It makes quick work of leaves and you can then spread them ore easily. Or store them over winter in a black plastic bag and they turn into peat!

Your Tea Rose is lovely Ingrid, I always enjoy seeing it. I'm in full winter planning now, even though my roses are still blooming (or rather turning to mush on the stem with all this rain). I have someone coming tomorrow to discuss helping me put a stone border around my proposed circular rose bed. I then plan on filling in this spot with good soil (the soil in this spot is particularly bad. I have plans for Teasing Georgia in the middle on an obelisk and then 4 large teas/chinas as spokes and then other roses in between. The border will be a mix of bulbs and ground covers. I may try to add some evergreen interest, maybe dwarf gardenias or something that will stay low. Then I also have the border bed on the west side of my property that was created when the construction took out all the native trees there. We finally had the cable company come out and bury the cable, so I can get started. I have plans for about 2 dozen roses there, mostly orange/yellow toned, but a few violet ones for contrast. Lots of Austins, some HTs, some OGRs. It's a slight incline so I'm hoping it holds up. with all this rain, the ground should be pretty workable. I also am trying adding vermiculite to my new beds. A friend swears by it. I bough 6 bags on the internet.

Buford, the circular bed with a stone border around it sounds wonderful. I'll be very interested to see what roses you choose for that area. I would be so excited if that were my project. Being able to select that many roses would be a little harrowing (for me anyway) but also a huge creative turn-on. Add to that your border bed and your cup overfloweth. I look forward to your talking about your projects here and then, of course, the pictures. Must have pictures.

Marlorena, the area you're talking about with the arches is just beyond the deck, and is the one area almost devoid of roses, many having met their ultimate fate there. Very poor soil, worse than the rest, which is saying something. Right now I have two Wild Edric roses there and White Meidiland and the rest is mostly sea lavenders. It's actually rather restful to have a spot that isn't all about roses. I'm just now going to look for a picture of it.

I took a trip down memory lane looking for a picture of that particular area, of which I don't actually have a current one. I found these shots that were taken around the time we first moved in.

Area where Tea Rose Row ends - the fence was soon taken down to make room for plantings

Area with arches

It's a little different now

Another scenic area of the back yard

Now slightly changed

The opposite side of Tea Rose Row

Glamour shot of the front garden

After an hour or two of tweaking

aah...fascinating glimpses of the before and after, and what a lot of hard work you must have had.... the photos I remember are the 3rd and 4th down in particular, I knew I recalled seeing columns, what I might call Spanish style.... that's how it would seem to us... and it was this area I thought you had most of your Tea roses.. but I'm sorry so many didn't survive in that location...

...Thanks for seeking them out and showing us again, and I do hope that superlative pink shrub rose is still with you....'Potter and Moore'...?...

Yes, in that area at one time I had SdlM, Bon Silene, a pink climber, Mrs. Dudley Cross, Marie van Houtte, La Marne and more that I can't recall. It was only much later that my husband explained to me that this particular area had been excavated out of the hillside and was probably down to subsoil! If only I could do it all over again, I would import tons of rich soil and properly prepare every area before planting a single twig and then immediately install drip watering. Hindsight can be such a b...h.

Potter and Moore will be there forever if I have anything to say about it. I think I've enabled one or two people here to try it, but for the most part I seem to be the only one to love it passionately. Perhaps I should acquire another one before I find out one day that it is no longer available anywhere on the planet.

I just love these photos and your glorious improvements. I am so hoping for this type of evolution in my space.

Sheila, I don't have the slightest doubt that you have what it takes to make it happen. You go, girl, and we're all behind you and beside you, as everyone was for me.

Ingrid thanks for sharing those pics with us. I enjoyed the before and after pics.

I moved away from my garden for two summers. It is a mess to say the least right now. I have only been back in the house a few weeks and the weather has been dreadful so haven't accomplished nearly as much as I wanted to before winter sets in. I was able to bring some plants with me and I did replant them, they seem to be settled in just fine. I lost a lot of roses while I was away. Room for more new ones, LOL. I look forward to spring when I can really get into the garden and do some revamping. moving, pruning, etc. The little that I have done looks much nicer though than the first day I drove back in the yard. I have no doubt that during some snow storms this winter I will come up with some great new ideas for my little yard.

