My mother had several plant collections, she collected rare alpine plants, most of which were 2 to six inches tall, and I never did appreciate them, but I loved her Primula collection, odd gilded Victorian primroses, hose in garter prims, Japanese primroses, drumsticks and species. My first love in my own garden was the Lily, I loved the trumpet and oriental lilies for their rich deep scent. I lived with more than 200 different modern rosebushes for five years and only one was fragrant Double Delight, and I could not stand the gawky bare limbed growth habit of those H.T.s and Florries. THEN LUanne changed my life with one suggestion "since your'e looking for fragrance why don't you try growing Old Garden Roses ? I did and never looked back. I was enchanted to know that I could and would grow the white 'Rose of York' and the Lancaster Red Rose, cloned from descendants from the same plants that bloomed in medieval Europe. The white Musk rose that Shakespeare wrote so sweetly of, is in my garden now about to bloom. The history and mystery of Old Roses endears me to them, I love knowing that I see roses blooming that I grow the white rose of York, known since the 1400's in England, and that white rose and the red rose of Lancaster was likely to have been seen by both Shakespeare and the Tudor family back when knights fought in tournaments, and some people truly believed that unicorns might exist, the wild eglantine one sees in Queen Elizabeth 1's portraits, painted in the 1500's, are a symbol of virginity and I have held the wild eglantine in my hand, so small and frail and perfect, and smelled the welcome scent of its leaves on a moist breeze. - the rare and only yellow garden rose, brought from the middle east, seen in the paintings of the dutch masters was so rare in the 17th century that one painter had to wait months for a yellow rose bloom to appear in the marketplace, so he could fulfill his patrons request for a yellow rose in a still life. The many Tea roses blooming in my California garden, and the Banksiae have ancestors in China, and I would love to see them all in their native habitat. I love roses best with companions, the photo posted recently with hollyhocks and red Valerian in profusion with one Le Vesuve in the center is my idea of high beauty; lush colorful companions with a queen in the middle. O, Splendor, O, Joy!!! The leaves,up to 15 leaflets upon one stem, fern shaped leaves of Scotch Burnets, pleated rugosa folaige, the scent of the Incense Rose leaves, more strongly scented than many a flower of a modern rose, the flagon shaped hips of Alba Semi Plena, and millions of R. moyessi hips, hips as large as cherry tomatos on Magnifica rugosa, tiny sprays of black hips an ornament many Spinosissima roses, the lush grow of de la Grifferaie' blue-green leaves of the Alba roses, pretty arching growth of a pegged Hybrid Perpetual Ulrich Brunner fils' , and many scents of the different rose classes, , classic Damask, to the sexy scent of Tea roses has opened a world to me that I could not dream to comprehend before I knew of any rose other than 'Peace'. -and best of all, the people I meet at Old Rose events, and here on gardenweb that share their love of roses with me. Thank you all for sharing your beautiful writing, Lux

I do have a white garden a section of the whole garden, if you don't count the coral Lycoris radiata in August nor the pink Crinum that I cannot kill nor the Spring and Fall crocus. It is unlike Vita's in that hers included many grey leaved plants to extend the effect. My leaves are an emphatically green background for the flowers, Taxus media, Vinca minor (white flowered), Nandina (white berried), Daphne odora marginata, Skimmia japonica (white berried), and the various leaves of flowering plants, roses, ('Katharina Ziemet', 'Blanc Double de Coubert', 'Sombreuil', 'Ilse Krohn Superior', 'White Pet', 'Mlle de Sombreuil', and 'White Maman Cochet' - 'Bolero' died but will be replaced in multiples), Helleborus niger, H.xhybridus and bulbs, Tulipa 'Purissima', Narcissus 'Thalia' and Colchicum autumnalis alba. The Gardenias, Citrus trees and Tabernaemontana grandiflora (an unfussy gardenia relative) reside in this patio garden in the summer so I guess that's more white. Cath

We have been having a bad drought, even when it rained up north of us, we kept getting missed. We haven't had a real decent rain since June! Re Tulip poplars, they were the last ones to drop their leaves this year. The ones that lost their leaves first were the ash, they had a bad year too because of that ash borer that is around destroying trees. The ash had been losing their leaves early, around the beginning of september here. Other trees did the same thing, maples especiall boxwoods looked pretty bad, no good fall colors this year, the leaves are done with except tulip poplars are still holding on. The few sycamores we have dropped their leaves super early. Even my zebra grass looks like it's dying, the leaves are all turning brown. I hope it survives for next year, as it's fully grown. My bamboos seem to be the only plant doing well.

Hi Amazin , sorry I'm new at this web stuff ( mostly just a lurker) and couldn't find were I wrote to you the 1st time ... me feel so dumb with this puter stuff... but yes I have 9 begonias and 6 are from Logee's, some are named and other are ( pass a along's ) ..... Named ones= Begonia " Richardsiana" B." Snow Capped " B. "Tea Rose" B. "Hot Tamale" B. "Good and Plenty " B, "Tiny Gem " B. " Silver Queen " The Richardsiana has in pass week took a big flop , and so not sure whats up with it , taken it back into house , hope it was just heat stroking from 100 + daze we have been in for pass couple of weeks here in nastyville , so not sure about it. Two other's unknown named ones but pretty just the same and last one I think mite be B. " Sophia Cecile " not sure. I see you have " My Special Angel " have been looking at it in the catalogs . sorry I'm so long winded.... but sure there must be something in your long list that we can work with . P.s. I wont make it to any plant swap so..... not sure how we would do this if we've a mind to ???? But thanks for your time and effort if thats the only way .