Greta, I had a very similar problem. It was my first order from Vintage, and my first attempt at teas. Most of my 100+ (maybe 200? I'm afraid to count!)roses are from bands. I generally get them, give them a couple of days of babying in the pot to get over shipping and acclimate a little bit, and then stick them directly in the ground. They've all survived and almost all have flourished until now (some succumbed to other problems, but I've had a very high success rate this way.) Anyway, the stuff from Vintage got here, and of course we had some really nasty cold weather at the same time, so they didn't get put in the ground immediately. Now Lady Hillingdon is almost dead (and may be gone already), and Duchesse de Brabant and Mme Joseph Schwartz are really struggling. Mme Berard is creeping along, but I think she'll be ok. However, Clementina C and G. Nabonnand are doing really well, as are all the other non-teas I got at the same time. It was the bigger bands that seem to be struggling. In my case, I don't think it was the fact that they didn't get in the ground right away; I think it was the screwy weather. The larger bands that are struggling were completely stripped of leaves for mailing. When I got them in the ground, we had a couple of weeks of overcast, misty weather--virtually no direct sun. They were leafing out just fine, then we had a couple of really bright, warm days and those little red new leaves sizzled away to nothing--I think they sunburned since they'd never seen direct sun before. ARRGGHH! The teas that had leaves when I got them got sunburned a little, but weren't hurt as badly and have done just fine. Some teas that I got later that spent a little while in their pots have also done well--it's just those poor guys who got the big weather changes. I think DdB is going to make it, I have high hopes for MmeJS, but I think Lady Hillingdon is toast. Maybe I can give her another chance this fall when it starts to rain again. So don't give up yet--we can always blame the weather!

Sounds like it ended well. Pesky!! You need to stop this crazy roller coaster you are on and get off!! Between the pottery, the guns and your BIL situation, maybe the Universe is trying to tell you something! I hope you have moved your guns out of the dining room and into the safety of a locked and well hidden cabinet. Always get references. ALWAYS!!

dcarch, LOL oddly enough, they're planted right next to some beefsteak tomatoes, which are taking their time, which is normal, from what the garden books say. Annie, the lemon bars were a big hit, and I gave some away to my one neighbor for her and her family to enjoy (she's the cousin of my very best friend in this crazy world). It sounds like you're going to have a nice harvest from all of your veggies. Our peach tree, a dwarf Elberta, has the biggest crop of peaches it's ever bore in it's 5 or so years it's been planted. Looks like some peach crisp and maybe some frozen peaches are in the future, if they ripen. They are sweet and juicy, from the ones that people have tasted off of it before. Brad AKA Moonwolf

I've been wondering about Trinity and Bearcat too! Also Teresa that had a baby about the same time as Bearcat. I have been busy!!! I need to find a job so I can get some rest. We finished the tile job on our patio. It looks awesome. So glad we went with this tile as it is totally non-slip. I found a nice set of outdoor furniture at Lowes. Also, see that rattan bar and stools? It's very old and I just refinished it. Still have to make new covers for the stools (there are 3 stools) but I have not found the material I want yet. I've also been working like a madman in the yard. I ripped out weeds/grass, put down 100's of pounds of Black Cow and then installed 120 pieces of sod. My back will never be the same. I had to haul it 6 pieces at a time in a wheelbarrow from the front of the house to the back. BTW, in case anyone needs to know this - a Jeep Grand Cherokee can only haul 40 pieces of sod at a time! LOL! That is heavy stuff! Here is a before and after of part of the yard. I also made a wide mulch pathway across the back of the yard and mulched the entire "butterfly garden" side of the yard. Many many bags of mulch. Before: After: Butterfly garden: And in my spare time I've been working on a stained glass panel. It's rather large (36"x30") and just yesterday I finally got the last piece of glass cut. There are about 400 pieces and I've been using up glass that I have on hand so I wouldn't have to buy any more. Now I have to grind some of the glass and make sure I have a good fit, then I will wrap each piece in copper foil to get it ready to solder. I hope to have it done sometime this summer. This is what the pattern looks like. I've also taken a couple of days and went to the beach with Sedona. She loves that! Thanks for asking! ~Betsy