grr ants - my whole allotment is on a huge ants nest. True, they are swinish for young plants but once they have a decent root system, ants rarely kill off plants. They are actually much worse when you get an invasion in a pot. Mmm, stipa - mine is getting old, congested and enormous - am reading a spring split and might just try the slightly smaller one, 'Kleine Fontaine'' Huge grasses are fabulous as woodland edgers (especially because I have steep land drains) and I have even found myself considering a New Zealand pampas grass as well as the enormo-miscanthus saccharifolius. Since stray phragmites colonise some of the edges, this style, along with gigantic rudbeckias, silphiums, vernonias and so forth (all those huge perennials I love and have brutally squeezed into too small spaces) can be given their head. Oh, I weakened, after hanging out 4 years for the martagons to bloom (still another couple to go) , and ordered a bunch of those expensive hansonii X hybrids (Arabian Knight, Russian red etc.) And mertensia. Have kept my rose order to a measly 4 (but have a number of well-rooted hardwood cuttings to transplant for free).

...thanks so much everyone.... soncna in Slovenia, I hope you had a lovely time here and enjoyed your garden visits. towandaaz.. Gosh, thank you... my only inspirations have come from visiting lots of gardens here, up and down the country, which fortunately being rather a small place, one can get to see quite a lot of it over the years. The internet, and these forums, are my top resources these days... I'm very limited with what I can do in my garden as it's really very small, unlike the wonderful garden on another thread which has 8 acres - I would need staff for that - more typically we have quite small patches to deal with. Learning to garden with such restrictions is actually quite a challenge, and requires much improvisation. ...fortunately, the regular rainfall and mild climate, helps us to garden virtually all year round, so I can function on a whim, but I'm never satisfied with it. I wonder if any of us are, perhaps that's how it is... I've heard Tucson has a wonderful climate, and I've seen nice photos of a place called Sedona, but I'd be terrified of bumping into a snake...

These photos are gorgeous. I love foliage too. Which is good because the weather has delayed blooms for a while here! Luckily there is lots of foliage here to enjoy. My favorite foliage includes the dark, emerald or bluish greens. I think Sombreuil may have the darkest foliage in my garden so far... Falstaff also has deep, dark foliage. It looks a little brighter green in this light, but it's dark... Munstead wood has a weird, olive green color to it. It's pretty and unique, but I'm not sure how much I like it with the dark purplish red blooms. I thought the wavy leaves of Young Lycidas would bug me, but I don't mind it so much because the leaves are smaller than I thought they would be (and I'm keeping companion plants near it currently that hide the wavy leaves a little). The foliage in Young Lycidas seems to be a bright, light green. Looks a little lighter in this light than it actually is. Another one with wavy leaves that I thought would bug me is Nahema. But I actually like it so far. It's not as droopy, wavy or holly-like so far. I wonder if that will change once all our rain stops. I love the dark emerald green color with red new growth though. Le Petite Prince (Arctic Ice, Blue Emotion) has really pretty bright green foliage with red veining. Summer Romance has red veining so pronounced it looks drawn in like eye liner. Also gorgeous bright red new growth. Here is a great photo showing the different greens of Madame Anisette, bright green on the right, and WWII Memorial, dark green and red on the left. I love the contrast. Susan William Ellis has seemingly perfect foliage so far this spring. I know not all my foliage photos are antique or Austin roses, but I thought you might like them. :-)

Like Chris, my impression is that rust is not likely to be a problem for you in your climate. Drier areas, yes. Your climate is probably more like mine, where blackspot is likely, but rust is not. A non-Austin rose that seems to like the hot and humid conditions of the Southeast is 'Colette'. It has an old-fashioned look with fragrant, sumptuous apricot blooms, and can be grown as a large shrub or low climber. It isn't a great rose everywhere, but it might be a good one to try in your neck of the woods. I don't grow it myself, but I do hear that it's a good choice for the southeast, and might give it a try someday. I agree with Ingrid that 'Tamora' has a good reputation. I also agree with her that it's much more sustainable and better for wildlife (and pets) to grow roses that will be disease-resistant in your conditions than to spray chemicals. Easier and cheaper, too. Sometimes roses will be prone to blackspot and or powdery mildew while they are young, but will "grow out of it" as their root systems and immune systems mature, so if you decide to go no-spray, you may need a little patience. Have fun deciding, Virginia