..I first grew the Golden Showers rose back in the 1980's, and it was a fine yellow climber, upright and continuous flowering, making a good splash of colour... ...I've only read on this forum that the name means something else too... I've no idea what, and no urge to find out, so I'm completely oblivious to it... therefore the rose Golden Showers, is still as it is to me... a fine modern yellow climbing rose... and nothing else... and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it over here, to a new gardener who wants an easy going rose... ..if they give me a queer look, I shall have no idea why...

What a surprise to see this thread come back up! And what a shock to see my summer garden, from the present moment of the autumnal decline of November. I still have that poem taped to the refrigerator door. Bart, I quit CdG some years ago and have an impression that it's not very active these days. I got quite tired of certain aspects of it toward the end. And I've lost sight of the people I met through the forum, keeping in touch only with a couple of gardeners I met through a different channel. This thread reflects a very rare moment of sociability: I too find relating to others difficult. I garden these days almost entirely in a human vacuum, not liking it much, but perhaps I've reached nadir and a period of more contacts is approaching. Thanks for the invitation, I'll keep it in mind, and definitely do come pay us a visit when you can: it will be interesting to swap notes as well as plants. By the way, I don't know with any precision where you live. We're in the province of Piacenza, comune of Lugagnano Val d'Arda, about half an hour from Fiorenzuola Val d'Arda, which is on the main rail/highway line going from Parma to the city of Piacenza. My pot ghetto reached its lowest level a week or two ago, then began to swell again: cuttings of three kinds of phlomis, double mock orange, Salvia 'Icterina', perovskia, gaura, Clematis integrifolia, some experimental sour cherry cuttings, added to the winter-blooming shrub honeysuckle, single kerria, etc. etc. that were already there. And naturally the propagation beds are once more in expansion. This frantic activity will continue until the garden is more or less completely planted. And believe me, you're not the only one who loses tags: I have far too many unidentified roses, in spite of strenuous efforts to keep them labeled. Bad weather is on the way: the forecast is for snow for Saturday night and freezing temperatures to follow. I need to transfer some of the pot ghetto to the propagating beds, bring out the old sheets to cover those that remain, and get new plastic sheeting to set up the winter cold greenhouse for the succulents; the air plants and clivia must finally come indoors. Summer has definitely gone, now, if only we get some decent precipitation. My currently flowering Tea roses are in for a shock.

I have a dual fuel range with the two ovens. For something like cookie baking where the tendency is for the bottoms to get too brown, I use fan bake. The cookies will usually take a few extra minutes. For vegetables or meat I use convection bake, and just plain bake for bread or cakes. I also use convection bake for when I need the oven at its hottest, such as for pizza. I've never had a digital temperature display on any oven, so I'm comfortable with the. dials. I tend to be moderately casual about temperature, and I never bother to decrease the temperature if I'm using convection, but I will watch the time.

My DS graduated from Swarthmore College which is in suburban Phila. They had a similiar gift to the graduates from their campus arboretum ,which is lovely BTW. He recived a small cutting of a sweetspire plant which I dutifully carried home and planted, but it did not survive :( Graduates were also instructed to stop by the rose garden prior to the ceremony to get pinned with a rose. This is a STOCK picture from Swat’s website. Look at the lady behind this graduate in this picture. Is she in a bathing suit?