Chamblee's description of "Lover's Delite" is: "Found" Tea rose. Whatever it may be, "Lover's Delite" is not a Tea rose. I say that with 100 percent certainty. I bought the rose from Chamblees and have grown it for four years (unless I tossed it last year). I also grow 45 different varieties of Tea roses, more or less at any one time. A number are found roses. "Lover's Delite" has nothing in common with the Tea class. The color is not tea color, the bloom form is not a Tea form, the canes are not Tea canes, the foliage is not Tea foliage, the prickles are not Tea prickles, the growth habit is not Tea growth habit, and the scent is not Tea scent. Therefore, "Lover's Delite" is not a Tea. As for "information on the internet" sullying the reputations of growers... I did not originate the questions about the identity of "Lover's Delite." I did convey the above information to Chamblees by email years ago, well before it appeared "on the internet" other than on this forum. They never responded or acknowledged my email in any way. I am sure they are very busy and can't respond to every email they get. They do respect the study names given by the finder of a rose, and I applaud that. In the interest of accuracy, tho, I also believe it is unwise to call "Lover's Delite" a Tea rose when it so clearly is not. Once a rose has been identified, I also consider it imperative to mention the accepted name. The information from David Austin's USA operations is incomplete. You can confirm for yourselves that Fisherman's Friend can be bought at no fewer than 10 nurseries that supply the USA. Fisherman's Friend was listed with six different Northern American suppliers as long ago as the 1990 Combined Rose List: Heirloom Roses in Oregon, Hortico, Limberlost Roses, Pickerings, Rose Acres, and Yesterday's Rose. I do not suggest that Chamblees is trying to mislead anyone. I'm sure their hearts are pure. I am suggesting that anyone who buys this rose as a Tea rose should check the facts for themselves. That way they won't be surprised when they receive a violet purple pink, old-rose scented, muddled but old fashioned bloom on a plant with viciously thorny canes with both prickles and acicles and modern foliage that rusts. Chamblees won't be the first person to be fooled by Austin roses. Our heritage roses groups of knowledgeable, honest rosarians collected a lovely, quartered, highly scented, thorny, repeat blooming rose with Portland-like foliage from two different Gold Country locations, including on one old grave. We have almost certainly identified that rose as Gertrude Jekyll.

Please ignore. Just testing..(my name or page wont show up when I search myself)

Hot diggety dang, I'm still logged in. Whatever it was that whoever did, it worked. Life may now resume its normal course. Dorothy, they were alive when fall hit so now we just hope they make it through our winter. It's been a mild one so far. Jay, the garden did for crap this year. It was just so soggy for the first half and then dry as a bone for the second half. No one I've talked to had anything other than a completely cruddy year up here. 2012 will be better! Nice to talk to you all again! Diane

Here's the follow-up to "More later." I won't go into all the details, but will explain somewhat about my lack of activity here, and why I haven't been posting much. Shortly before my 90th. birthday, when I had the awesome Harley ride, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a lumpectomy shortly after. I had already learned of a vision problem that required a second cataract surgery. Multiple follow up appointments for those and treatments for the eye still ongoing. Recently I learned that I have skin cancer (squamous cell) as a result of an ordinary wart on my left calf that had been there for years. I had been told to just leave it alone, so I did until it started to grow a cap. Now I'm getting weekly treatments for that and it is responding really well. This past summer I gave up driving and sold my car. That is a life changing decision, and I miss my "little rambling (shopping) trips" that I used to make. I am very blessed to have my DD close by. She takes me to all my appointments, and is a retired Radiology Tech, so knows what the Docs are saying, and translates it to me. So that is my tale of woe, I haven't had the time or inclination to post a lot, but things are going okay in each case and soon Spring will be here and I'm looking forward to what my young'ns will come up with for my 92nd. End of whining!