A quick search shows Roses Unlimited carries it in gallons & Heirloom Roses as bands (smaller than gallons). Prices from these two are about the same for the rose, but I consider the gallon size the better buy. Roses Unlimited charges $17 for the rose, $5 for order handling & $5 for shipping each rose to VA, plus extra shipping if less than 3 roses total are ordered. Still would come in less than $50. Both sources are good ones & sell ownroot roses. Since Brandy is often only hardy to zone 7B, buying her ownroot may be a good idea if winters like this last continue. Weeks Roses (wholesaler) lists this grafted & their site is searchable to find mailorder & local suppliers. (Most of those mailorder suppliers carry bareroots, and it's too late in the season for those.) Linked is Weeks mailorder page, but click the tab on the top bar 'Find Our Roses' for local retailers by zipcode. You could call these local outlets & ask if they have Brandy on hand. Sometimes it's tough searching rose sources online. I have better luck searching 'hybrid tea brandy' rather than 'brandy rose' or 'rose brandy', for example. I'm sure there are others selling this rose mailorder, too, with a bit more time searching the web to find them. Have run across Brandy at local box stores & nurseries from time to time. Grew Brandy in the early 80's & remember her as one gorgeous & continually blooming rose with a good scent & apricot coloring. Lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia then & couldn't get her to overwinter grafted - tried more than once. If you find her grafted, may want to bury the graft to hedge your bet against another prolonged Winter. Best of luck in your pursuit! Here is a link that might be useful: Weeks Roses

well, i don't think you'll find anywhere in the county that is incovenient to shops & stuff, unless you're on the very fringe; it's all pretty well developed or getting there. probably the most well developed area to the south of raleigh is cary, but it's southwest, not east. garner would be the next on the list. knightdale and holly springs are getting there, but both would be worse commutes, i think. it depends on how much convenince you want vs the slightly countryish feel or how much suburban vs city feel, to put in another way. i guess a big part of what you need to weigh out is how often you'll go to the beach vs driving to work 5 days a week. in that equation, i'd err on the work side; an extra half hr to the beach would be no big deal. i can tell you from garner that non rush hr it takes me 35-45 minutes to get into durham, but i really don't know how much iit would add to do it in rush hr. probably a lot- like double, possibly. it only takes about 2 hrs to get to the closest, but also most crowded beach from here (wrightsville), but 2 1/2 hrs to probably 4 or 5 others, and a couple in between. we always opt for the extra half hour to get to less crowded beaches, personally. it's 5 hrs from the outer banks, and about 3 to emerald isle and northern myrtle. and, you know, you might want to consider durham, too- it's got some nice neighborhoods, and then you wouldn't be dealing with the commute for work. it would probably add 45 mins to a drive to the beach- maybe less, since you wouldn't be fighting rush hr for that. there is an outer outer beltline(540) that runs along the top of wake co that cuts commute times to durham, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like the bottom half is going to be done anytime soon and there's talk of it being a toll road. don't get me going on how unfair that is. at any rate, unless you're a little ways out, you'd be backtracking/heading south to get to it from garner when it's built. but... maybe that's a solution for you- it would be closer to the beach, but would add a little to the commute now, but knowing it would get shorter someday. for instance, down around white oak which is about where 540 will cut across, you can zip up 40, over 440, then to 147 to get to durham now. that's probably about 10-15 minutes longer than it takes me from central garner. eventually though, with 540, it would be shorter. north raleigh is built further out, as is knightdale, so 540 can really help if you choose a place out there. as i said to the other guys, it depends on what kind of feel you are looking for. and, btw, one solution if you want a new house on more land and don't want in a new development, is to buy and old one and knock it down and start over. i hate to see it, honestly, but it is becoming more popular. i guess it's better than mushrooming developments. and, of course, what you want to spend factors in big time. cary is very expensive, garner less so, holly springs getting to be inbetween, and fuquay and knightdale cheaper, at least for a little while. now that 540 goes to knightdale, my guess is the housing will skyocket there. i wouldn't say garner is redneck any longer- but it is a quieter bedrooom community, though there's plenty to do. cary is much more of a little city- but too controlling and yuppie for my tastes. again holly springs was out there before, but now is much more gentrified, and crowded, and fuquay varina & knightdale is/was fairly redneckish, but will be yuppied up real soon. they all have pockets of more expensive areas, and less expensive. there's lots of between areas- not really part of a town, that are still very quiet, but close to amenities. i can't really speak to the northern burbs, because it's been so long since we lived up that way. hopefully someone who lives up there will shed some light. southeast raleigh (above & east of garner, west of knightdale) is the one area that has a consistently 'poor' reputation, but even it is up and coming in pockets. parts of it are real scary though. hope all this helps. i hate to generalize, because it's not really fair. best thing is to come and see yourself to get a good idea of the feel of places.

Bir mentions it in "Growing and Propagating Showy Native Woody Plants," but qualifies the inclusion with "...only because of the numerous questions I get [asking to identify the floss flowered plant]." He says it's usually used in wetlands or the edge of wetlands and goes on to say that it could be used to create interest where diversity is desired, growing to 10 feet tall. It isn't mentioned in Southern Living's Garden Book. I've never noticed it in local nurseries. It's plentiful along the east edges of the dry woods here, reaching around other trees toward the sun. I sometimes prune it back from the field road. Nell

Hi, I grew up the NY Metropolitan area and worked at JFK and LGA airports most of my life. For the last 14 years I lived in CT on a small âHobbyâ farm of 7 acres. Iâve gone from owning 7 acres with 6 outbuildings of various sizes and functions to an apartment that is 900 sq. ft. in size. Iâm now living on Long Island until my lease expires at the end of this coming April. Iâve experienced both ways of living. Iâm a 68 years old and live alone. My son and three grandchildren live on Long Island while my daughter and three grandchildren live in Arlington, VA. I plan on moving to VA to live âNearâ her and her family. I know near is a relative term. Iâve looked at the map time and time again and Iâm at a loss. Iâve thought it might be sensible to live near either of the two commuter train lines so I could visit with her or spend some time in Wash, DC at the various museums without the hassle of notorious heavy traffic. I have no idea of the communities to visit when I go to VA in February to look for a place. Iâm not looking for a large place. Actually something the size of where I am now. A one bedroom or something like that would be fine. I prefer a mixed aged area and do not want to go into an over 55 community. Iâm also wondering is realtors are used to find rentals or if itâs something you seek out on your own. Comments would be appreciated.