Hey missy! We feel your pain here in Georgia. We have had sooooo much rain and supposed to get a heavy downpour tonight or tomorrow. I am so sick of it. I know we have needed rain the last couple of years but good grief, enough already!!!!! Most of my yard is shade now and with all this wet stuff i'm surprised any of my roses have any leaves still attached. I don't know our rainfall total for the year so I may just go and see if I can pull it up somewhere. Your pal, Judy

Here is a closeup of the foliage [IMG]http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff20/leu242/Chicago/100_0197.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks Karen! Somewhere in a GW thread I read that local groups/communities designate an informal site like a picnic table in a park pavillion, public building or farmers market to rehome extra plants or seeds. Before I posted here I searched the Garden Clubs of Illinois website. (Nothing local - mostly northern Illinois.)I tried the U of I extension, Illinois Gardener, Craigslist... I finally found the public parks system website listed "Garden club at senior center, 1st Monday of each month, 6:30 p.m.,fee $15.00." My first thoughts were "Oh no, who can afford $180/year membership. This probably isn't for me." I went anyway...glad I did. (they have since changed the wording to "annual fee".) I met some very kind, welcoming women. I've lived/gardened in this town most of my life - never knew there was an annual plant give away/fund raiser. I found out that there are many local groups affiliated with Garden Clubs of Illinois. Why doesn't the Illinois site list the various districts, clubs or contact info? My e-mail to them was shunted from club secretary to commitee chairperson, who was willing to forward to my local membership chair...by then I'd already joined. Anyway, to anyone with the intention of easily swapping, buying, or giving away plants/seeds locally your suggestions were spot on. Freecycle/Craigslist, co-workers, garden clubs, mastergardeners, and plant sales are the best options. Information about the last three take some ongoing searches as they don't advertise thier activities much. DD

Thank you! Quadra seems to be a long lasting bloom... and the fragrance is nice, though milder than I like. It's a new rose for me, and I think it's worthy of growing just for its color, shape and long lasting blooms! The Knock Outs make nice additions to the perennial beds, where I have them planted... a nice mid-sized plant with lots of lovely color early in summer. While not my favorite rose, they definitely have merit as a bright part of the gardens!