I'm going to check out your links later, Jim (meeting gardening friend in a few minutes), but I did some research on these horrid pests. There are some pretty good sounding borax treatments you can use on them. I need to pass that on. I didn't see anything about harm to humans through biting, but they are terrible pests in the SE, and occur along with fire ants. It's especially bad in Texas. Our ants here are fine and almost never pests. Diane

Yikes those ants!!

I have an adorable cheater bloom on my new At Last rose.

Julia Child jas started blooming again.

Blondie, there was another southern rose gardener I always connect with Judy, but have no idea if they are connected in real life. She posts as earthlyeden on IG, and has started a cut rose business. She posted here as aprilscott. Anyone else remember April? Hers was the first Mary Magdalene I'd ever seen, and fell in love with it. The Austins have a bad habit of taking their best roses off the market.

Blondie, how healthy is Mary Rose for you? Now, there's one that's been around for a long time. I had it in z10, but not here. She wasn't a good bloomer in that climate. She might like this one better.

Diane, it sounds like your Ebb Tide, Munstead Wood(s) and Twilight Zone are doing that husband and wife thing, where after being together for awhile, they start to look like each other.

If we don't get Eustacia, take a look at Scentuous. HMF doesn't have it yet, so you'll have to find it on Regan's site. I'm hoping it isn't a fleeting, here today, done tomorrow scenario like the Tantau roses at Ludwig's. It would be great if Palatine gets it, too.

Blondie, there was another southern rose gardener I always connect with Judy, but have no idea if they are connected in real life. She posts as earthlyeden on IG, and has started a cut rose business. She posted here as aprilscott. Anyone else remember April? Hers was the first Mary Magdalene I'd ever seen, and fell in love with it. The Austins have a bad habit of taking their best roses off the market.

Blondie, how healthy is Mary Rose for you? Now, there's one that's been around for a long time. I had it in z10, but not here. She wasn't a good bloomer in that climate. She might like this one better.

Diane, it sounds like your Ebb Tide, Munstead Wood(s) and Twilight Zone are doing that husband and wife thing, where after being together for awhile, they start to look like each other.

If we don't get Eustacia, take a look at Scentuous. HMF doesn't have it yet, so you'll have to find it on Regan's site. I'm hoping it isn't a fleeting, here today, gone tomorrow scenario like the Tantau roses at Ludwig's. It would be great if Palatine gets it, too.

Updating info on our Melampodium plants... Yellow flowers..Anyhow I reported alot of the Melampodium plants in the backyard fell over...Well the Melampodium plants at the side of house are still doing fine as of today...And they look very good yet...

BUT I noticed the Melampodium plants in backyard that I have removed..Seedlings from them are popping up everywhere...SO? I'll let our cold winter kill the seedlings....

Getting much colder here at night and staying in the 60's during daylight hours... Reached down to 48 degrees last night...

Oh just checked forecast...80's for next 3 days... :-)

Oh, gorgeous, Jim. What a shame you can't overwinter those seedlings somewhere in the basement. You'd have plenty for next year. Our temps plummeted a few days ago, and now we're having our third rain this week. they are just light rains, but as I said, they do add up, and I don't have to water. Our temps go up in a couple of days, but just to the 70s. Right now, the weather map looks like the NW is the cold area of the US.

Flowers, that "just one big happy family rose bed" is one of the best I grow--always in bloom, plus the roses get lots of sun with no tree interference. I would just love to squeeze a third Munstead Wood in there, or anywhere. That rose is so beautiful right now with huge dark purple red blooms. The only drawback is they don't last long in a vase. I have another bouquet going with Rouge Royale and Munstead Wood. Rouge Royale is still going strong, but I had to remove the MW blooms two days ago. "Nothing gold can last." I tried to find Scentuous, too, on HMF. It's not in the Tantau catalog, either. So, if it's Tantau, do you know it's original name by any chance? All names the roses are sold under are listed in the catalog, not just the German ones.

Last May, this container of some long blooming annual (I should know the name) was given to my daughter for her birthday by her mother in law. It's still going strong. Guess who waters and fertilizes it? I think her name is Diane, the old lady who owns the ratty rattan rocker photobombing this photo--ha. Diane

Are those petunias Nanadoll? Very nice! Petunias??? How did they grow so round? Awesome!

Maybe not petunias...lol

Our bloomstrucks only bloomed once this year...Late June through July...

