I feel your frustration! Unfortunately for me, losing roses every yr to heat is an annual thing. Either it gets too hot and certain ones just get dieback and croak, or I don't stay on top of the sprinkler situation during the heat and they die from lack of water. I can't even count how many roses I've had and lost and often replaced over the 25+ yrs I've been growing them. It's very frustrating. Right now my frustration comes from lack of time to do what I need to get done out there. The season will be winding down soon and I still have 2/3 of the yard to get all the overgrown weeds dug out, so I can get down in there and see how many more I've lost due to that! It's becoming overwhelming. But it's my own fault....

Well, isn't this a timely post??!!! Voodoo torture - now THAT'S funny. I was just journaling about my frustration because the thrips are back in full force browning all of my beautiful light colored rose blooms. It's disgusting. (Sigh.)

First, it was the heat frying certain roses and then recently the monsoon pattern started and it rained. Yay, right? Wrong. It seemed to give life to the thrip colonies similar to what I experienced with the first flush of roses (total mess). I will say that for as frustrated as I am, the overall garden has (mostly) grown well and bushed out - surprising and pleasing me. It's just the darn heat and thrips.

I feel for you Lynn. In my journal I went on and on about how much work it all is and could I be one of those people who maybe are content without gardening? I came to the conclusion that it's part of who I am and that my personality is one that will continue to explore gardening methods and strategies. Maybe some roses will go and other plants come in that are real champions. I'm not sure yet.

As for the heat which is marginally less here, I cheat with my shade structures that provide Western protection. Maybe they won't be temporary... because I don't know how they'll do unless they have that afternoon shade.

There have been some good heat resistant roses - most of which I got from Ludwig's when they were around. Roses like Belle Rouge, Candace and Calm Composure. I know some of these aren't' available so I don't really like mentioning them but they are doing ok.

In the meantime, remember how beautiful your Eden was this past Spring (along with many others)! Keep your chin up!

Natalie

Definitely Desert!

I was starting to wonder if I have the right type of personality for gardening!

The heat has been bothering me so much but I have persevered, and have been rewarded by giant plants that are blocking the windows. Hacking them in half has resulted in looking at ugly legs for a while but then they shoot up again and I have the choice of letting them block the views or cutting off all the flowers again.

So I must have chosen the wrong roses because they are several feet taller than they are supposed to be. Only thing to do is dig them up to a more appropriate location or give them away.

The roses that are doing fantastic either don't have the right fragrance or the tones change to really harsh in my heat. Or the soft light ones bleach out white with grey edges.

The ones that I really love barely bloom, or shrivel in the vase. Or are the wrong color!

I've been operating under the "life is too short", get it right mantra. So I've been digging up everything, placing pots where I "think" that they should go, and wishing that I could start all over from the beginning.

And I keep buying my favorite fragrance, who is the wrong color, though at least it's not harsh.

DH keeps commenting on why I'm taking out the ones that are covered in blooms? And probably secretly wondering if the heat is getting to me!

Lots of rain this year wrecked 1st flush...(Backyard Roses)... Noticed a lot less blooms on roses and found Rose Midge... Most buds that did make it to bloom were chomped by thrips so they looked like crap...

Good note: Roses at side of house doing great because no insects yet...lol

You are not alone, Lynn. Even though I'm a rookie gardener here in Phoenix, second year only but seems like this summer is more brutal than the last year. And last year was not good at all. I've lost all my potted plants, including Candice!! Even though they were in the shaded area. We had our first rain only yesterday, yay! even though now I'm afraid to get thrips, as you did, Natalie. But still I'm looking forward to see my plants a little bit happier. Every summer I get depressed by the look of my garden, by the look of dying plants. During this time I don't care if we have mild winters at all :) At least it's mid of July already... 2 more months and temps won't be too much higher than 100F... We just need to keep reminding this to ourselves and yes, keep our chin up!

