Kate and Seil - those are drop-dead gorgeous pictures! I love the contrast of deeply saturated colors in each of those - the purple-pink-white of the iris combo and the deep carnation pinks against the purple pansies and whitish Easter Basket, then the deeply saturated white peonies (in my world, white can be saturated when there's not a hint of cream) against those great poppies. It's great fun to mix in those perennials with the roses! Glad y'all liked my photo too. Elks - yes, it's nice to have those lovely Canadian Explorers that were three of the very few roses in my yard that didn't have to be cut to the ground. Since they're all climbers, that gives them the necessary head start to catch up to the peonies I'm sure. No clue about the iris conundrum, Kate, except that this was a decidedly odd year for timing of everything, and maybe the iris felt they passed their window of opportunity without a chance to build up the blooms. Certainly the peonies are passing at a record pace in my yard. Hang in there ratdogheads - rose season is around the corner. As long as those buds are forming there'll be roses before too long. As always, we want pictures. Cynthia

LOL!! Annie, I was looking at your pictures (for like the 4th time) again thinking "OMG!! This garden is gorgeous!!" Then I read further down the replies and saw yours comparing your gardens to mine and others. Don't be silly!! Your garden is absolutely beautiful. When I saw the picture of your patio area I thought I'd sit there all day if I were you and not get anything done because I'd just be staring at the beauty all around. The color you have in your garden is amazing. I think it's great that everyone on this forum has quite different gardens and they are all very special. I love seeing what everyone is doing in their garden and what beauty they are creating. Sometimes I think my garden is too "stiff", but yours is so wonderful and carefree and I am going to use tips from your photos to relax mine in certain areas. I can't even believe you have so many reblooming iris. I remember hearing about them on the cottage forum but figured there weren't all that many. Holy cow! Your iris are beautiful. Do you know the names of any of them? Just how many roses do you have?!?!? Do they require a lot of maintenance or do you plant less "fussy" roses? I'd love to know which ones you think pretty much do their own thing and don't require a lot of work. I need more iris and roses in my garden!!

I'll baet it smelled nice there! Last year we visited a daylily place. The pictures across masses of daylilies were fun. This year I want to visit a local rose growing operation, soon when I think it should be in maximum bloom!

Natasha, haven't yet used the Tumax to create a trellis. Ran across these 20 years ago, found the idea intriguing & picked up a kit for a few dollars. Would think the structural strength would relate to the diameter gauge of the wire selected & the number of anchors used as support. Expect one of the multi-strand twisted or braided cable wires - in place of the galvanized wire roll that comes with the kit - would be much stronger & bear the weight of a mature rose. Since the wire is threaded through the loops that project from the anchors, would think how closely those anchors are spaced also figures into a weight capacity calculation. The tensile strength of the wire plus the number of anchors used along the line should yield a rule of thumb where the weight is distributed evenly along the span. Tumax may have this info with their professional kit instructions on their site - you might noodle around there to find it - or just contact them & ask for their load weight formula. Have used the anchors alone, without wires, as free form supports on a stone facade. Install them on the wall where they're needed as the rose grows & loosely figure eight tie the canes to the anchor eyelet. The anchors are hidden behind the plant. Gives a pleasant natural effect to my eye, as if the rose is doing it all by itself. (Look Ma, no hands!) To allow sufficient space between the wall & the plant, often add another ring or length of rubbery plastic chain onto the eyelet & tie to that as the canes thicken, allowing me to use those spongy noodle ties or green velcro loops. Lenarufus, Nahema is a beauty with toe-curling fragrance. Your wall coloring sets her off to perfection. New here this year as a gallon own root, she's a real charmer. Good growing to all! Sue