My Fireworks has been slow growing up to this point; it's been in the ground 3-4 years. Maybe someone else can speak about the size of Fireworks in their garden. The Jackmanii has viticella parentage, so it can get large, quickly. Some of us in the colder zones are experimenting with cutting back group 2's after the first flush, hoping to get a 2nd, but some of mine never stop blooming. Early tests seems to point to our growing season being too short to get rebloom on most(?) group 2's but people have had success. You should experiment in your own garden. Some of my group 2's are still blooming well. Don't cut back group 3's. By the time most of them have finished blooming, it will be close to fall. I don'think there is anything to gain, and the green vine and the interesting seedheads looks nicer than a bare arbor, but that is just my opinion. Although there isn't good information on how beneficial deadheading clematis is, it won't hurt and perhaps it will help produce more blooms. I prune my group 3's by half in late fall as soon as the plant is dormant, then do the final pruning in early spring.

Thanks everyone. I miss you too, but thank the stars that my DH brought his laptop and we can get a connection. We are here with my DH's parents and sister and hubby and their 2 teenager kids. Our room is on the third floor and that just happens to be the only level in this house that we can get a connect. (happy me!) The ocean here is not bathtub warm, but it is warm. Feels cool, but you can just go right in with having to get used to the temp, no matter how hot it is. Feels cooler at night but still not chilly by any means. It seems much saltier to me than the Pacific...maybe because this is an inlet...dunno. Is the Atlantic saltier? Body buoyancy is much greater as a result (or could it be that my increased body fat just makes me float like a cork?----hmmmm. :) They are shooting fireworks again. The Garden City pier is 1.7 miles northeast of our beach house. A nice walk that I have become accustomed to doing every morning. The first day, it was all I could do to climb the stairs every day. I thought I would die from lack of air! I took it a little at a time, and walked a bit further each day and swam out a bit farther each day. Now I am able to comfortably stroll down the beach every morning and having a blast in the surf. At low tide every morning around 5:30, I go out and comb the beach for shells and things. Most of the shells are broken, but some manage to make shore intact. The moonstones are lovely - tumbled pieces of shell or quartz, about half the size of a dime. So lovely. I am finding black shells, which I had never before seen. Found a piece of branch coral yesterday. That is very rare in the inlet. There were some guys on the beach this morning that had been finding tiny shark's teeth. They gave me one - the best one they had. Very cool! I am enjoying the children on the beach. they are so cute to watch and delightful to chat with. The Legend of Captain Jack is one that is famous around here. I asked two little kids this morning who were sitting at the shore digging if they had found any of Jack's treasure yet. They looked up with complete earnest and said, "Nope, not yet". I said, "Me neither. Darn." they bobbed their heads in complete agreement of my sentiments. I asked them if they were searching for buried treasure and they looked up and beamed, "Ya!" "Have you found any yet?" "Nah, but we think these might be broken pieces. Not sure" They held up little black pointed slivers of something, and I could for certain say whether they were or were not pieces of shark teeth, but I suspect they were in all actuality slivers of black oyster shells and not shark's teeth at all....but I was not going to spoil their enthusiasm and fun. Darling little sprouts they were of about 5 or 6. ((HUGS)) ~ Annie Down here with some sorry "sunny beaches", but having a great time in spite of it all.

Thanks everyone for looking & commenting. Mantis, the rosy-colored rose in the foreground is 'Noble Antony', an Austin. Yes, Incendiary does like it's new home here in New Hampshire. I got it last year and it has done wonderfully so far. It is fast becoming one of my favorites. Debra, yes those are roses in the photo w/ Marietta Warrior. I wish the thunderstorm hadn't tattered the blooms on MW because they are so big and stunning in person and a deep red like bing cherries. I will be sure to take more pictures when the weather is better. Nate, I picked that dianthus up at a local nursery. I wish I hadn't thrown out the plastic label on it because now I don't recall the name. I like that it's a perennial and very different-looking than most dianthus. THANK YOU to all of you for looking at my pictures and taking the time to comment! Daylily friends are the BEST! Celeste

Thanks for the comments. Debra: I don't know what happened with the photo. The colors are way off, but it is BO KNOWS. I will have to get another picture of it and post it. The sun was out and I was trying to shade it, as it was difficult to get a good picture in full sun. As far as my hybridizing efforts, I do both dips and tets. I registered my first one this year and it was a tet. I h ave several other tets on the watch and see list and no dips at this time. The dips are two year old seedlings and probably won't bloom until next year. I am working with the Bennett line to keep his plants relevant, as I think he did great work with the pinks and polychromes. Maryl: Yes I do sell his plants and ship all over. You can send me an e-mail through HOUZZ or I usually have a Spring and Fall sale listed on the NGA site. I am always looking to add more of his plants to my collection. David