Boy do I feel dumb. My husband & I have been watching this monarch eat our butterfly bush & didn't realize that we have a milkweed growing with our butterfly bush. I didn't plant it there! They are both in the same container. Of course the monarch is eating the milkweed, not the butterfly bush. Thanks everyone for responding to my post, I do feel dumb! Becky Image link:

Pup, Growing roses takes lots of trys, and lots of patience and most roses need at least 3 years to see if they really work. I have Constance Spry near Westerland and Tamora and Belle Storey underneath. Belle is one of my favorites, but she is not a cutting rose and probably needs some time to gain strength. Once she is established, she is a great producer. A lighter pink rose that might work for you could be Compassion, a newer Harkness, or Hybrid Musks Felicia or Cornelia. Both of these are not fast growers, but once they establish are incredible. I think you could think about a yellow on the other side of Westerland like Crepescule. Hoov has a picture of hers in the Gallery. I love Royal Sunset. It is a beautiful rose for our foggy area. It produces an abundance of fragrant blooms. But, it is not a cutting rose, the blooms do not last, but there are so many of them, it doesn't matter to me. And I do not think the colors would go with Westerland, they are very different on the color spectrum. If you live in the East Bay, you are welcome to come over and see mine. Have you thought about adding some clems for variation? One of the things that attracts me to English gardens is the way the gardener can add in companion plants and produce an incredibly serene palette. BTW, different strokes as they say, I love petals on the ground. Carol

Grow it in a pot as deeje does, and put it in an insulated box in the garage. Should do fine. Or, for herbaceous materials, just because it says zone 5, doesn't mean it's not hardy. Grow it in lean soil, no extra watering in the fall, with mulch. Wouldn't be surprised if it comes through.

Oh Dream... I'm sorry you learned the hard way (like most of us who did). Poor little doggie gets blamed for it all. LOL I would have never known had I not purchased this HUGE heavy deep (read $$$) styro circle for a flower arrangement for my Dads headstone. I didn't like the green poking through so weilded out the blue spray paint.... u know the rest. lol Boy was my Mother maaad when she realized it was going to be iffy whether I would have the arrangement finished for decoration day as planned or not. My Husband is another smarty who told me "well I could have told you that was going to happen". pffft , Should have then!! NOT could have. lol