I do love reading about all of you and your gardening adventures.

Valerie

Valerie, that's going to be an exciting challenge for you and I hope you'll still have some days of nice weather before winter sets in to do some more primping. It's amazing how changing even a few things for the better can make a huge difference, and it's such a boost to one's morale. By next spring you'll have a pretty clear idea of what needs to be done. I hope you'll keep us posted on what's happening in your garden.

Well if I waiting for it to stop raining, it would be awhile. So I decided to get out there today. I divided my list of roses for one of the new beds into groups of five with 4 or 5 roses in them. I decided to work on the front of the bed (closest to the street) because it became a bit weedy again and I don't want to get another letter from the HOA. The soil here was in pretty good shape, mostly clay with some gravel, but larger pieces that were easy to pick out. Since it's been rainy for over a week, the soil was very pliable, but surprisingly not too wet. The yard was graded to slope down to the backyard, so the drainage must be working. Here is the spot after I turned over the soil and removed the grave and some tree roots.

Here is what the soil looks like up close:

The five roses I planted are Loretta Lynn Van Lear, Belmont Orange (which looks pretty good for being dug up and shoved in a pot for almost two years), Molinex (I got this one at a plant swap from my Rose Society. The surprise was that there were two separate plants in the pot!), Carding Mill (a cutting from a friend), Munstead Wood and Christopher Marlowe (this one is on fort). Here they are:

I added vermiculite to the soil, and also gypsum and bone meal. I topped it off with mushroom compost.

I'm going to add some moss phlox to the front to spill over the curb. It started raining pretty heavy after this so I will wait till tomorrow to put the mulch on. Hopefully next spring this spot will be nice and flowery. The red flags are to mark where the cable was just buried.

I've got all the way to the fence to go, wish me luck!

Not much is happening in my garden. I raked leaves today, have waited for the last to fall, and put some of them in borders and beds and the rest in the leaf compost bins. The neighbours have been out every night for weeks raking and blowing leaves. I hope they have enjoyed themselves, taking it as exercise.

But autumn is a good season for planning ahead. Several beds need to be made much wider especially an emergency bed I had to make at short notice to accomodate three Kordes Rotkäppchen roses passed on to me by a woman who had received them for trial. My garden is getting old and tired so I need to divide many perennials, move a couple of Austin roses to better positions and consult an arborist about the old apple trees, the mainstay of my garden.

Buford, when you've finished planting that bed and it's next spring, I think it's going to be wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Marianne, I had Rotkaeppchen for a while, and it was a pretty rose, but I don't think it was suited to my climate and I probably put it in the wrong spot, with too much sun. At least I have a picture of it. It sounds as though you have a few projects. I hope your apple trees can be rejuvenated. I've always admired your garden.

You're off to a great start, Buford! I envy you all that space -- what a blank canvas to fill. Good job on breaking up that clay. I approached that issue differently, but what you did will give quicker positive results than my laying down organic matter on top. I look forward to seeing how you prettied things up after your "big dig" project.

:-)

~Christopher

This week, I have 56 tubestock arriving, 48 korean box to edge my 'Tea Circle' - the one where almost all the Teas were removed because of die-back! - and 8 blackbird penstemon, to fill in some spaces.

I felt exhausted at the thought of this, but after reading some of the posts, I realise what a wimp I am - possibly more exhausted, though!

The weeds are growing apace, and I need to get to them before they seed.

Of course, there's the endless deadheading, much more than usual, as I've been away for a few days - looking at gardens.

Spreading horse poo, and, I know, a million other jobs, but I can't think of them, as I'm just too tired!