Vent away! I feel your pain, and share it. I've been working on my yard for 5 years now, including the backbreaking work of removing 14 dying trees by hand (what was I thinking?!), spending a lot of money on lawn removal, and irrigation re-design. There are some spots where everything I plant dies, even next to other thriving plants. All design is lost when I plant a grouping of things and a number of them randomly die out due to soil pathogens (even in this dry climate).

So many plants freeze in the winter or fry in the summer, or both. There is never the proper amount of light here: the sun is to intense, the shade is too dark, and I don't want to put up ugly shadecloth over the entire garden. Not the look I want. The only things that do well here are the most basic and tough plants, and even those die out occasionally and randomly (like the lilacs in my neighbor's yard). The late frost killed almost all my peaches this year, the apples all have worms, and the plums are 4 years old and have yet to set a single fruit. The lilies fried and the kale was eaten by something within 3 days of planting them.

I've planted so many roses, and it seems that as soon as they get planted, they suddenly stop growing, and even die/fry (I'm talking to you, Madame Isaac Pereire, Madame Alfred Carriere, First Crush, Ann's Beautiful Daughter, Mrs. B.R. Cant, Huntington Rose, etc.). It gets very expensive. It is particularly frustrating when I see a gorgeous rose on the forum, and it turns out that it hates my yard (First Crush, Princess Charlene de Monaco, Guy de Maupassant, I'm talking to you!). Or they take years to get any size on them as compared to other parts of the country, and the season of bloom is very brief in that all too small window of good weather in the spring and fall. Even Iceberg only blooms a few weeks of the year, in those windows. Of those that do flower, the blooms only last a couple of days, or hours before they are heat damaged. Often, they are damaged in bud.

Frequently, the ones that I don't like, do the best. My Line Renaud/Dee-lish also bloomed that coral color that you posted and no, I don't like it either, even if it does smell fabulous. Claire Austin bloomed yellow which I hate, but is growing like gangbusters. Old Blush, which is so cute in my mother's coastal California garden, is a garish mottled cerise in my yard and the flower form is awful.

I do celebrate the successes. I take lots of photographs of those moments of beauty since they are so brief. That's why I post so many photos of the flowers only, not the plant. I can list on one hand, the number of roses in my yard that have any flowers on them at all right now: Bolero, Marie Pavie, Sonia Rykiel, Fabulous!, Line Renaud, although there are a few which have buds: Abraham Darby, Tranquility, Claire Austin.

My friend who has been a landscape architect in this area for many years, has been telling me, also for many years, that I should design my garden to focus on native plants. He's right of course, and there is beauty in that, as well as water savings. And those areas where no native plants will do well, I could just leave bare. It's just that with native plants, winter is 5 months of grey and tan, and summer is 3-4 months of sun-baked brown. That doesn't leave much time for growth and bloom, and that's truly what I live for. So I keep trying...and spending...and working...and trying. I keep reminding myself that this is the fun of it. But every so often, I get so frustrated, that I want to hire someone to raze the whole thing, and just put a layer of gravel over the whole yard, like so many people do here.

Nose, my Madame IP didn't even have any scent here, couldn't believe it! Grew huge but one of the organic experts explained what she needed for scent and it wasn't my native soil. I think that she's on every best fragrance list ever too.

lavenderlace: I planted MIP also, since she was supposed to be possibly the most fragrant rose in existence (at the time). The first time I planted MIP, it was against a west facing wall in a courtyard. She grew like gangbusters into a 5 foot wide mound, and produced hundreds of buds...which upon opening, fried within minutes (no exaggeration) of the sun touching them. They wilted within hours of cutting so that didn't help. I've since tried 4 other times, but the new plants would start out promising, then die the next year. Fragrance wasn't that impressive, either. So I've given up...for now.

Sorry she didn't work out for you but it actually makes me feel better that perhaps I wasn't too impatient and gave up too soon!

Part II....

