Well I did not see you waving as I live over an hour from Niagara Falls, but thanks for thinking of us in the north. Niagara Falls is an awesome attraction. If you come over to the Canada side, it's even better. I find everything around the falls to be a bit tacky & touristy in a not so good way. But if you go to Niagara on the lake it's much classier with all the wineries and such. Also Palatine's is located there! Would love to see a picture of this rose you spied. I know that we are currently a few weeks behind schedule for all plants here due to weather. Things have probably just started really blooming in the last week or so.

Oh wow, I didn’t realize I was so close to Palatine; we are hoping to include Ontario in our next visit, so I’ll make some plans. We’re spending more time around town today, so I can get some pictures. Thanks HalloBlondie! :-)

I almost saw your wave from Grimsby, where I visit regularly ;-). HalloBlondie is right that things are blooming late here. Many roses have only just started blooming, or are still only showing buds, so if you saw a rose in bloom all around, it was probably a rugosa. They are early. My Fru Dagmar Hastrup has been in bloom for maybe a week, and I just noticed Pink Grootendorst is open in Grimsby.

Hansa has fuchsia pink blooms.

Hansa on Helpmefind

It might be Hansa! When I took these pictures, the fragrance was wonderful!

There was a fresh pile of clippings, so I snagged a piece of this one; any ideas what it might be?

Perma, that clippings look like Fru Dagmar but I can be wrong as always :)
You are going to have time of your life there with Northern beauty, fresh air and wonderful blooms, eating, outing and what not....I will be reading this thread. Enjoy yourself !!!

jin

Plumeria Girl, the colour us very similar, but FDH is a single rose (“is single” sounds funny ;-) ), and it had rugosa foliage.

Perma n Posies

Looks like all Floridians are heading for Niagra this summer ! we were there last week , Canadian side . Enjoyed the Falls from several points . Didn't notice any roses there though , only Maple trees !

In winter the north comes to the south, in summer the south comes to the north?

Yes! I have thoroughly enjoyed the weather here, and am not looking forward to returning to Florida’s weather. We‘ve had perfect days here, 70s and sunny, with a light breeze. I’m amazed at how quickly everything rebounds here. My son says everything here was covered in snow for months. By the lush green-ness now, you would never know it had been through harsh winter. For a native Floridian, that’s astonishing. :-)

Hi Perma, I've just now seen this thread. Welcome to our area! HelloBlondie gave you great suggestions. The view of Niagara Falls is much more spectacular from the Canadian side, don't miss it. And the Niagara on the Lake is fantastic, one of my favorite weekend outings. They also have a wonderful Summer Festival.

That said, as you can probably see, Buffalo residents are very eager gardeners, I guess appreciating the short blooming season. The Elmwood Village area is probably the best bet to see many frontyard gardens on a short walk. The extremely bad winter and practically no spring this year delayed all the growth by about 2 weeks. My roses are just now starting to bloom but last night I saw the spectacular 'William Baffin' in full bloom in the neighborhood and incidentally made a new rose friend as the owner also loves roses.

I would love to meet you, but we are undergoing preps for the roof replacement that should start on Monday. It's mayhem. Since your son lives here, I hope you'll be visiting back soon and I would be thrilled to meet you. Enjoy the weather today because it's likely to rain again tomorrow (as it had rained just about all the time for about a month.)

ETA: I've noticed the columns in the back of your rose photo - did you see it in the (smallish) public rose garden behind the Albright Knox Museum? If it's there, unfortunately most roses are not marked and the maintenance gardeners generally don't know the cultivar names... We asked them a couple of times, but no luck.

Yes! Vesfl, it was there! You certainly know your rose gardens!

I was very disappointed that only some of the more recent HTs & floribundas were labeled. I did see several rugosa types with outstanding fragrances, but alas, no labels.

The purplish rose I’ve seen all over, including some wildish roadside locations, so it got me intrigued, and then when we visited the Albright I saw the rose garden, and the purplish rose was there, too.

Elmwood Village has some lovely gardens, and I see so much care & pride here! I saw a garden tour in July advertised, and am thinking I’d love to return later in the year next year to see things when they are peaking. I’d love to meet up with you, too, on our next visit. Thank you so much for the kind offer! :-)

Perma, I absolutely hate winter, especially long winters like we have here, but I cannot imagine living without the miracle and joy of spring, when all creation comes to life again. The thrill of seeing the first flowers and first bulb “noses” makes you forget the depressing months of winter.

Enjoy your time here!

I don’t think I have the stamina for what winters are here, and have a renewed appreciation of what gardeners go through in this climate.