@flowers - I think Earthly Eden (April) & pretty petals (Judy) are associated together through family. Sister in-laws or something like that. They both were quite active here before. They always posted gorgeous photos and have beautiful gardens.

Mary is in it's 2nd year here. Pretty healthy here, she is in a really good spot though. Complete sunshine from morning until night. I put her there though more for winter survival. She is known to be hardy and her spot gets rocketed by the cold winter winds. She has very distinct flushes, not a continual bloomer. But her spring flush was amazing & she can take the heat. She is in the same area as her relation Winchester
Cathedral. Both of these ones are known to be less resistant to powdery mildew, but they have been fine for me so far.

@Diane - are those not just Petunias? Well they look like they are being very lovingly cared for!

@Oursteelers - Instagram is bad for making the want list longer! Oh and many accounts make me envy the availability of the international roses.

Blondie and Jim, these petunia like flowers and a couple of others like them came out about ten years ago and are used extensively in containers. I've never paid much attention to them, so I don't know the names. Will research it. They never quit blooming and are very low care. Sort of like Jim's melampodium. Jim, do you have any photos of Bloomstruck to show us?

Blondie, those are some very nice photos. I like the shading on Strike It Rich, which I was surprised to see, thinking it was just a solid gold yellow.

Pippa, isn't Julia wonderful? Mine are blooming away, too. She's a world class rose, I think. I'll be interested in how At Last performs for you. I like that rose. Diane

Are they calibrachoa?

I think the strike it rich blooms were affected by the weather this round. We have been having some big temperature swings lately. Sometimes it is a rich coppery colour too.

So we harvested a few carrots today. They are so fun & delicious!

Beautiful carrots!!!! Carrots are my Achilles heel. I grow tons of veggies...like a large portion of our diet is what I grow...but I struggle with carrots to the point that it's become a joke in our family. Yours are fantastic!!!

Here's one more Julia...yes Diane I'm loving this rose more all the time. She's finally getting tall enough to escape the tall white alyssum prison.

I have At Last planted fairly near to Julia as when I saw the bloom it came with I thought they would look good near each other. I have high hopes for it.

Blondie, great and delicious looking carrots. I'm so sick of the awful store carrots. I think you may be right about calibrachoa; if not, it's the other one developed at about the same time that looks similar. Our weather is bouncing all over the place, too. About the first week in Sept, all the green tomatoes on my plants quit ripening. Masses of green ones. I've never had that happen so early before, and it's the same tomato I always grow. Any thoughts from all of you as to what might have happened? I'm still ripening them in the house, but spreading out tons of tomatoes takes a lot of space. What a pain. I was forced to grow a different type of cuke this year because the one I always grow was sold out. Anyway, these are horrible, and I'm ready to tear that !@#$ vine out as soon as the rain lets up. Veggies are challenging for me-ha.

Pippa, a beautiful Julia bloom. I wish carrots were the only veg I have trouble with. Diane

Diane I struggle with veggies too. Every year I tell myseld I’m done with them(except for tomatoes) so I have more room for flowers but every spring I get bitten by the bug

I am weak.....

I have these photos of Bloomstruck Nanadoll... They bloomed back in late June through July then after that nothing...lol

Diane the best way to hasten the ripening of tomatoes is to leave town...they always ripen when you are gone.

Heheh, pippa. Too late, plus I never leave town--though I'd like to.

Jim, Bloomstruck is beautiful. Even if it hasn't bloomed since July, what you got in blooms is worth it. Also, it may be a little immature still, and bloom longer next year. Diane

I'm back to pester you with factoids on calibrachoa, a plant originally from South America. It's in the nightshade family, which includes Deadly Nightshade, tobacco, potato, datura, and others. Lots of poisonous relatives. It's a perennial in zones 9-11, and in colder zones, it never sets seed, just continues to bloom until it freezes to death. It's also known as Million Bells, and Proven Winners calls their bells, Superbells, a trademarked name. There is also a plant that came out around the time calibrachoa arrived called Angelonia, and I got all these names mixed up in my head. That's probably more than you wanted to know about calibrachoa. Diane

Well, I'm stumped, Diane. Regan lists Scentuous as a Tantau, but it's not on Tantau's website under any category. Hard to believe they would hybridize a rose just for one specific US vendor. But, it looks like Regan's is the only place where it is available. Regan doesn't list it's other name. What do you call that name, anyway? Breeder's identification name, patent name?