I MUST change the appearance of my backyard. This weekend, my DH suggested adding rock to replace our ragged looking mulch. Why is the mulch so ragged? Well, the landscapers added the gravel like stuff (I forgot the name.. something granite??), for the pathways and he told us that once they went over it with their roller it would be like cement. Well, it wasn't, so when the trenches were dug by a different company to add edging for this stuff, the perfectly mulched beds were ruined. Two steps forward and three steps back.... I explained to my DH that our soil is horrible and when the mulch breaks down, it will be part of improving it. I believe he continues to have patience with me and my work in the yard, but that will not go on forever. I am very visual, and probably my worst critic, but to make matters worse, the half-done look is soooo inappropriate for the neighborhood we live in. Thank heavens for block walls and fencing.

I am so glad I posted/vented here. Your input has helped. Noone understands this situation like my fellow rose gardeners. Thank you:) I believe as gardeners, no matter where we are, we all have our struggles.

I just cannot bring myself to convert our property to a total "desert look"... I love roses!!!

OMG that "granite" stuff sounds like the frickin' road base crap my ex-bro-in-law talked us into putting in some of the walkways. What a waste! It's so tiny and it gets in our shoe grooves and we track it in the house all over the place. Drives me (and my husband) CRAZY!! AND weeds root into it almost better than in the soil!!! At least they're (sometimes) easier to dig out tho!

My Candice is doing fine, but Calm Composure was not, Towandaaz/Natalie. I removed C.C. and discovered there was a drainage issue. It is rebounding in a pot on my covered space. Threads n Craft is the only Ludwig's rose I grow that was really having issues far beyond what has become the norm for 2017....It was dug up, and placed in a pot too...

Sounds like the "crushed granite??" stuff, Beth. It looked so nice in all of the magazines and websites etc. If it had been installed properly, to begin with, I do not think I would take issue with it and the related mulch issues. It will get stuck in the grooves of foot wear, but we do not wear outdoor shoes inside our home, which helps in the case of it scratching flooring.

Oh yes, the California gardens, Noseometer. A month ago I thought we would escape to WA, then about three weeks ago San Diego. I had dreams of adventure and gardening where it does not become too cold or too hot. My DH was "talked" into staying here for six additional months... which I know has the possibility of becoming 3+ years... :(... oh well...

My roses were doing great. I go for vacation for 3 weeks and I come back to chili thrips and black spot !!! It had rained every single day ( and is continuing even now ) so my roses had grown a foot or two each and were covered with black buds and distorted new foliage , and yellow leaves . I pruned all new growth and sprayed and gave organic fertilizer .Now I have leggy plants with very few leaves . I feel depressed every time I look out of the window . Not a single rose to cut for home out of almost 40 bushes .

Pink rose, I'm "liking" your post in support, hope they rebound soon!

Yeah, this has not been the greatest year in my rose garden. First, we had two days of late spring freeze (in the mid 20's). Then two weeks later I noticed something wasn't looking right in the whole garden. Downey Mildew had set in on all the new growth and just about all the canes. What a mess. Then things started looking pretty decent mid May and dear wiffy had to have major emergency surgery on her colon. 10 inch's removed. Rose garden on back burner. When she got home, I had to change drainage dressing twice a day and make sure she didn't do anything to hurt herself. Then sure enough, two weeks ago I ended up with a LARGE (6mm) kidney stone. Here I am half doped up on pain meds trying to take care of my wife and pass that rock that was killing me. Rose garden??? What rose garden?? I finally had my little baby this past weekend and sure enough, had to take poor wiffy back to the Dr. today. The drainage hole wouldn't heal up. Time to find out why. Procedure right there in the office (I got to partake in the whole deal). Shoot her stomach full of no feel no pain meds. Then open her stomach up some up some (wet gauze please). Stick a couple of fingers in and feel around. A little bit of a frown on his face. Took a pair of long scissors, poked them in, grabbed something and slowly pulled out an area that had a 1 1/2" of suture that didn't desolve and kept that area irritated. Snip that sucker clear. Poke everything back in then flush. Pack the hole (finger deep) with gauze and bandage up. Just think, I get to pull out the gauze every morning, flush the hole and repack the hole with more gauze. I did make a good funny today during the procedure. Near the end, he asked me if I could pack the hole without too much trouble. Nothing like opening the door. Didn't even skip a beat. I couldn't resist. My answer; "No problem. I've packed a few holes in my life time." The Dr was snorting he was trying not to laugh. The two nurses' were laughing so hard, the one pregnant nurse had to leave, she peed herself. Poor wiffy, she just closed her eye's and started to laugh. "I knew you would say that". Rose garden?? what rose garden?? I'll try to go outside sometime this week and see what's going on.

