rosewinda, I've sold roses wholesale and retail inland in SoCal as well as right on the beach within a very short drive of Malibu. The problem is two fold: the majority of the consuming public only know the J&P catalog and traditionally buy those. "Gardeners", you know, the mow/blow/go primarily know Iceberg and Knock Out, and a few traditional HTs and floribundas by name. I've dealt with the well-healed and the "house poor" and all in between. I've sold to MANY of the mow/blow/go and the high-end "landscape professionals" and it's the same thing. VERY few know anything other than that blamed J&P catalog. Those are the roses which sell themselves so they are more likely to pay the bills for the nursery. The second part of the problem is the lack of the OGR material to compete with the wholesale budded. I realize there are areas in the US which buy plugs and bands and grow their own, and there are those who buy in bulk from Hortico and Pickering. I can't address those as no one here in SoCal does that so I have no experience with that. None of the wholesale producers we have greatest access to produces the material you are seeking. Specialty nurseries do, the Burlington Roses, Vintage, Roses Unlimited, etc., produce those wonderful roses, but they are never in sizes or stages of development competitive to the wholesale J&P, Star, Week's product. Add to that the lack of wholesale pricing for the specialty product and you can't win. It has been possible in the past to pay as little as $5.50 wholesale for a Grade 1 J&P bare root rose. You have to add soil, pot, water, labor, time, rent on space or opportunity cost to that to come up with the final cost. The specialty sources sell the same plant to a nursery as they do YOU. How can a nursery buy a Bon Silene from RU for $18 plus shipping, receive a plant smaller than a one gallon size (NOT to dishonor RU as I have nothing against them. The same example can be made using any specialty source you choose), pot it up, then wait for it to develop into a plant which can compete in size and flower production to a several month old budded HT? I tried doing that when Ashdown was in high swing. I bought hundreds of OGRs from them, skewed toward the Tea, China, Noisette, Hybrid Musk and others suited to the coast and inland communities we served. They sold because I sold them. Very few moved on my days off. Even after trying to ignite my co workers to their benefits and value, they didn't sell themselves like the front line moderns did. No one advertises them as new moderns are advertised. There is no money in it for producers as there are no patents on them so the only money they can make from them is from selling the actual plant. Most modern roses don't require that because the market KNOWS what to expect from them and the average consumer bases his/her selection on the pretty flower and PRICE. Browse the threads here frequently proclaiming the find of $3 roses here and there. Price is probably equal to the pretty flower as the driving factor in the sales of the vast majority of roses. A nursery can't competitively sell roses which cost them two to three times what a wholesale budded modern can, particularly when there is such a greater development time between receipt and retail size and bloom. Large wholesale producers DO bud a small selection of OGRs. You've seen them in the J&P and Star catalogs for years. The last major producer to offer wholesale budded Teas, Chinas, Noisettes, HPs, etc. was Armstrong way back in the 1970s and early 80s. I have also tried in vain to carry smaller own root plants of these specialty types, priced lower than the five gallon bud and bloom moderns and had a devil of a time selling them. Yes, there were the few who were intrigued or who knew what they were and loved finding them, but it required tremendously more time and effort to move a ten dollar plant than the $15 five gallon ones which sold themselves. Some years ago, I managed a specialty, walk-in rose nursery here in the San Fernando Valley. Limberlost Roses specialized in OGRs in five gallon to boxed sizes. We had a tremendous selection and the business climate was MUCH better than now. We brought in OGRs from Canada and specialty American sources, then grew them up. Even advertising in every paper, newsletter and online, and with competitive prices to the other nurseries in teh area, business wasn't sufficient to remain IN business. Those roses aren't going to pay for themselves, and we're talking MY kind of roses. There isn't enough demand for roses in general, much less the specialty ones you desire. Your local nursery had what he can sell and remain in business. Kim

I had an acre cleared for my veggie garden but made them keep a little island of natives about in the middle. They thought I was nuts- tree roots and all that interfering with veggie roots, sucking irrigation water, honeysuckle would take over, there might be more poison ivy lurking, etc. Well, that little island, with its two small maples and a tiny oak, some scrubby weedy things too, have, over 5 yrs., sprouted a lovely sassafras, a clump of maple leaf viburnum, and a hickory. The edges have been planted with hosta and ferns, those viburnums that prefer some shade, a place for a sweet autumn clematis to climb unabated, daylilies and glads that are protected from critters (because the veggie garden is fenced 8' high). I put my ancient metal A frame swing there and it is where I escape. In the winter, all bundled up with blankies, I watch the stars. In spring I watch the birds building nests above me and Blue Mason Bees running back and forth. In the summer I escape from the heat of the day, but not the humidity which is cured with a tall glass of sweet tea. In the fall I watch the leaves turn colors overhead and fall down on me willy-nilly. Now that I have inherited cat and resulting kittens, they join me there on the swing. My DH wanders out there too to rest, just to have some peace and utter quiet before he jumps back on the tractor to plow or disc. If I sit there too long I am looking for a piece of paper to write down what needs to be done in the garden. That's when I know I have tarried enough. Nancy the nancedar

My current life span on microwaves is about 6 months. I have gone through 3 in a short amount of time. The one I have now works - occasionally. It shuts off when I try to melt butter. It must be covered with a lid, and even at that it shuts off twice before it melts. Forget microwave popcorn. It just won't do it anymore. Sometimes I just have to unplug it for a while. It won't shut off otherwise. Nice huh? The last two (includes the one I am using now) have been GE. I will never buy another GE appliance EVER! Not sure what I am going to get to replace this one, but I think I will look at Sears. Don't buy anything from Wal-Mart. Some places will back up their appliances for a year - Menards does around here. At least you have some recouse then. Your new one will not last 29 years! That is for sure :) I hope it lasts 29 days! LOL

Worst case is if the nut mentioned above is rusted/corroded in place. If you cannot keep the strainer from turning when trying to remove the nut, then the nut needs to be cut/split, and then removed to get the strainer out. Just don't hurt the sink!