If your daughter's potted annuals are not Calibrachoa, they might be Super Bells. Neither have to be deadheaded, where old fashioned petunias do. Sure is beautiful.

Jim, I'm in awe of your Bloomstruck. Mine would have gotten the shovel tonight if I'd had time after moving Wild Blue Yonder to her new spot. I'm not sure if it should go straight to the trash, or moved to a shadier spot. Endless Summer Original is said to be more tender than Bloomstruck, but it's doing great.

Blondie, those carrots are pretty. Growing veggies is harder than growing roses. I should give Mary Rose a try. Winchester does ok here, so Mary should. That rings a bell about April and Judy being sisters-in-law. Their extensive gardens are something to behold. We can at least still see their roses on IG.

Flowers, Super Bells is just the trademarked name that Proven Winners uses for their calibrachoa. I need to look at Regan's name for the rose, Scentuous again. Is it trademarked? Something's a bit funny about that. As I mentioned, Tantau's catalog uses all the names for each rose in each roses' description. I went through it and saw no "Scentuous". I wasn't impressed with Regan's photos, either. Sounds like someone's Bloomstruck is dumbstruck, about blooming at least. I'm glad you got WBY moved. It's still too wet to do digging and transplanting here. I did my goofing off with gardening friend. She's having so many joint issues, she is going to cut back on all the gazillion annuals she grows from seed and plants. Literally hundreds of these. How someone with her back, hip, and hand problems digs all those little holes and plants all those annuals has been beyond my comprehension for several years. No more custom grown snapdragons for selfish me. I just want her to not torture herself with the huge gardening demands she puts on her body. I think I need to go to bed, but I'm not the least bit tired. I foresee a night of insomnia. Bah. Diane

Oh, I'm up, too, and this poor cat is begging me to go to bed so she can. She won't go until I do. She's actually driving me nuts, but how can you be upset at a poor little thing with kidney failure and cancer. I didn't see your post about calibachoa and Super Bells until after I posted. I couldn't find any Super Bells this year. I like calibrachoa for pots. I forgot how much I don't like deadheading regular petunias and planted a big pot of them this year. I will not do that again.

I feel for your friend with joint problems. I agree, it sounds like she does a lot that would be painful if it hurts to move. It's hard to give up things you love doing, and she must love her seed starting. A little $1.50 pack of seeds holds so much promise, they're hard to resist. You'll have so many hybrid snaps you won't need any new ones next year. The hybrids are more fun, anyway, since they're a surprise.

If you figure out the mystery around the Scentuous rose, please let me know. Regan's photos didn't look good to me either. Some of Palatine's aren't as good as the photos here. Ok, Daisy wins. I'm going to have to go to bed.

Trish is up too. But, is it morning in Sydney? Nite, Trish.

This is my second year growing vegetables. I'm still learning and figuring it all out. I think it's beginners luck! The other thing is my veg is all in raised beds that were half filled with very rich loose soil. When we were doing our little garden patch. I had to remove a lot of sod and dug holes for posts. That all went in the bottom half of the raised beds. Then I filled the top half with nice soil. This year I topped up with soil and some manure too. The bed I used for carrots was still not fully decomposed in the bottom half, so where the carrots met the harder section, they started getting funnier in shape. I think they do a lot better in loose soil. Next year, we are planning to double up the veg patch space, so I want to grow potatoes too. My tomatoes have not done as well as last year either. I have a lot of them, but many have splits or they are still really green too. I think our weather really plays a role on the tomatoes. I don't think our little veggie patch would ever be enough to feed our family for more than a couple meals. But it is enjoyable and a learning tool for Aiden too.

This is my 2nd day of extreme Vertigo

what a bummer. I have 4 pots ready to plant the weather is decent and I feel Terrible that I can't get out and enjoy the sunshine and get some things planted, hopefully tomorrow it's supposed to be very nice . Hopefully I will feel much better

Kristine I hope you feel better soon and somebody is helping with Azalea. Didn’t you say something about a new baby coming into the family also?

Hope you feel better Kristine!

Our Bloomstrucks get sun from sunrise until 2 pm flowersaremusic then shade rest of day...

We once tried to grow All Summer Beauty BUT in 4 years it never flowered...It was in the backyard and got sun from 12 noon until sunset... I yanked it..lol

I'll check into those flowers Nanadoll! Thanks!