My DH & I were talking about how with year-round green in FL, we don’t experience the miracle of spring, and take so much for granted. Your photos, gdenie, perfectly capture this miracle.

We visited the Buffalo/Erie Botanical Gardens as well, and it was gorgeous.

A stunning Victorian greenhouse with very well-maintained collections. What was very amusing to me was the large number of “exotic” plants that are showcased here, which we consider weeds in FL. How they manage to keep all those tropicals alive in NY is very impressive. Again, I’ve gained a whole new perspective on my growing at home and mindset about it. :-)

Yes l too noticed that the trees were huge and the green was lush ,couldnt t.believe. everything was under snow.a few months ago .

The first one is very likely 'Hansa', as you suspected.

The second one looks a lot like R. manettii.

Wonderful—thank you so much, Paul! :-)

Perma, let me know when you decide about your next trip here. The Garden Walk in Buffalo is always the last weekend in July (rain or sun) and definitely worth the visit. I would love to give you a tour because I am usually here around that time. Unfortunately, some roses are not in bloom any more by that time but others still are and there is a fantastic range of perennials, vines, and other flowers to see. There is also Shakespeare in the Park, a free and beloved local tradition in the park area right behind that rose garden that you visited (the festival runs the entire summer). Summer is the best time in this area, also autumn. Makes up for all those months of winter, lake effects, what not.

Walking around downtown Buffalo, this nepeta is gorgeous:

Paired with this white rose, which smells just heavenly.

I’m sure the local business people rushing around thought I was nuts, but I didn’t care. I stood there sniffing these roses until my younger son pleaded with me to stop:

Anybody recognize this beauty? :-)

Ves, that sounds wonderful! Thank you! :-)

The white rose is probably R. rugosa ‘Alba’. I see it around here too, often a bit chlorotic because of our alkaline soil.

Ves, your garden is off to a great start. Bolero, Mary Rose & Munstead Wood look great with your clematis!

Wishing you good luck on your roof renovations!!

Thank you so much, gdinie—that does look like an Alba! :-)

Beautiful garden photos, Vesfl. Wonderful peony, roses, and clematis. Hope your roofing project goes smoothly.

Gdinie, your spring photos are delightful. I love when the snow melts and the bulb flowers emerge.

Perma, seeing your photos makes me want to plan a Buffalo and Niagara Falls vacation!

Krista, it is absolutely beautiful here! The Victorian architecture everywhere, charming gardens, great food...we’ve had a great visit. Travel always make me miss my own garden, but brings new ideas and perspectives. :-)

gdinieontario, what cyclamen species is that in your second photo? Is it C. coum?

Vesfl, I love your "Krinkled White" peony. I grew it in Alaska. I have the Rugosa Alba here that looks like it and now the Californian Matilija Romneya Coulteri white poppy that looks like it too. It apparently is a classic look.

Melissa, yes, that is C. coum. I have always loved cyclamen, but I could never get one to survive in my garden beyond a year or two. Since I improved my drainage, I now have one C. coum and one hederifolium. The coum especially is thriving, and there are even tiny seedlings. I am dreaming of having a little patch of them in a few years. They bud up under the snow, and so often are the first blooms of spring, together with an early clone of Helleborus niger. The following was this spring, its fourth year, I think. Do you have any cyclamen?

Sheila, I love that look too. I've never heard of this poppy. I searched for it online and it is amazing. I wish I can grow it in my zone.

Krista and Perma, please don't hesitate to come to this area, especially in the summer. Just message me. It would be great to meet up with rose friends from this wonderful forum. Palatine that HelloBlondie mentioned is also nearby and the area is just gorgeous. I was at Palatine just recently and learned so much about different types of rootstocks during my chat with Eva. She and her husband are absolute rose connoisseurs, not just nursery owners.

Gdinie, your spring flowers are lovely. Yes, we learn here that small can indeed be most beautiful especially when the seasons are harsh.

Here is my Matilija poppy vesfl.

Wow. Sheila, what a magnificent and huge flower! And amazing that it's a species, like R. rugosa alba on Perma's photo. My peony was hybridized. The beauty of nature as well as the talent of those creating wonderful hybrids from nature never cease to fascinate me.

So gorgeous, Sheila!! I remember when I moved to CA from FL, and saw these poppies for the first time. They are absolutely spectacular! I’m thrilled to see that you can grow them up where you are too. I think they are so magical. :-)

We have a huge stand of them by our local library, where they have plantings of native species. The flowers on ours are huge, so not sure if it's a hybrid of some kind or whether that's due to climate.