How delightful to come back and see all this! So much beauty which should be shared, because we need it more than ever in our lives, or at least I know that I do, and the act of sharing itself has become precious, even reaching across oceans and over continents. How cool is that!

vesfl, how neat that you also have milkweed, and with an actual monarch caterpillar in residence. I'm afraid I may be in the wrong location, and perhaps also too dry, for monarchs to visit here, but we shall see. Sheila, I have a feeling your environment with so much more vegetation and more plentiful rain will be much more to their liking, but I'm still hoping for at least one.

Trish, your Marie van Houtte is lovely. I had ordered one and they sent me Mrs. B.R. Cant instead, which is not a favorite because it's mostly red in my soil and climate, NOT what I wanted. Your G. Nabonnand is covered in buds. I know you've not been happy with your roses in past years, but hopefully the alfalfa has worked its magic and will give you a terrific spring flush. Of course we need more pictures! I must blushingly admit that my urn is "planted" with artificial flowers, but please don't let on to anyone!

Krista, thank you for providing a link for the monarch butterflies. Their life cycle and long journey are truly amazing, and very humbling, since we humans like to think we're so special. Claire, I don't see any "beat up roses" in your superlative photo. How wonderful to revel in those colors and forms, each one beautiful in itself but magical when combined. Pippa, I'm showing your superb bloom to my little bitty Charles Darwin that just will not grow. Of the few blooms it's had none have had the lovely color of yours. Jeri, my fingers are crossed for you having Thanksgiving roses, and I hope you can give thanks even before that for a cessation of the horrible east wind.

Lisa, your SdlM may be small but it's no slouch in the bloom department. Hopefully if we have a rainy winter it will pull up its socks and put on a growth spurt. I have two bushes of SdlM and strangely the second one, in an equally good location, has never caught up to the first in size even though it's a mature plant by now. It's not even half as high, and I have no idea why. Your Gruss an Aachen is so lovely, a happy-looking rose, content to just bloom and give us joy.

I need to throw in MFKruger. I love this plant. I may have another one (not Souv de Pierre Notting) too. That's the kind of mixup I can handle.

Ingrid keep posting all your wonderful pictures. I can’t get enough of seeing all those beautiful roses.

Trish and Lisa wonderful additions to this post. Pippa your CD is fantastic.

claire I love your roses color combination. :)

Sheila that’s is a very unique Rose. What a subtle lovely color.

I hope you all keep posting your beautiful pictures through the winter months. They will keep us happy and looking forward to next spring.

Ingrid, you have the finest SdlM I've ever seen. Still waiting for my climbing version to bloom. Lisa, I would be like you - thrilled to see blooms, regardless of the condition it's in. Yours are beautiful. I don't see the problem?

Ingrid, I like your colorful milkweed. I bet the rabbits won't touch it. It's very poisonous to humans, but I don't know about bunnies. Mine is pink, but I had to get one that survives winter, and it happened to be pink which disappears among the pink roses. It's rare to see Monarchs here, but I want to have something they like in case some adventurous ones wander in.

Claire, that's a lovely bouquet, and I know exactly what you mean about the last roses of the season being special. You must be further west than I am. Well, of course you are - zone 8. I'm almost in Idaho at the panhandle. The rose that just won't quit making buds right now is Mrs. John Laing. I feel sorry for her because she's determined and they just won't open.

These tea roses make my knees go weak. I love them all. Trish, your Marie van Houtte is one I would love to grow. Sheila, your MFKruger is one I might try. It's hardier than Marie van Houtte. I planted 2 teas this year, hoping for the best. If they make it, then, MFK is moving up on the list.

I have to agree with you about Mel’s Heritage, Chris. Mine has been in constant bloom since early spring. Here’s a picture I took of a cluster on Friday. He really never quits! Lisa

Wow! Mels Heritage is a winner !

