All the plants have buds and Munstead Wood is the first to bloom-- 9 flowers have opened and 9 more developing. I gave them water and nothing else for weeks, then as they started getting bigger, sprinklings of bloodmeal and half-doses of fish emulsion. At some point I tried giving them a bit of diluted potassium with indeterminate results. (Maybe because I got muriate of potash instead of the potassium chloride, sulfide or whatever it is that's supposed to be better?) Once I gave them water left over from cooking beans (no salt) and they seemed to like it fine. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the whole plants yet, but they do seem like they are taking off. Though Munstead Wood, Lady of Shallot, and Jude the Obscure are growing with big open spaces between canes-- I don't know if these are the reported David Austin octopus arms, or pest damage to terminal shoots that would otherwise fill out the center of the bush, or particular growth habit in Houston, TX weather, or if it's just something it'll grow out of after a year and some pruning. The other, younger two plants that I've messed with the least, Lady Emma Hamilton and Brother Cadfael, have much more attractive foliage and look more bushy/shrubby. LEH has sixteen buds already and is nicely rounded, while BC, who has been growing tall thick canes and took the longest to leaf out and bud, looks more like a sturdy column shape. They are all at least two to three and a half feet off the soil level. So far the scent on MW is very sweet, like berry candy and rosewater (rather than dried rose petals), and seems stronger after a fish emulsion feeding. Can't wait for the others! Thanks to everyone for being present on this forum. I've been going through a lot of posts and learning a bunch!

Davie, I'm in 10a on the Gulf coast and I love cottage gardens too. Especially the pinks/purples with oranges and yellows. I won't be able to achieve the exact look that I had and loved in Ohio but there are still options. My first couple of years in Florida, I tried my darndest to grow big Dutch iris, lilies of the valley, bleeding hearts, lamb's ear, bee balm, etc. that thrived in Ohio but couldn't handle to overbearing heat and humidity here. So, I finally decided that I needed to work with what would grow here and provide a similar look. I put in a new butterfly/hummingbird garden about a year ago that has been through Irma, our only hard freeze in 8 years and less than 2" of rain this year and is still thriving. It's mostly pink/purple/orange and and yellow with some red thrown in. I don't grow roses out of habit (we had nosey little dogs for years who liked to smell the roses when outside to do their business and always came in scratched up). I planned the plant placement perfectly (or so I thought) before planting. But, I wasn't prepared for how big everything gets here in SW Florida LOL Before you start, the most important thing to do in my mind is to work in tons of good compost and soil. Before I put the plants in this garden in, I rented a roto-tiller and worked up the grass (if you can call anything in Florida grass LOL), raked out the grass, stones and shells, and tilled in 40 bags of compost and as much soil TWICE. Believe me, it paid off. There's a few cottage style plants that I have tried over and over in Florida with little to no success: butterfly bushes and hydrangeas. The BFB looks great for a few months then overnight the nematodes kill them. I am trying one last time to grow one in a huge pot but if it dies, it will be my last. If you're in 9a or cooler and have some shade, oakleaf and lacecap hydrangeas can be grown. I was in 9a for the first 9 years in Florida and had some success with them there under the pine and oak canopy. But, here in 10a they wouldn't survive in my all sun garden. Here's some plants that do great for me and provide a cottage feel and are good nectar plants for hummers and butterflies: Salvias: Amistad (purple), Phyllis' Fancy (pale lilac), Faye Chapel (red) and coccenia (red) Porterweed: purple, red and coral Penta: Lanceolata (tall pink, red and violet) Firespike: red and magenta Misc: Red shrimp plant, lantana (pinks, yellows), Mexican sunflower (orange), Lion's Ear (orange), African Iris (white with pale lilac center), walking iris (purple, whites and yellows) Daisy like flowers: Gerbera daisies (they stop blooming when it gets really hot here but start back up when temps drop a little), osteopurmum (whites, pinks, yellows), cosmos (annual), cape daisy (yellow) Vines: tropical morning glory (on a trellis or arch with big blue blooms all year for me), passion vine (Gulf fritillary and zebra longwing) and Dutchman's pipevine (pipevine and goldrim host plant) What is the exact hardiness zone for your Florida garden? There's a huge difference between what is hardy and reliable in 9a versus 10a. Here's a link to the USDA Interactive Plant Hardiness Zone Map Good luck! We look forward to seeing some of your pics. Rhonda

If you want a fluffy pink, have you considered Princess Alexandra of Kent? She's about 3.5 x 2.5 and, according to David Austin, has a "delicious fresh tea fragrance with aspects of lemon and blackcurrants." Princess Alexandra of Kent I wouldn't know since I do not grow her, but if I had any space left open, I would definitely plant her in my garden. Austin adds that she is highly fragrant and very healthy also and "ideal for pots and containers." Really BIG blooms, I'm told. Kate

Well, you learn something every day. I did not know about Playgirl. Love the color! I wonder if she does as well in Colorado as Playboy? Unfortunately not carried by High Country Roses so I'd have to mail order. I've considered doing it but I do like seeing the blooms in person and getting Matt's input on how the roses do in Colorado so haven't taken the leap yet. Winnipeg parks is a new addition. I went to the Denver Rose show this year and there were tons of beautiful Winnipeg Parks entries. Mid July or so we added a band. It now looks like this. I think it is going to become a favorite. So far the Japanese Beetles are leaving it alone, it seems to have alot of blooms (I have recently cut two off) and is supposed to be good down to zone 4. I couldn't help myself and went to cut more blooms today. My display area looks like this now. Turns out Amiga Mia is my largest rose. The Sally Holmes start that we put out front is getting established and growing. But I'm thinking we made a mistake. The big Sally Holmes bush is generally a Japanese Beetle magnet and Lady in Red isn't getting them at all. So Lady in Red may be a better bush to have in the front since it holds it's appearance better.