Wonderful photos everyone! :-)

Kristine, take care of yourself! I have a friend who suffers with that, and she says no one understands Vertigo unless they experience it. Yes, more baby news when you're up to it. I hope you have help with your baby while you're down.

Yes, Kristine, take it easy. Limit head motion and bending over. If it's really bad, you won't be standing up and walking around much, anyway. I do hope you have help with Azalea. You want to return those otoliths to their proper position in your semicircular canals--seriously. Diane

My sweet husband has stayed home the last 2 days to help with Azalea.

I am feeling better this afternoon. I even ate some cereal. The hope is always that when you are sick at the very least you will some weight

I guess hoping to lose 20 pounds

Just might be wishful thinking

On Wednesday we were blessed with a new great grandaughter

Her name is Kora . I have 24 grand/great Grand children

I am so blessed.

Congratulations, Kristine on Kora's birth. I hope she and her mom are doing just fine. And it sounds like you are better, too--so glad your husband is home to help. I know I would probably gain 20 pounds from sitting in my rocker, surrounded by snacks and eating lots of bad stuff. Of course, you probably haven't felt like sitting upright much. Diane

Congrats! And hope you feel better fast Kristine!

Kristine that's amazing congratulations and feel better soon!!!!

Stephanie my tigger melons are growing between roses and irises and every couple of days I have to rearrange them a bit as they get unruly so quickly!

Congratulations Kristine on the new baby in the family!

What could be better than a new baby to love. Congratulations!

It's fall, everyone, and today is looking lovely. Jim, would you continue as our "Seasonal Moderator" for this thread? I would like to thank you for all you've done over the past bunch of threads. You're supportive, knowledgeable, and just a good person. I'm happy you've had a good gardening year, too. I'm sure we all feel that way, and are hoping you will continue leading this thread into the fall. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Diane

I'll start a NEW Fall thread on Sept 23rd...First day of Fall Nanadoll...Thanks Nanadoll...lol

Greencure spray stopped the zinnias powdery mildew in its tracks...

Jim, now why did I think the 21st was the first day of fall? Doesn't it usually start on the 20 or 21 of Sept? Here I am, old as dirt, and I still don't know when fall starts. Thanks for being on top of things, Jim. Those are beautiful zinnias, and the gold ones look like dahlias a bit to me. I'm glad the Greencure worked for you.

lol nanadoll... I think the first day of Spring was March 20 and Summer June 21 or something close...lol

Kristine - google "Epley maneuver vertigo" - it's a series of head movements that your doctor can guide you through in their office, that helps settle down your inner ear. My Aunt was having a big problem with vertigo - she had never heard about this, and just happened to mention it to a doctor who was experienced with the procedure, and it made her vertigo go away. (The technical name is "canalith repositioning procedure".)

I will start a new FALL Seasonal Thread late tonight...I'll post the link to the new thread when I create it... Thanks!

Well, thank you Jim. I wish we could have a big Pink Party Bus fall party featuring lots of good veggies, orange roses, gourds, pumpkins, and plenty of homemade pumpkin ice cream for the elderly. Abbaye de Cluny wants to Partaay. Diane

Congratulations, Kristine. I hope the vertigo lets up. No fun at all. Diane -- I agree, a party bus on a fall tour would be wonderful. I worked all day in the garden yesterday -- but it was HOT. I have no energy left today. Sigh. Heading into another busy season, so you probably won't hear from me for a while. Happy Fall!

Roses: Love Song, Munstead Wood. In front are cupcake cosmos and salvia...There's a Poet's Wife peeking out on the right. Some penstemon, chantilly snapdragon, and my ribbon bush on the left that will be blooming soon! Fall is made for ribbon bush. Hypoestes. Makes a pretty green backdrop for roses until it blooms, and then it steals the show. How did I live without this? Last year was my first year with it.

Congrats Kristine! Hope your vertigo is better, love the name Kora-so cute!

Cyndita , I tried all of the recommended maneuvers and I am better but still not 100%. This usually goes away by the next day

But this is the longest that I have ever had it

I pressed through yesterday and planted 2 roses

I know I know

NEW FALL THREAD:

HERE:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5792637/fall-is-here-seasonal-thread-part-1

Thanks everyone for posting such great photos and conversation!