Ingrid, you made me laugh about the urn! What a pity you got Mrs BR Cant by mistake. I wondered (on a previous thread) why you'd got her again, as I know you're not fond of the colour she is in your garden. I love Marie van Houtte, so I hope you'll be successful in getting her. She makes a beautiful shrub. Mine is about 6 years old, and huge. It's planted near a terrace wall, and cascades over, hardly ever without a flower, and no bare knees. I see HMF say she's upright, but she certainly isn't in my garden. My roses are astonishing this year, and I can only think it's the alfalfa tea. Rosette Delizy had sat there for three years doing nothing, which is most unusual here, but it's suddenly sent up two basal breaks. Unfortunately one got snapped off near the base, who knows by what. Perhaps a naughty cockatoo.

Sheila, your MFK bud looks luscious. I hope you'll post a photo of it open.

Lisa and chris, your Mel's Heritages are lovely things. chris, I don't remember seeing photos of your garden this year, Have I missed them? I love your garden. There is something so peaceful about it. I'm carried back to the childhood I wished I'd had!

Trish, I wonder if my puny Souvenir de la Malmaison would benefit from some alfalfa tea. Lisa

Tiffany, I have used a little alfalfa before, just as a mulch, but I've never had results like this. I'm told it's the alcohol that's made when it's brewed. I bought a bag of alfalfa meal, and used a heaped bucketful in a large bin, and stirred it by hand (as it floats on top, and that was the easiest way), once or twice daily for four to five days. It bubbled after a day or two. I'd read to use half a bucketful per rose, but I used several (kept making more batches), for one thing as my Tea roses are big, and also because the ground was so dry. We had rain about 3 weeks after I first started using it, which would have helped no end, but I'd started to see results before it rained. The growth is phenomenal, and so are the number of roses.

Lisa, it's worth a try if you have the energy..... I know that's an issue for you.

Holy moly, check out Lady of Shallot.

Brand new this summer.

I am so excited. The first baby blooms weren't much

This is what I was hoping for.

Titian, that's such a sweet thing for you to say. I really appreciate that! I definately did post pictures, but can't seem to find the thread right now from during the spring flush. I feel like it's not easy to search for old posts... Here's one I did find: [Rainy Day Roses[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/rainy-day-roses-dsvw-vd~5332032)

Looking back through the pictures, it's always reassuring to see things at their prime, considering everything is going dormant right now. That crab apple behind Rotesmear got rubbed up by a deer recently and will probably have to be replaced.. Very annoying but at least they left my persimmons alone.

-Chris

Trish, I am SO happy that your garden is flourishing now. You so deserve it after the tribulations you've had in the past, and yay for alfalfa if that's what turned things around. I know how wonderful it is to have some successes after a bad patch, and how extra sweet that can be.

I'm steadfast in my determination to buy no more roses, no matter what gorgeous specimens are dangled in front of me here. My resident lagomorphs have convinced me that they will eat any and all roses that are not surrounded with barbed wire, so to speak. Instead I'm invested in planting perennials that they don't like, such as milkweed, penstemons, lavenders and sages. I'm also getting a monkeyflower (mimulus) and a scabiosa on trial to see if they will leave them alone. I'm getting a lot of enjoyment from planting all those bare areas between the roses where my irises and other "rabbit food" used to be.

Chris, what a photographer you are! We must see more of your pictures, although I suppose for the most part your garden is going to sleep. Next spring, though, we will be looking for you! Edited: Thank you for the pointer to your rainy day roses. So beautiful!

Thanks, Ingrid. My son looked out the window a few minutes ago, and commented on the roses, particularly MvH, which is quite something from him, as he is not a rose fan! I hope those bunnies keep away from your new perennials, and hope even more that you get some rain, and bunnies and all will be happy.

Trish, for any man, but especially a young man, to make a comment about a rose is definitely noteworthy. I think your roses are doing something right this spring, thank goodness. I'm trying hard to choose perennials that the bunnies don't care for, but I also notice that the irises that they ate down to the ground are popping up again. I'm afraid to hope they will be left alone long enough to bloom, but hope springs eternal. A good rainy winter would help that along.

I’m glad your irises are coming back from the rhizomes, Ingrid. If we get plenty of rain this winter, you’ll have more companion plants than ever before!