Yea I forgot about the May freezes we had in the 20's that damaged buds & leaves...lol

ken

I hope you and your wife and the rose garden all get better !

Noseometer, love the strawberry story. It's so true. I hear grocery stores have lots of fresh strawberries. lol And, you don't change your heart, you keep experimenting. :-)

Gosh, Pink rose I know the feeling with all the brown, yucky blooms. What the heck??? Are we always waiting for the next flush???

Ken, I feel bad for you and your "wiffy" but you've made me giggle. But seriously, I'm sorry for the situations you're experiencing.... and humor heals! Keep her laughing and given what you've shared, I think that it's ok to say, "rose garden, what rose garden?" They're gonna do what they do... and surprisingly, they are pretty hardy if given the basics - as we all know.

Lynn, I think that's part of the solution... to put some beloved roses/plants/strawberries (Nose) in pots where they be babied if we're inclined to do so.

This is such a down-to-earth thread. I'm definitely appreciating what everyone's expressing.

Me?.... I'm brewing some tobacco concoction to spray on tiny buds to see if I can save a few pretty blooms from the thrips.

Ken- you make my issues seem trivial in comparison. My rose garden issues pale aside of your genuinely serious issues. I hope everyone is finally healthy. Some perspective is always good. It's great that you can laugh about this. Where would we be without humor? And stubborn perseverance.

Well, here goes. I lost at least 20 roses to voles over the winter including some $45 Austins and some irreplaceable Kordes roses which are no longer sold in the US. They even ate the roses I was wintering over in pots! I think I managed to save about three of the vole eaten roses but they're barely hanging on. Then onto the worst gypsy moth caterpillar infestation in years which stripped some of my barely hanging on roses completely bare of leaves and ate all the buds on my surviving roses. We had a very wet, cold spring so no roses until now. But my weeds are doing great!! My roses have just started blooming in time for the Japanese beetle scourge and the rose slugs. I'll be trying to replant all my roses plus my newly purchased roses with a moat of seashells to hopefully protect them from voles and will be spraying with peppermint oil and sprinkling with peppermint scented wax pellets in the fall and through the winter till the snow hits since I'm out of magical fairy dust. If that doesn't work I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Maybe different plants, lol. I was told gardening was soothing and relaxing and a time for contemplation and meditation. I'm still waiting for that part.

I'll count the blessings though. Everyone is healthy, we have a grandson arriving any day now, (our DIL's due date is tomorrow) and my hydrangeas are absolutely stunning this year. :-)

Sharon

This year has been really strange to say the least. The tips of every leaf on all sorts of plants are dry and look burned and I'm wondering if it's the insects. I never really had such issues with this many pests and I'm not all that familiar with it completely yet as I consider myself new to gardening and been doing it for 7-8 years. I also wonder if it's the pollution and making the sun more intense as a lot more people have been moving to Portland, Oregon over the past years and traffic has been terrible and getting worse because our government wasn't ready for this type of influx of people over such a short period of time. It's not just my yard either everyone's plants look this way in the neighborhood too. We have spider mites and am wondering if that can cause tip burn too but it's definitely been hell this year and you're not alone! Lol!

