Here is the ironic part. Our house was built sometime in the 1820s. We had to have the old slate roof replaced a few years ago, it had been on for over 75 years, but some old timers remember it having wood shingles before that, and in fact we found some of them still intact when we tore off the slate. The house was built with bricks made on site (we found the brick pits) and the beams and supports are still the old unhewn logs likely felled on the property, and pulled in place by oxen or horse. Since the shingle oak is an indigenous tree, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the volunteer isn't a descendant of trees used for that roof.

For blackspot resistance and continuous bloom, you might want to also consider the hardy, disease-resistant floribundas Easy Does It and Day Breaker. They have been very clean for me and are almost in constant bloom and brighten up the garden with their apricot blend colors. The Buck rose Square Dancer is another heavy bloomer (bright fuschia) that is quite disease resistant and hardy. All stay a nice compact height as opposed to many shrubs. Royal Wedding is another - nice hybrid tea type blooms and a constant bloomer, but hard to get. Good luck - lots of wonderful choices out there. One hybrid tea that I really love to grow is Helen Naude - more disease resistant than many, extremely robust grower and a very quick rebloomer.

Congrats, Midnight. Growing a clivia to blooming size from seed is a great accomplishment. I hope you'll start a separate thread with pics once the blooms are open. Great plants! Socks, Disneyland and I have a lot in common, heh heh, and no, not because I'm "goofy"! I like a lot of the plants they use, and how they create such cheerful/jarring combinations. I just planted a bare root 'Disneyland' rose, which, while not jarring, is certainly perky like the many they have planted there. I've been gardening since I was five years old and have reached the point where I just plant what I enjoy and what makes me smile, so "tastemakers" be damned, lol. The brighter, taller, and stinkier, the more I like my orange marigolds. I actually struggle to find non-dumpy dwarf types. Usually I get them from Select Seeds or Seeds of Change...what about you? Take care, Grant

Hello. How exciting. This is my third summer in my house, so I can tell you some of what I have learned so far. I think If I were you I would just water, weed and mostly watch the first year to see what comes up. I'm still discovering stuff I didn't realize was there. Right now it's too late to plant much of anything. You could put in some bulbs if you just have to plant. I did that my first fall. You can also still put in pansies, ornamental kale and mums, just to satisfy your "I want flowers right now" compulsion. If I were you I would leave them in pots for now, though, until you see what comes up and until you have a better sense of what you want. Probably the best thing you can do is read this forum and check out some of the others, depending on what you want to grow, what kinds of growing conditions you have (shade, sun, etc.) If you have trees, you could shred your fallen leaves and start a compost pile (check out the soils forum). You could start some lasagna beds (basically sheet composting) so they would be ready for planting in the fall. You could sit down with some graph paper and draw up plans for spring - Order some seed catalogs to see what you like, and then ask the smart, experienced folks in the forum if what you like would work in our climate. Tell us a little more about what you've got to work with, and I know you will get many many suggestions. Also - most important - be patient, and learn from your mistakes - Don't get discouraged by them. There's always next year. And the learning is what makes it fun.