Jessica, Thanks for sharing, I love this! Your guys are very fortunate. I don't do parades HOWEVER, I have always been fascinated with the mystic of the floats in specifically the Rose Parade. I was having dinner with a client in LA and mentioned my fascination with the floats and their construction. She said her company (Unocal76, pre-Chevron merger) had a float in the parade every year (wink, wink, I knew that) and perhaps she could get me on the decorating list. I didn't let her forget that comment and used a number of business excuses to stay in contact with her. She came through and sent me the application; the whole process was like applying for a job. I signed up for the last three shifts on the schedule (worked 12 hours straight) thinking I would be there for the finishing touches and then stay for the parade the next morning. I was flying in from Florida; DH came with me. My job was to fetch supplies from the prep center then apply the stripes to the zebra. I glued seeds on to a full size zebra. Poppy seeds for the black and sesame for the white stripes. Talk about tedious. However, it was a fabulous experience one that I will never forget. I strolled around the float barn between shifts taking in as much of the process as I could, seeing celebrates (although, I am NOT a celebrate watcher), listening to the tantrums of the float designers (who knew they had such an elevated status), and checking out the amazing and industrious ways the floats are decorated. After resting in the hotel for a few hours, it was back to the parade route. My client had gotten reserved seats for us at the beginning of the parade. We watched the parade and were out of there and on the way to the airport before the parade was through. Again, it is a very lasting experience for me.

Sure! I've posted my "magic mix" several times before, and it was in the thread on Chinas and Teas I referenced above. I also went into detail about it in this thread, and Lisa Adams shared a few pics in this thread, but here it is again: Get a large wheelbarrow, a 1-gal bucket, and a 1-cup measuring device which you won't mind getting dirty. Mix 3 buckets of peat moss (or coco moss if you prefer), 1 bucket of Bovung dehydrated manure, 1 bucket of perlite, and 1 bucket of vermiculite. Pick your favorite organic dry fertilizer -- I use Espoma Organic Garden Tone now because I can get it in big bags, but I've also used Jobe's Organic Knock-Out Rose Food in the past -- and add 3 cups. All these ingredients I find at my local Home Depot, and clicking the green text for each will bring you to their item descriptions on that website. I didn't link "peat moss" or "coco moss" because I'm sure you know what they are. I use nursery liners in 1- and 2-gal sizes, depending on how big they are when they arrive. I get mine from Greenhouse Megastore. They're not fancy, but they're both cheap and durable. I've gotten several uses out of each, and I haven't had to throw any away so far. Since I also collect used coffee grounds from Starbucks daily -- except during the worst part of Winter -- I also add about a 1 inch layer on top after they're potted. I also line the bottom of each pot with a coffee filter or two, so as to keep the potting mix from spilling out of the drain holes. This still allows water to drain through. Newspaper will do the same trick. Once potted, I put the rose into a large bucket and let it soak in water while I move on to the next one, then continue down the line. The earliest I get roses here is April, running through until June. Within this window, it's usually mild enough that I can put the potted roses out in full-sun, and we also get enough rain that I usually don't have to water them again until about July. I'll keep them potted until late August or early September, by which time we're still warm enough to plant in the ground, but the hottest temperatures have subsided. Keep in mind that these are my conditions in central NJ near the coast. If I was living where Winters didn't put an end to "rose season" but Summers were severe, I'd likely get them started in Autumn. :-) ~Christopher

Thanks everyone for your nice feedback! Irisgal - thank you for your kind words. Charles Rennie Macintosh's blooms last only a couple of days but he's only six months old and about two and a half feet tall, so it might be a bit too early to judge his bloom longevity. I'd rather he had fewer but larger blooms that lasted a bit longer than lots of medium-sized blooms that blow a bit sooner than I'd like. We'll see how it does next year when his roots are more established. So far, my Strawberry Hill's pink color is similar to what I remember strawberry milk looked like when I drank it as a kid. It's a very sweet, light pink with no variations like Abe. What I was hoping for is the color and shape I saw at Regan Nursery in the photo below. The center was darker, and the petals more ruffled. I should have bought this SH at Regan's when I saw it. Just didn't have the space for it at the time. I hope mine looks like this eventually. Ann

Here are some pic update from my J&P sale and Wayside Gardens sale. Wayside Gardens sale roses (The Ancient Mariner x2 , Princess Alexandra Of Kent x2 , Darcey Bussell, Tess of the d'Urbervilles) were stressed from shipping in high temperature then got hit by the sun in my garden even they were under a tree, all the new growths died and it took a while with a lot of extra care before some new growths showed up again. Here are the pics of the 2 with slowest growths (The Ancient Mariner and Princess Alexandra Of Kent) taking today. I wasn't sure that these 2 could make it. I'm glad they did. The first J&P sale roses are doing great (Cabana x2, Hypnotized! x2, Daring Spirit (tree), JP 2020 Exclusive Preview Striped). Cabana Faked Hypnotized! Daring Spirit (tree)