This subject really hits home for me. We've had lots of rain this year which is great since I have well water. A couple of years ago I had to drill my well deeper because I was not getting enough water pressure so the rain is welcome. The bad news? The extra rain led to a bad fungs problem (botrytis) on my peonies. Very few blooms on 20+ peonies. My roses are not showing their usual vigorous growth. Black spot appeared early this year too. I was late in planting bulbs and some of my bare root roses. They suffered as a result. I made a huge mistake by starting several gardening projects this year. I haven't finished any of them so I only see eyesores when I look at my garden. Depressing at times, but I persevere

First of all, best wishes to Ken; I hope that things will soon start looking up for you and your loved ones. "The Lord helps those who help themselves" is an old saying, and you definitely seem to be so strong and courageous with your sense of humour ; you are clearly doing SO much to help yourself and your wife! Best wishes and congratulations to Sharon,too, for her grandson. The health and well-being of our loved ones and ourselves is what is really important.

That said,I must admit that this thread is really sort of a big comfort to me. I, too, am having a dreadfully hard summer. My garden is about 20 minutes'drive from home, and there's no running water there, so in the heat and drought of the Tuscan summer I have to drive out there bringing water in order to water the young plants (established plants have to get by on rainfall). This year has been so consistently hot and dry! I did get one good rain out there at the end of June,whereas in the past there have been summers without even that, but still somehow this one seems worse. Maybe it's just me, getting older,problems with arthritis, etc,but it also just does seem like the poor sun keeps on getting hotter and hotter every year. I just don't have the energy to continue this way! Though I intend to force myself to go out there yet again this afternoon to (hopefully) get water (if the spring has not yet dried up) and water baby trees,I confess that I am feeling like just giving up. We're half-way through July; that means about another two months or so yet to go,which seems like such a long time.

Boy can I ever relate to the mulch issues! Last year I spent a lot of money buying bark mulch. I probably worsened my orthopedic issues a lot lugging it down to my garden, lugging stones into place to make paths, etc. Then badgers started infesting my garden. By the end of last summer these wretched creatures had managed to completely destroy all of my hard work what with their digging; they are incredibly strong, too, and moved all the paving stones hither and yon...By now,it's as if I'd never mulched at all,and most of the paths have been destroyed...or at least that's how it looks,though the bark chips probably did help the soil a bit.

I'm clearly gonna have to make some big changes in my approach. First of all,severely limit the amount of new plants I put in during the fall and winter. This is hard, because once the weather improves I get carried away by enthusiasm,but that's childish: I've got to remember how difficult it can be to take responsibility : namely, to keep the things watered during these awful summers!!! Definitely no more bark mulch: it looks good but is too costly, too heavy...and in spite of what I've read, is definitely NOT all that long-lasting ! A friend cut his field, and I paid a guy to bring the cut grass out to my land; this seems easier to manage ,though I wonder about weed seeds...still, I think this will be a more sustainable method. I'm also gonna have to start getting rid of roses; too many are just not impressive, too closely planted, etc. Much as I hate the idea, I think I'll probably just have to cut them down rather than try to move them. I need more strategically positioned trees, too,and will add more probably, even though it takes so long for them to grow to be big enough to provide shade. They also seem to be less drought-tolerant in their first year than potted roses are; I added quite a few last fall and am more worried about them than I am about the roses.

At least I'm not alone in my frustrations,and, again, these silly things are nothing in confront to what is really important. Thank you for starting this thread ,Desertgarden,and all of you who responded. It helps.

Tough year for me too. First time dealing with spider mites and midge. At least the JB attack was mild due to there being few blooms left for them to chew on. Right now I am appreciating the other blooms of Salvia, nasturtium, snapdragons, phlox and hyacinth bean vine.

Hoping for a better year next year.

I feel a bit guilty posting here, because I do live in a wonderful place for rose growing. Roses bloom pretty much year round, and the only disease I really ever get is powdery mildew.

