Yesterday it hit 90F with very high humidity, and there were some crispy roses out there today. We were SUPPOSED to get a rain storm, but it mostly missed us, giving just a light drizzle for about 30 minutes. Hopefully the rain that's supposed to come late tonight will hit its target. 'Golden Celebration' opened its first flowers yesterday during the heat, but today it seems unfazed. If it continues to arch to the point of flopping, I just may put together a rebar tripod for it. 'Purple Skyliner' was also unfazed by the heat, and continues to grow and grow against the fence. There are two fat new shoots going straight up from the base. You can clearly see the one in the center in this pic. It's hard to believe that this came as a rooted cutting from Kim Rupert just last year. Flashback to when it first arrived a year ago, June 2013: This is a pic of Paul Barden's 'Golden Buddha', with a one-day-old flower on the left, next to a four-days-old flower on the right (and another cut-off in the top edge of the pic). The color fades, especially in the heat, but the form of the flower remains for a long time. The petals won't crumple or look unattractive for another week if I leave the flowers on the plant, and I actually LIKE the faded color. So I don't deadhead this one until the flowers start to fall apart -- which is usually over a week from the day they open. The first flower on 'Georges Vibert' -- one of my two striped Gallicas -- shrunk after yesterday's heat, but still smells very nice. There are many other buds waiting to open, and the next few days will be more mild. 'Charles de Mills' also unfortunately opened its first three blooms yesterday, and today they are looking a bit droopy. I know some people say it's scentless, but I can catch a moderate-to-strong fragrance on it. The scent isn't as sharp as Damask, nor sweet -- it's something like a floral-herbal potpourri smell. 'Honorine de Brabant' still has only baby-canes that have self-pegged under their own weight. I won't cut them back until thick new shoots have come up -- for now, they're feeding the plant. And as you can see, many flowers got fried in yesterday's heat and high-humidity. 'Nouveau Monde' just keeps on blooming -- no fried flowers, though there are some that are fading simply from age. I told myself that I'm not going to deadhead any of the once-bloomers to see if any make hips. Whichever don't I'll know to deadhead next year simply for neatness. And besides that, there are seedlings of Nicotiana 'Bella' coming up in front of 'Nouveau Monde', so I don't want to step there right now. The new brick-lined bed I made against the neighbor's house has only three roses -- "Grandmother's Hat", 'Napoleon' and 'Perle d'Or.' The rest of the plants are Summer-blooming perennials that like the heat, since this bed gets full-sun until mid-afternoon. This is Coreopsis 'Moonlight' beginning to bloom. The rose to the left is 'Napoleon.' Planted in front and to the left of the rose "Grandmother's Hat" is Penstemon 'Mesa' which has also started to bloom. The one long cane on 'Duchesse d'Angouleme' I tied against my front porch railing has started to bloom, just as the flowers on its neighbor-to-the-left 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' are beginning to fade. To its right is 'Archduke Charles' which is still rather tiny, and should be blooming soon. :-) ~Christopher

Ooooo, your Colette is so Opulent Diane ! It must be wonderful to go out in the yard and bask in the beauty. I was really hoping to hear how the Rosarium shopping trip went , but I bet there is a lot of digging and potting going on tonight until dark. Next year I hope Northland will carry Colette. I missed a couple roses that I really wanted. Variegatta di Bologna sold out while I was trying to plan a trip there. I should have pre-ordered. Well, day is almost done, I'm happy with my roses that I have. I can't imagine having more rose work to do than this, but I really like to hear about everyone elses.

sorry for the double post...

Bloom time is getting closer to me! So good to see your daylilies, Kate! I have been meaning to check with you if your peonies bloomed? Love that rose, such a wonderful range of colors. I see a few daylilies scaping now: Fern Stone, Jim Brown, Pawprints on my Heart, Complex Complexities, and a couple others, it is getting close. I am sure the cooler weather the next week will slow it down more. I am getting ready! Spot is beautiful, reminds me of a cat I used to have. Picked her up as a kitten in a department store parking lot. Name her Pandora's Box because she was trouble from the start, LOL.