Jeri, five years ago I would have been shocked beyond belief by your statement. How did it change so quickly? I know you don't tolerate the heat well, but where isn't it hot nowadays? I'm glad you were able to save these beauties from the worst of it.

Ingrid, great pics, sorry about the heat wave. I love ML and LV, I need to get both of these roses.

Over here our unnatural autumn weather (more like end of June..) seems to be finally changing. We got our first proper autumn storm yesterday.

You wouldn't know it was so hot from the photos, everything looks cool and fresh as a cucumber... can only hope things cool down a bit for you very soon...I can't imagine such heat at this time of year, it almost sounds like life on Mars but it all seems to be growing away there regardless.. rather lush.

Beautiful photos of your garden, especially your shot of Duchesse de Brabant...gasp!

Very beautiful, as always. Jason is of course my favorite bloom. The heat is indeed terrible. I think today is supposed to ever hotter. I just can’t stand it. My roses can’t stand it either. The heat with the dry wind is too much for them. My DdB is back to her powdery mildewed self again because of it. Lisa

I'm so glad you captured your garden in bloom before this wave of crazy high temps swooped in and toasted your region! Jeri said 106 at her place?! And Kim has retreated to an area of the house shaded by a patio cover. It is comforting that local fire departments are so experienced and prepared. The inferno in N CA is not something to repeat!

I always celebrate when I spot your posted photos! You grow so many roses to perfection, ones that I don't (can't) grow well and ones I seldom see. Your SdlM is famous by now, and your Rosette Delizy is surely tied. Your Le Vesuve is one of the loveliest ever.

I also wish to compliment the photographer! Your roses are beautifully framed by the backdrop of the landscape, and your eye for composition gives each image the impression of an oil painting. I really enjoyed reading your brief photography tutorial. Please tell Jason that he is the most regal subject of all! Carol

Thank you all, dear friends, you're so kind. Nik, I'm glad you had a good storm. I just read the latest forecast for our region here, and it's predicted to be hotter and drier than normal, which is very bad news. However, we'll muddle through. Marlorena, the fact that I'm still able to water normally helps a lot, and all my pictures lately were taken when temps were low. I won't be whipping out my camera until this hot spell is over, that is for sure.

Lisa, I know you're miserable in the heat and I hope you don't set foot outside. So sorry about your DdB, which seems very persnickety. No mildew on my DdB, and she's in a lot of shade. Something seems to be up with yours, although at least it's covered with blooms.

Carol, I'm blushing, but at the same time so happy that my pictures give you pleasure. I'm afraid that showing the same few roses over and over will get boring, and I'll be happy when my youngsters have some blooms that are different. I always nip off the buds for at least the first year in the hope that this will hasten growth, but I know not everyone agrees it's necessary. I may give that a pass just to be able to enjoy different blooms.

These are terrible temperatures. On another thread we've been talking of travels in India and Iran in 1968. I check the temperatures in New Delhi, India every day in our newspaper. I remember New Delhi in late fall of 1968 as a cold place with homeless people dying from -2 centigrade temperatures according to the Hindustan Times, the Indian English language newspaper I could read, Today it's +32C (89F) in New Delhi. I believe this is an indication of global warming.

That is a truly shocking comparison, Marianne. It wasn't that cold in the Punjab when I was there in late 1973 to spring 1974 but I remember how glad I was to have brought my warm coat, which got a lot of use.

Can you even imagine that our U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are not allowed to present their findings about global warming and that the words "global warming" and "climate change" are not allowed to be printed by that agency? We seem to be back in the Dark Ages.

I always love your pictures of your roses, they are all beautiful. You would never know that they are grown in such heat. The cat is gorgeous too. I have a soft spot for orange cats. I have 3 cats, a grey, a beige and a black and I swear I cannot look after another one but if someone came along with an orange male like Justin I am afraid my resolve would weaken. LOL

It is exceptionally hot here in Nova Scotia also this fall. It is great for the roses, they are taller than I have ever seen them and easy on the fuel bill but it feels unnatural somehow.

Valerie

Ingrid, your garden shots are lovely, so restrained and elegant as others have said a lot better than me.

I don't remember if it was on this thread or another, that you used the phrase 'going to Hell in a handbasket', but that phrase is what I have been thinking (and very occasionally saying) for quite a while now. Twenty five years ago I had an office across from a climate scientist, which has caused me to notice things from then on. Meanwhile we look for other planets we will then destroy. I no longer get so upset by it, but view it as something I'm unlikely to be able to change (though I do still write to pollies occasionally about the absurd use of coal in this country). I am philosophically thankful that I will never have grandchildren (though I selfishly still hanker after them). I have decided to just enjoy the time I have, and try not to worry about the future. We Humans don't seem to able to learn from past experiences. Easter Island springs to mind.

Ignorance is bliss, is probably easier for sure. The problem is they take the rest of us down with them.

Valerie, I'm the opposite of you; I haven't had a red cat since I was a child and never particularly liked them all my life. What changed - who knows? Now I think they're wonderful. I've always loved Maine Coons and have had several. Why do I now have a Turkish Angora? Beats me. Perhaps the lesson is that we should just accept whatever happens, including the possible ending of life on earth. We may have just multiplied ourselves out of existence. Every day species become extinct but we just keep making more human beings, and I'm afraid the tipping point was reached some time ago. Now we just have to live with the consequences. We can only live in the moment. Today my husband took a sweet kitty to the humane society that has been on our property for weeks and that he gradually befriended and fed until he could entice it into a carrier. It is a no-kill shelter and the cat is so friendly that I'm sure he'll find a good home. No matter what happens, that made it a great day.