I just happened to read this at the right (or wrong) time. I'm feeling frustrated and discouraged right now. It happens every year about this time. I need to be outside to water more, but I can't stand being out in the heat. The water bill skyrockets, along with the electric bill, due to the AC. The bugs and gophers come along and cause more headaches. There's no time to get anything done but watering. I just limp along, trying to keep everything alive until things cool off. My mood is definitely cranky! I want to be outside, but it's too hot for me. It exhausts me, and I have to lie down. There honestly are days I think of just letting them all dry up. I don't, because I'd be so sorry the rest of the year. Sorry about this. I just needed to vent and found a place to do so. Thanks, Desertgarden. Lisa

Not a good year here too, at the beginning of Spring the roses in the ground looked very happy and it seemed like it was going to be a good start, with beautiful new growth coming...then the late freeze killed it all, it hurt my heart seeing that nice growth of promising rose blooms all fried! I think they have never quite recovered from it...then Good as Gold decided to put buds, all growing chubby and healthy...then one day where were they? Grr turned into deer buffet..after that the roses and annuals in pots we nibbled by the groundhog Grrr ...

Not mentioning the heat that's killed many perennials...

Let's hope Fall is better!!

Lisa, I feel exactly the same!

Lisa, I understand about the heat... I can't be out most of the day. I water/tend to the garden in the early morning when I can bare it. Poor Bart! I do have the luxury of a hose! Wow, I won't take that for granted!

So, Lynn... since it's been a few days since you originally posted, do you feel any better with a few day under your belt?

No grandbaby yet but I'm sure he'll be making his debut any day now :-)

So maddening for so many of us. Even I can relate to the heat issues from my relatively cool Massachusetts. We're seeing 90 temps with very high humidity. So draining. I only work out in the garden in the early morning dodging the sun as I go. I hate the heat and would despise summer if not for the roses and flowers. At least the JB's are not too bad this year and even though we are surrounded by woods and deer the deer don't come nibble my garden and we have no rabbits since we don't have a lawn. I did have a wild turkey once who was having a jolly old time plucking all the blossoms from my Hosta and tossing them around in the air like confetti. It was so funny. I was able to get some amazing photos.

Sharon

"Dogged does it" is my motto this year, because it's a difficult one for me, too; still, most people who've posted here sound like they're having a harder time than I am. Bart and I are victims of the same long-lasting drought: basically northern and central Italy have had way-under-normal precipitation since last summer, with summer this year arriving about five weeks early. So it has been hot and dry for a long, long time. Unlike bart I can get running water to much of the garden, and have a magnificent helper, DH, though unfortunately he's in the hospital right now (he's doing fine and should be home in a few days). So far we've lost only a few marginal plants. I feel like I spend my life carrying around pots of water, and figuring out how to lived in a reasonably civilized life using as little of the precious stuff as possible, as we have a severe water shortage locally, with no end in sight. Our temperatures and humidity don't get as drastically high as many of you say; on the other hand, we live in a largely non-air-conditioned world and one lacking in swimming holes (as a Florida native I feel this), so that the most comfortable place to be is usually indoors, or at least in the shade.

I have a big advantage in that I don't usually water plants after the first year, so that my plants are used to periods of dry weather and don't keel over in a drought. And this is a congenial climate for a lot of roses, so diseases and pests are unsightly but not deadly (I have to say I'd love to have fewer rose chafers). Even bart's awful badgers, which we too have suffered from, make a mess digging because they're looking for those same grubs that grow into rose-devouring beetles. Some things balance out. I hardly get any flowers in summer, and this year nothing for sure, because it's too dry, but then the plants are tempered and sturdy and I'm not too worried about their survival. Mainly we're watering the plants that have been in the ground less than a year. The drought this year is so bad, though, that I am watering some established plants that aren't quite drought-tolerant enough: the daphnes; and some of the sarcococcas are looking weary; while a sun-baked phlomis has scale; and so on. In the big garden we definitely need more trees, but they don't come just for the asking. Our native soil needs a lot of amending, so we amend, hugely. But it takes years to get everything to work. We've been busy on this garden for about fifteen years. This year if we can just get most of the plants through the year alive, it will be a success. Growth? Progress? Ha.