I had always wished I’d planted the reblooming types of bearded irises, like you did. I’ve had them so long, I don’t remember their names or much about them. Mine only ever bloomed in Spring, and I thought, “Why didn’t I buy rebloomers?” Well, now that I have the drip irrigation, I realize I DID buy rebloomers. They just weren’t getting enough water in the summer to rebloom! I had rebloomers all along. I should have known I would chose rebloomers:) Lisa

He's not that young, Ingrid!, but you're right! The plant he really likes is the acanthus mollis next to MvH. I hope those iris survive and bloom - they are such a part of your garden.

Lisa, you did make me laugh. I seem to manage to kill all the iris I plant, or move them so often they never bloom.

Just had a pop in quick and say to Ingrid: thank goodness you’ve posted all these gorgeous photos! I wouldn’t have known how much beauty and joy could come from these flowers if I couldn’t follow your amazing garden chronicle! You’ve really inspired me, and I’m sure many others. :-)

Trish, acanthus mollis is what I think of as a masculine plant, for sure! I have to say if I can grow irises anyone can because I'm no gardener in the real sense. Mine are (or were) the type that rebloom, and I would have some in bloom in December, February, July, September, you name it. I think you would greatly enjoy those.

Perma, how lovely to see you here. I would be proud and honored if I inspired you or others, but I would be only passing on to others what I've been privileged to learn from so many here over the years. And what a pleasure it's been, making rose growing so much more fun and exciting than if I had gardened in solitary splendor and in a state of relative ignorance.

You’re so right, Ingrid. My garden is seldom seen by anyone, but it’s a joy, incentive, and pleasure to share it with everyone here. I’ve learned so much and this is a wonderful place to share our knowledge and gardens with others.

Kristine, your Lady of Shallot is splendid! What a rich color!

Lady Ashe, finally looking apricot instead of pink, like Aloha. Lisa

Lisa, how wonderful that you also have reblooming irises. Those are drop dead gorgeous. Unless we have mega rains this winter I don't hold out much hope that the baby irises popping up will live to bloom.

Your Lady Ashe is gorgeous! It seems to be an apricot fading into pink, but the pink is lighter in tone than Aloha. It's very pretty and I'm glad I got to see it.

Mea culpa, I took more pictures.....

The ever faithful Souvenir de la Malmaison with a little photo bombing from others.

Baronne Henriette de Snoy with Le Vesuve in the background.

Wow, Ingrid! Your garden is looking great. Your Mme Antoine Mari does look splendid. Mine has mostly sat there after the Spring flush. I'll show it your photos.

My MFK bud has made it a little farther. Today.

This was a couple of days ago.

Wow, I love all these roses, and iris! Thanks for posting. I need to add more Tea Roses to my wish list.

Sheila, you're killing me with your MFK. I just wrote her on my order list. I'll be pushing the zone just a bit, but I won't be happy until I try. If my order pushes the boundaries of my budget, she'll have to wait, but I'm going to try to squeeze her in.

Is your's grafted? If so, onto what? She'll no doubt be a small rose for me, about the size of Gruss an Aachen, either own root or grafted.

I planted E. Veyrat Hermosa and Kaiserin Frederich this year. I'm so anxious to see if they live through winter. I couldn't find much info on either one.

Ingrid, I think you've had, or have, these and I'm sure they're happy and beautiful in your climate. If they'll just live long enough to give me a few heavenly blooms, I'll be happy.

My Teas are all own root, Flowers. There is something about these Teas. I have the same reaction you do. I too would love to see Ingrid's too. MFK is wonderful.

I had E. Veyrat Hermanos years ago but it quickly frightened me with its incredibly fast growth. I transplanted it to a spot outside the garden where it could grow unhindered. It got into a snit and refused to grow at all. To my regret I've never had Kaiserin Friedrich, but what a beautiful rose it is. I had MFK at a previous home and now have a new one coming along, but I'm still taking off its blooms to encourage it to grow so I can release it out of its cage. Sheila, yours is gorgeous. I'm hoping that it and Jesse Hildreth, and all my other caged darlings will

Sheila, up until now Mme. Antoine Mari has been plug ugly, and the slightest hint of heat annoys it no end. I was amazed that it finally looked reasonably good, and I don't know if that will ever happen again. I hope it's the beginning of good things but who can say? She's been a difficult customer. Her neighbor, Baronne Henriette de Snoy, on the other hand, has been rewarding me with lots of buds and very large blooms. I'm not at all sorry that I now have a second plant of the Baronne. I never know whether to order a rose that's new to me or to order another specimen of a rose that has done well, so I end up doing a little of both.