Trish

Thanks Ingrid and Christopher. I decided to do the double digging method because the soil was fairly soft and not one of the 'bad' spots in my yard. When I get further down, it may be a different story. I think because this was a 'wild' spot with native trees and such, it will not be that bad, but there is the gravel to deal with. Have I said how much I hate gravel? When they were digging they were dumping two dump trucks full of gravel a day here. Most went into surrounding the new drainage pipes, but there was plenty left over. I do think that clay, properly loosened and amended slightly is great for roses. I am dying to see how the vermiculite/gypsum does. But I will now keep putting organics on top. i'm eyeing all the piles of wet leaves in my yard. I might rake them up and just dump them on the new plantings.

titian, 48 box! I thought about edging with boxwood, but knew I would never keep up with the pruning. I'm doing a circle bed too, with some teas and Austins. I'd love to see pictures of your project. Don't feel like a wimp, I only planted a few roses then used the rain as an excuse to stop :). Hopefully we dry out soon and I can work on the rest of the bed. I also met with the guy who is going to help me out edging my circle bed so I can finally get that planted.

Buford, if you don't mind a softer look, consider green Santolina for edging. The silver ones are a bit more finicky, and may not do well with your Summers' humidity.

:-)

~Christopher

Buford, I have a box hedge planted in the front garden. It's also korean box, which is a low grower. I only hedge it twice a year - much to my surprise (others might think it needs done more often!) - and it only takes 15 to 20 minutes with an electric hedge clipper.

Pictures! If you could see the area now! But, I'll take some maybe this Autumn, ie April. I planted 4 new roses there this year, and am not very happy with my choices, but maybe they'll grow on me! It definitely needs more contrast.

I planted 4 more roses this weekend. Lady of Shalott, Graham Thomas, Sunny Sundays and Areuthsa. This section the soil wasn't as good as the first part, so I had to amend heavily. I used peat moss because I like how it breaks up the sticky clay and I added vermiculite and gypsum. I topped it off with compost and composted manure. There was so much gravel in this spot that I filled up a 7 gallon pot with it. And now I can't move it, LOL.

I had originally had 5 sections with 4 or 5 roses. Originally I thought I would run out of room. Now I think I will run out of roses......

Hmm, guess you'll have to order more. What a shame :D

titian, now I'm curious as to what you planted. I hope that as they mature they'll improve and you'll change your mind. I hate it when I feel I've made a mistake about roses. I think of the many hundreds I could have chosen instead. At the same time, I'm not convinced I'd do a better job if I had a clean slate and could start over again.

Buford, you've inspired me never to complain about my soil again. It isn't much but certainly better than what you have to put up with. I applaud your efforts to improve the soil and I'm sure your roses will thank you.

This fall and winter I'm doing some new beds and re thinking some spaces. One whole area has gotten too shady for roses and will now be Japanese maples, native iris and coral bells with seating and some flagstone. I'm not usually one to give up plant space for hardscaping but in an effort to stay on a lower watering plan, I decided to do this. The maples need somewhere to go because I rescued them from a store closing down and grew them on and now they don't fit the area they occupy and are in the path.

Interesting that a study was done where the same amount of water was used on trees and shrubs.....one half got deep watering just ( twice?) a week and the other half got more frequent watering with less water being applied. The plants that got their roots wet more frequently were healthier and had bigger, deeper root systems than the ones that dried out between waterings. The soil stayed moister with the frequent waterings. Both had been mulched. I've been hand watering and shut off my automatic watering system so I could put water down only when the plants actually needed it. I'm actually using less but it doesn't look like it when I'm standing out there. Now that the cooler weather is here, the plants can relax and rest.

Kitty, with regards to this watering test, I really don't know how generally it can be applied. I would be willing to bet that keeping the roots of, for example, Med natives constantly wet would be a recipe for disease and would shorten their life. I think the issue is highy plant, soil and conditions dependent.

Ingrid, I've planted another Anna Olivier (removed 3 that had canker badly, and were planted far too close together), Etoile de Lyon and WR Smith (bought as Amelia Anderson, but I think they're the same). They are next to each other, and then there are 2 mature Marie van Houtte (I had to move one which was too big for it's spot, so they've ended up together) next to them, and then the unkillable Mrs Dudley Cross. So they're all pale, and with the exception of AO, pale pink and/or yellow. Also in the circle, but in it's own small bed is Mme Berkeley, which is already topping 4', and about to have it's second flush. I'm so hoping I like it better.

