Michael, I completely understand where you're coming from. It's not just shrub roses versus hybrid teas. There are many classes of older roses and they can vary from 30 foot climbers with large flowers (or small ones) to dainty polyanthas with sprays of small, sweet flowers and everything in between. They climb, they tumble, they spread. They make a beautiful statement in the landscape in addition to some of them having many more flowers in one season than a modern hybrid tea ever could. And then there's the fragrance! That's not to say that modern roses don't have fragrance. I love the fragrance of my Julio Iglesias and it's a beautiful rose and a nice plant as a whole. But a dozen of them will never make a romantic, rich-looking garden as a dozen old roses that include noisettes, teas, chinas, polyanthas, damasks, ramblers, tea climbers, Hybrid Perpetuals and Portlands can, and I'm only naming roses that I can grow in my climate zone. Diversity in roses in a garden is exciting and beautiful, and puts it in a class of its own. But I also have Classic Woman, Yves Piaget, Burgundy Iceberg and Julia Child, and quite a few Austins, so the moderns also have their place. But why limit yourself, especially if your zone is not suitable for hybrid teas and/or floribundas? Why spray poisonous chemicals when you can grow beautiful varieties that don't need it? Okay, I will now climb off my soap box, hope that I haven't offended anyone and hope even more that even one person who reads this will be interested enough to want to explore the complete world of roses. Thank you. Ingrid

Sherry, Thanks for the congrats and also for the info on the cocoons. Darn, I hope that there aren't any inside of the nests. Now I'm wondering if I should tear every nest open to check on that. That wouldn't make me very happy if I have the start of those darn wasps and if they'd come out of their cocoons and parasitize cats that are in the containers. I agree with your breaking the cocoons in half because I'm sure that there are a lot more wasps around than there are butterflies. I'd like to think that our eliminating the parasitoids has to do with an increase in the population of butterflies. :) Oh and yes, I'm with you and think that the coloring of Red Admirals is beautiful! Cathy

Thanks Teresa! I just checked out the Indy Hosta Society website about the convention. Of course that happens to be the weekend I have to head up to South Bend for my brother's wedding. But according to the website it looks like its open to the public from 1 to 11pm on Wednesday June 20th. Just might have to drag my husband up there after work. We do have our 2nd anniversary coming up the following Monday -- there we go an easy anniversary present for him to get me, more hostas. And thereby inching closer to Ken's prediction of 30 by the end of the summer. LOL!

Ahughes (or anybody else), if you're interested in a trade or SASBE, check out my exchange list... Esh-ga, thanks for the good wishes on the winter-sowing. So far done 65 containers, including 38 native species and several cultivars of native species. Its been fun, and I can't wait to see how well things germinate and grow! Winter-sowing affords the opportunity to grow lots of natives that would be difficult or impossible to get at nurseries, or exorbitantly expensive to buy as plants. I bought lots of native seeds (and a few non-native) this winter and offered extras on the Seed Exchange forum. There was a lot of interest in native seeds, which was nice. But I was dismayed to see people trading invasive species like Euonymous alatus (burning bush) or Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven). One poster even explained on her exchange page how she grows Oriental bittersweet and keeps it contained on a trellis so it's okay! Yeah...only if she strips off every berry...if she saw how it's strangling native trees around here, she might change her mind!