Krista, I did not know that tea roses will grow in zone 5, or is that no longer your zone? I know they will grow in zone 6 and it would be exciting if you could add tea roses to your garden. Perhaps you already have and that information has gone over my head.

Both my EVHermanos and KFrederich are own root and started putting on new growth immediately after going in the ground. From the more recent zone maps I've seen, we've been upped a notch to zone 6. Carol, at Northland, says we're still zone 5 and since I am in a snow belt, it's probably still z5 in my immediate area. So, teas are an experiment here.

I doubt any rose, particularly a tea, would get out of hand and take over. I have KFrederich on a shorter tuteur and EVHermanos on a tall obelisk.

Ingrid, if you're ever inclined to post photos of EVHermanos, I would love to see how a happy one looks.

flowers, I'm so sorry, but I don't have a photo of EVHermanos. I had this rose years ago and did not think to take a picture.

Ingrid, I'm still zone 5, and have grown only one Tea Rose; but they are so entrancing that I often think about trying a few more... they are not very hardy here, rather challenging...

Krista, which one do you grow? Grafted or own root? Full sun? Any protection from wind? HMF isn't always very helpful with their zone recommendations. I would love to know the tried and true hardier ones for us cold zoners. I realize our z5s are very different - you have humid summers, and mine are dry, but it's a starting point.

Duchesse de Brabant is one that I used to grow, but did not survive multiple polar vortex winters... It was own root, no protection from wind, but had snow cover. It had almost a full day's sun.

I planted Tipsy Imperial Concubine in spring, willing to give it a try. (I think of it as resembling a Hybrid Tea more than a Tea Rose.)

Thank you, Krista. This is good information to know. Looks like Duchesse de Brabant is the hardier of the two. I have considered this one before - not sure why I've never gotten it. The coloring in Tipsy Imperial Concubine is so delicate and beautiful. The wheels are turning in my head - where to put more roses.

Trish, I copied your recipe for alfalfa tea. When I had fewer roses, I used the alfalfa tea bags from Annie Haven because I'm lazy and they did make a difference.

flowers, I hope it works for you. When are you planning on using it? I would think it a bit late to try it now...

Yes, too late for this year. I nearly froze solid today just raking pine needles. The alfalfa tea will wait until first thing next spring. The season is essentially over, but I stretch it out as far as I can so April doesn't seem so far away. Your reports on how it worked on your roses convinced me I need to make up a batch or two next year.

Ingrid - thanks for introducing me to a new word - lagomorphs - I never heard the term before. I'm going to cross my finger that my local lagomorphs keep eating whatever they're eating, and don't switch over to my roses. I usually see about 5 bunnies a week on my property, but, vigorously knocking on wood, they haven't yet started nibbling at my roses.

Your SDLM is breathtaking. Is that one plant, or multiple? I so love the very very few blooms I get from my SDLM each year, but your plant in that one picture shows about how many blooms I've gotten all year from mine.

Karen, my wish for you is that the lagomorphs never get near your roses.

That is one bush of SdlM, and I'm sorry that yours blooms so little for you. I think this rose favors dry conditions, and likes being on the warm side. I'm sure there are roses that are superlative for you and stinkers for me. One advantage to your climate is that the scent from the roses must be much stronger than anything I can hope for here.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Acanthus mollis is ''masculine''... I could think of other terms but...

...beloved of male gardeners everywhere it seems... any ladies here who actually enjoy this plant?.... [not me, I'm sorry... along with Mahonias, Hostas..]….

..p.s. sorry Trish, I'm sounding awful snooty here...

I loved it in a garden at a dorm at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.

Lovely photos Sheila, but still not doing it for me... I do like the bamboo hedge in the background though, maybe a Fargesia type... even though I wouldn't grow them now, they do appeal visually to me very much...

