We sure did not know triple_b ! You would be welcome Florence. You can just pick a little amount of rose petals during the summer (Zephy is a good choice!) and keep them in small bags in the freezer until you have enough to make the jam). Btw Here is another great link for all the rose products one´s heart can desire. (Including the Rose Petal Jam). Best Rose Oil, Water (Get the little atomizer!). I use the Rose Oil in aromatherapy lamps and it scents the house those winter days when I long for roses and summer and read rose books. Do check this link there is lots of information and pictures about the production of Bulgarian rose products. Here is a link that might be useful: Bulgarian Rose Oil and products

Flowersaremusic I agree with you on above climate ect. Mine was nine years old and had not been nearly as beautiful as usual for the last 2 maybe 3 years. I decided to dig it up at the end of this year and replace it. Is was full of disease with very small flowers. while digging part of the crown broke off. I reached down and pushed on more of the crown that part broke off. No wonder the poor rose was looking poorly as the crown was in decay. I could also see that it was grafted since I plant those on a angle. In my wetter environment and needing to bury grafts that the grafted area eventually rots away and effects the crown. Could also be affected by below zero weather. I'm also considering applying more fertilizer. Sort of thinking that some continuous bloom roses could use more than what I give them. Felt so bad taking out the old rose. Happy now that it is done and a fresh new beauty will be coming.

Lavenderlace: I tested the below research: https://stumptuous.com/fat-sugar-metabolic-derangement "High-fat (HF) and high-fat/high-sugar (HFHS) diets both raised blood lipids. However: only rats on HFHS (fat plus sugar) diet developed hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance and a diminished insulin response to a glucose load. " When I'm busy, I gulped one glass of juice for energy (100% juice with natural sugar) .. that kept my blood-sugar stabilized to finish a task for 1 hour longer. And a glass of soy milk (7 g. protein) & brewer's yeast & honey lasts me 4 hours without eating. Recently I did something different: finish the last bar of Klondite ice-cream (230 calories, 14 g of fat, 20 g white sugar) & sweet & greasy. Right after that, my blood sugar crashed, I was unbearably hungry and had to eat a meal immediately. I checked the ingredients: it has sugar & corn syrup (high fructose corn syrup). A little of fat plus protein is useful to keep one full. But fat plus sugar induce more hunger. I tested blueberry-smoothie made with 0% fat Greek yogurt versus 2% fat yogurt, and the 2% fat yogurt is more filling & last longer. CONCLUSION: Fat & protein & veggies is a good combo. Fat is needed to absorb the nutrients in veggies better. We have a friend who's a vegetarian and he ALWAYS USE full-fat salad-dressing, plus full-fat cheese on his salads, and he's just as skinny as husband in their late 50's. I used coconut oil to make banana muffin, and olive oil in my cooking. Here's what the Dean of Nutrition, Harvard Medical School said about coconut oil: http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil "Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts. But what's interesting about coconut oil is that it also gives "good" HDL cholesterol a boost. But, for now, I'd use coconut oil sparingly. Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels. We don't really know how coconut oil affects heart disease. And I don't think coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils like olive oil and soybean oil, which are mainly unsaturated fat and therefore both lower LDL and increase HDL. Coconut oil's special HDL-boosting effect may make it "less bad" than the high saturated fat content would indicate, but it's still probably not the best choice among the many available oils to reduce the risk of heart disease. — Walter C. Willett, M.D. Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition Harvard Health Letter Editorial Board" *** From Straw: Just tested Solgar Brewer's yeast (made from beets). It's less tasty than NOW brand (sold out at local health food store). Solgar BY has a "plastic" & artificial taste to it, and less acidic than NOW. So I'll use Solgar BY for my roses, and still need to buy NOW brewer's yeast when they stock up.

Lisa, I can't say I took much time choosing my avatar (I think that's the right term, but would gladly be corrected). But Titian has turned out to be a sterling rose in my garden. I don't usually care for garish colours, but I like this one very much. It grows against Spartan pines, and I love it against the dark green. Titian was bred in Sydney, by Frank Riethmuller, and I've read that it's considered by some to be the best bred Australian rose. It's a hard colour to pair with though. When I was ordering a rose to go with it, I spoke to a woman who was recommending all sorts of roses till I said it was to be next to Titian. There was an audible '"Oh" over the phone, and she then suggested Cinderella Fairytale. The pure pale pink of CF does look good with it. Carol, your Blush Noisette and MAC are lovely. And what good-looking parents you are - and so 'cool' looking!