Desertgarden my Threads n Crafts is doing really well in complete shade here. Maybe try moving the pot you have to complete shade? I also have acidic soil so maybe a little amendment to make the potting soil more acidic?

I'm one of those gardeners from CA with fertile soil (makes up for the crazy dry heat we have) so I'm just going to shut my mouth now before you all come over and smack me. ;-)

Oh one more thing... we also did the crushed granite for pathways. It works well only if you have someone add a watered down spray of quickrete to it, then compact it. And it has to be re-sprayed/compacted every couple of years otherwise it will just turn into messy gravel.

Works great then. (I guess you could add the quickrete and compact it yourself but it took a couple times going over it here and looked like a few days of really tedious work for an experienced crew).

Cori Ann- I don't want to smack you but I sure would love to go over to your house and steal your beautiful roses!!! Good thing we're on the opposite coasts or I'd be very tempted ;-)

Sharon

In hindsight, I think it was a couple of things going on (uncertainty regarding staying here in NV, leaving a home we built from the ground up after living in it for only two years) that exacerbated my gardening woes, Towandaaz and helped to created the perfect storm. I am kind of a "control freak" ( my husband would chuckle re the kind of) and this year, I have felt so helpless, but Mother Nature always prevails, and all I can do is my best to have the garden braced for whatever. I began feeling better after so many members chimed in. Teenage daughter drama has been a distraction too. We, gardeners, are a unique bunch.

I think this year, everything began earlier than usual. I had July temperatures in June and did not make the necessary adjustments soon enough, so my yard suffered. I still believe the inferno was a bit more intense. It is July, and the August monsoon season has already started. Lower temperatures, up to about 20% humidity, rain and cloud cover. The plants are already beginning to positively respond. Both of my CL. SDLM have new growth, but the easy to find Heirloom is a goner... oh well, I get to select something new...

Interesting suggestion regarding adding quickcrete to the crushed granite, Cori-Ann. Along with the mulched beds, it is less than perfect/presentable to my eye due to the edging placement. We know very soon it will need to be re-done. I will definitely inquire about the add quickcrete. Thank you:) I used the Orchid M.G. (Edited.. African Violet M.G.) potting mix for my baby roses in the past and did a comparison between the growth of the same plants with that mix versus M.G. moisture control and then a product from Star. I did not see a major difference. I would still use the acidic medium because I would not be surprised if there was some benefit that I did not see, but I purchase potting mix in the large bags which is a size I can not seem to find for the Orchid mix at the big box stores. No smacking you...we all have our struggles... I would like to have your good soil though:)

Thank you all so much for the candid responses and suggestions. You really are the best!!!

You might also look for "decomposed granite stabilizer." That's what they use here. I think it is an acrylic compound which binds all the pieces to the DG together. Really does make a cement-like surface.

I think the decomposed granite has something like that in it, if I am not mistaken, Noseometer. The big issue occurred when I wanted a neater look and trenches had to be dug around those edges to put in the edging. Our first landscaping crew was not the best....

Ooh, yeah. They can make a mess of things, especially when you are "particular". Like I am. I can tell you about the "stucco-istas" at my house who stomped on the group of claret cup cacti that I grew from seed. They looked like a watermelon dropped from a height. So sad.

You know Lisa I am the same way, I can't tolerate the heat my blood is Norwegian and we are northerners at heart. I literally have bought a misting fan and misting stand that I carry around with me as I water and tend the garden then I go in and lay down and crank the central air on. It seems to get worse too as I age. I need to move to a cooler climate! Haha!