Flowers...Phillips and Rix’s Best Rose Guide

gives zones for the Teas they think are the best...unfortunately the lowest zone is 7...sigh

even here in a very maritime (but windy) zone 8 I have had Mons. Tillier freeze down to the ground...he came back...but I now grow all my Teas against south facing walls, or in big pots that go into the greenhouse or a big cold frame in winter...next time you are on the ocean side of the mountains, come on by!

cheers. Claire. Ps sorry about the sideways photo can’t seem to change it...

Marlorena, years ago, I had planned on banishing it to the bottom of the garden - and out of sight. However, it was the only plant my son commented favourably on, and when he stays (which is most weeks for a couple of days) he does the mowing! Not an easy job, as the there are 3 levels, and the mower has to be argued up and down some uneven and awkward steps. Some time later, I read about the need for vertical accents, and so I resigned myself to not minding it too much. Foxgloves and hollyhocks bite the dust here, and I haven't even bothered trying delphiniums. It looks nicely architectural in those photos, Sheila.

Ingrid, somehow I missed your second batch of photos. I hope your Mme Antoine Mari continues to perform - she's a lovely shape. La France is a beauty: I love the two tones. I can see why you love her so much. Are the bunnies leaving your roses alone? I'm surprised at how lush they're looking. Decades ago, a friend persuaded me to have a pet rabbit for the children. I had a hutch built, but it burrowed out, and I hadn't the heart to keep it contained. It was very companionable - lay next to me when I was gardening, and it had finished munching. But it stood on hind legs, and demolished everything it could reach.

Do you still have Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux? I was surprised the other day to see a pink bloom pop up amongst the salvia nemerosa. I think it's the rose I bought as Triomphe de Luxemburg, which I think the Tea Ladies say is really RJG. I had no idea it was still alive. I thought I'd removed it, as the blooms didn't open.

Marlorena, how strange, the plants you name are the very ones I don't care for very much either. They just do not have the "pretty" factor! We're not snooty, we just know what we like!

Trish, we have lost a lot of bunnies due to predation, and the ones that are left are very shy now because they're being extensively hunted by the coyotes, and so they've been staying away from the open areas, which is where the roses are. The population will probably increase in the spring, but if we continue to have dry weather over the winter I don't think they will bounce back. The dynamic completely changed this year, since previously the bunnies hardly touched my garden, but I think this is the first year that all of nature is in extremis, with many trees dying, and I'm afraid it's the beginning of worse things to come. I try not to think about that in terms of roses and just grow taller ones that are not so easily reachable. I do still have Rhodologue Jules Graveraux, and in fact have a second young one in a cage. It has many buds now but has taken a break in blooming recently. How exciting that you discovered yours still lurking among the salvia, albeit under another name.

Ingrid, it's OK if you don't feel like doing it but I thought to ask you or anyone else reading this to please share a photo of your "caged" rose. I have some medical problems these days with balance (MRI and VNG tests should show what's going on) and I am behind in having the chicken wire put around my roses. I had a disaster with bunnies eating my roses last winter and don't want it to happen again. Given my health condition I might have to opt for fencing groups of roses rather than individual ones, but it might not be as much trouble doing it individually. I don't have any experience with it and any tips or photos would help. Thank you.

Thank you, Claire, for the book recommendation. Phillips and Rix books have been recommended here before. I don't have any of those. I'm not good at growing roses in pots, but potted roses may be in my future. Also, thank you for the invitation to come by and see your garden. I wish we got over to that side of the state more often. I'll return the invitation - if you're ever on the eastern side of the state, I'd love to have someone to walk through the garden with who loves roses as I do.

vesfl, I'll look in my files to see if I have a picture, but I usually try to avoid including the rings since they are not exactly lovely. My husband makes the rings and it's not an easy or pleasant job, because you have to use wire cutters. The sheets of wire are twice as tall as what you need so you have to laboriously cut the sheets in half and then in the correct lengths, and twist some of the loose end wires on each side into each other in order to make a circle. Cecil uses this hardware cloth. You'll need 19-gauge wire (if it's thicker it's very difficult to cut).

Wire to protect roses