Well! I had hoped things had improved while I was away for a bit. I took my photo, chose topics to post under, and when I hit submit, my photo isn’t there. I’ll try again.

Baronne Prevost has been blooming up a storm. She’s so lovely!

I’m wondering about deadheading Mel’s Heritage

Leveson Gower settles in

Not a rose, but I’m enchanted by this Meadow Rue.

I’ll stop for a moment, I’m getting nervous about losing these. Does anyone know if I need to deadhead all of Mel’s Heritage? This is the first time he’s had such a huge flush. I’m not complaining, but it looks like a huge job! I’ve also found out, (2 weeks ago) that my hip problem, is a big issue. I’ve just turned 50, and I need a new left hip! I’m beyond shocked. I’m obviously hoping for an easy way to deadhead Mel’s Heritage, that doesn’t involve me spending all that time on the slope. Is is ok to let all the blooms dry, and then blast them with a jet of water? I realize the “hip” material will remain. ( on Mel’s Heritage, I mean:). Any advice? Thanks, Lisa

Hi Lisa -- good to see your post here. Wonderful pictures. I missed you on the seasonal thread! I think Jim called it doggie days of summer? So sorry to hear about your hip. Are all the "alternative" therapies out, too? I guess the good news is that the old advice of waiting as long as possible for a new hip seems to be less valid with new technologies. Even so, must make you wonder what the heck!

oh gosh I want some meadow rue... lovely photos Lisa... so sorry about your hip, hope you're not in too much pain and discomfort... but you have to be very careful what you do there... I would leave that rose, maybe it gets hips of the other sort later on...

Massive looking blooms on 'BP'... mine are much smaller...

Thanks, Deborah and Marlorena. I’m rather upset about the hip. I knew it wasn’t my usual MS pain, and I’m afraid I put off seeing the Dr. until I could hardly walk. I’ve had a steroid injection in the hip, earlier in the week, with no results yet. Apparently, it’s so far gone, surgery is inevitable. I’m hoping to be able to hold out until cooler weather, so my roses won’t suffer while I recover. May I just say one time, this STINKS! :(

I was without internet for a bit, and posting has also been a trial, so I’ve been pretty quiet here. My Baronne Prevost has always been a really good one. I remember Virginia remarking upon the size of her blooms, last summer. I posted a photo with a thorn stripper, for size comparison. People said she had very large blooms, and wondered what I fed her. I’m just lucky, I think. This clay soil is really perfect for such a dry climate. It holds a lot of nutrients and holds precious water. It would be a disaster in a rainy climate, but here, it’s just fine. I do add gypsum, perlite, and moisture crystals to the bottom of each planting hole.

More pics soon. Lisa

I bet deadheading won't be required for Mel's Heritage. At least I hope not, Lisa. That could be impossible if you have anything else going on in life. Sometimes a hip just goes. The cartilage wears out. You are bone on bone. There likely was nothing you could have done had you gone in earlier to stop that. Life is ridiculous sometimes. Why you? I can think of a lot of people who deserve more trouble than you do. I wish life were fair.

Lisa, your Baronne Prevost is just glorious. I do agree that your soil is wonderful for roses. The prospect of a hip replacement has to be daunting, but not to be in pain afterwards and do the things you want will make it all worth it. Waiting until autumn seems like an excellent idea, and recovery will be easier when you're not sweltering in the heat.

WOW!!! What a pleasant surprise! THIS is my thread that mysteriously disappeared an hour or two after I posted it!!! Deborah and Marlorena’s original comments are back again, too. I had mentioned it’s disappearance in my email to Houzz, yesterday. They’re working on things, because it apparently was returned to the forum about 9 hours after my sending them my email.

My day is not my own, today, so I’ll try a few random pictures now. Lisa

Mels Heritage and the deadheading issue.

Duchess de Brabant, back to her mildewed self:(

Leveson Gower is still setting in, but blooming well. She has powdery mildew as well, but probably needs to get better established in her new spot. She had gotten much better in the PM department, but the season and the planting out has her back to it. She’s still a pretty thing.

All sorts of bugs have been at Lady Ashe.

Darcey Bussell NEVER stops blooming!

A wild corner

A lousey shot of Baronne Prevost with her sweet pea companion.

7 photos!!!! That’s an improvement from my limit of 4, lately. Wonderful! Lisa

I like the look of the sweet pea planted close to Baronne, nice color combo.

Hi Lisa - glad to know I didn't destroy the original thread!

Nope! It wasn’t your fault, Mary. I’m glad to see it, again. I just tried making a new thread, loaded with pictures, but the “green bar” is stuck with three moving dots. I hope I didn’t just lose all those pictures! I’ll be gone all day, and don’t have time to fool with it. I thought I’d give it a quick try, but no go.... Lisa

Hi Lisa -- glad to see the "gray men" are not keeping you off Houzz! So, you highly recommend Darcy? I forget - are you more inland or coastal? I love your wild corner!

I agree, Darcy is a non stop bloomer. The blooms dont seem to last very long but she is very young.

Lisa, I had a lady on my tour yesterday who had had her hip replaced just a couple of months ago and all but the stairs she was walking like a champ. She said she was so glad that she had it done no more pain and she was feeling like her old self again

I absolutely love your wild corner, Lisa. I'm thinking I should have chosen Lady Ashe instead of Aloha since I have so many pink roses already. Somehow I always succumb to a luscious pink, though, and it ends up in my garden. I wish I still had my Leveson-Gower.

What a lovely post even if it does contain the bad new about your hip. I hope you can last until cooler weather sets in... if not you'll just have to enjoy your GORGEOUS garden from afar.

Thanks! I highly recommend Darcey Bussell. She even lasts a few days in a vase for me, now that she’s a few years old. She’s always blooming. I’m consider inland N. San Diego County, but I do get a bit of marine influence. I’m near the “coastal conditions”, but just a few miles out from it. I’m about 8 miles inland at 625F elevation or so.

Ingrid, this is the very first time I’ve seen the apricot in ‘Lady Ashe’. She was all light pink blooming, until these. She’s just been here one solid year, so maybe she’s maturing. The bugs are destroying her blooms! I have nasty little worms eating so many buds. I need to get out the BT, but dread the job in the heat. Leveson Gower is a neat one, I agree. She’s sited in front and below your ALMD. I planted some purple alstroemerias there a few weeks ago. I can’t wait to see how they all look together.

I’m happy to hear about your hip surgery, Cynthia. I’m going to save any hip related comments for Bart’s thread. That way we can both benefit from the conversation. Kristine, I love hearing things like that! It makes me feel very hopeful. Lisa

Just to say I (finally ) read your thread Lisa. I was so upset, too, and went into real denial about my hip thing, but now I'm so disabled by it and it cause so much pain that I'm actually looking forward to geting it done. In my case it's a family thing, I think; my sister-older by only one year than me-has already had it done. The ortopedic doc said that it is quite possible that it was caused-at least in my case-by being born with impingement of the femur; the arthritis covers up one of the signs of this condition ,but he could see that I do have the other.

Nice pictures, btw!