I'm like you - this is my third chance at this circle, but I'm not happy! I would love to have Rosette Delizy - I love the rose and it would be a great contrast, but the blooms balled and burnt here. I'm almost tempted to try it again, as I see brightstar grows it in Sydney in fairly similar conditions to mine. But I did have it for 2 years, and it was around 6' tall by then, and there was rarely a good bloom on it.

I've got a deep purple buddleia in there, and am planting some blackbird penstemon, a blue lupin and an aster, so they'll give some contrast. Also there, are some perennial wallflower and a phlomis. Right now, I'm edging the whole circle in box, which is a lovely fresh green.

On the cards for next year, if I'm still not happy are Mme Antoine Mari (she was on the list for this year, but I changed my mind!), and perhaps Triomphe de Luxembourg.

Recently I went to the nursery I order online from. It's about 10 hours drive from here, so that was my first and probably last visit. They'd had heavy rain (which we get from time to time here), and it was interesting to see which roses had stood up to it. T de L had stood up well. Another rose I'd never heard off - Purpurea di Bologna - was in full flush, with not a spoilt bloom. It was a glorious rich purple (though HMF describe it as mauve). I'd love to find a spot for it!

kittymoonbeam, that's curious about that study - it's goes against everything I've heard. I'd love to know more.

Best gardening news I can share....my mom is moving in with us this winter and she loves to weed! This means our gardens will be even better and we can work together on the kitchen garden and our new rose/herb fragrance garden! So excited for spring...but fun planning over the winter :)

titian, I really like all the roses you mention except for possibly Mme. Berkeley, but I hope that by next year you might like yours. Mrs. Dudley Cross (which I really like) unfortunately did not do well with me while Rosette Delizy is easy here, and unfortunately for you it's the other way around.

By next spring I should be able to show you pictures of Mme. Antoine Mari which is still growing out of its kindergarten shoes at the moment. In terms of color I would think it's also on the pale side. Le Vesuve is always a darker pink for me, but it's awfully thorny. The purplish and bluish companion plants sound like a great contrast to the paler roses. The greenery around it should be wonderful with the pale roses. I really hope we'll see pictures when you think the circle is ready to make its debut.

Hurray, Lavender Lass! It's pleasant to read about so much gardening going on in everybody's yards.

Hole diggin'..

Madam, that fluffy hole is for Mme Leonie Viennot, not for you to lay your eggs in!

Olive picking and olive tree pruning..

'Kalamata' variety olives destined for brining..

Citrus picking..

Bare-root potting up..

You HAVE been busy, Nik! I love Kalamata olives and can polish off a whole jar, with or without the accompanying salad:) Those citrus trees look really healthy... What are they? They remind me of the Riverland of South Australia when I was growing up. Then cheap imports arrived and many local growers ripped out their Citrus, stone fruit and table grapes and replaced them with wine grapes. I like wine too, but miss the old 'fruit blocks' as the orchards were known. The pots of roses remind me of my courtyard in winter, when the new roses arrive. Still need the Ibruprofen?

I hope the tortoise moved before you planted MLV.

I grow many different kinds of citrus. The pic above is an early ripening Clementine mandarin hybrid and below is a Navelina sweet orange aka Washington Early (complete with Med fly bait trap..). Behind that is a pink grapefruit probably Ruby Red. My back is better, thank you.

I wondered what that was in the tree. I hope the trap works. Your fruit looks beautiful. Thankfully we have an orange orchard next door which we're allowed to take fruit from. I can't believe you're doing all this by yourself. All those roses in pots make me long to see your garden next spring. We just finished planting an own-root Marie Pavie and International Herald Tribune is next when it starts to look just a little sturdier.

I would love to have an olive tree, but I'd have to keep it in a pot and that would be no fun.