It's 1804 miles from Sydney to Western Australia. Perth is somewhat farther. I think Cal to NY is about 3000 miles or so. Diane

Diane, maybe they can't become full citizens, but I actually have no clue as to the requirements, and the differences in status. All so different as to when I came here with my parents 52 years ago as a '10 pound Pom'.

I had no idea it was further between Cal and NY, than it is between Sydney and Perth. Where my daughter is, is another 500km from Perth. A long day, but it is so good to be here. Her friend is being treated in Perth, so she was going to be alone here for the next few weeks.

I really wish you weren't getting on that step-ladder, Diane, even with your son-in-law to catch you. My French friend has twice got on a ladder here, and he is over 70. I tried to stop him, but it was useless, then he informed me that he had a bad ankle after an accident on a ladder a few years ago. The chap across the road almost severed his foot falling off a ladder earlier this year. I don't want to jinx you, but I do want to discourage you! The reason I got gardeners earlier this year was exactly that. Did I want to risk spending 6 months recovering from a broken leg, or pay out $50 for someone else to do the job?

flowers, where are you? Are you buried under metres of snow? I don't think I could cope with such a short season., though I expect it's compensated for by the profusion.

sara_ann, that's a wonderfully moody photo of Dark Desire. What substantial petals. I want to eat them!

Lisa, 'The Adventures of Millie'! She just keeps bouncing back. She has so many fans - maybe that's what keeps her going.

Jim, good to hear that your wife is feeling better, and that you are getting some milder weather. Your roses are looking very shrubby and free-flowering.

Titian, how wonderful that you were able to find someone who loves to garden to stay at your place while you are away! I hope they can get residency.
Lisa, thanks for letting me know how slow Cornelia is to start. This way I won’t worry about her. Not a single bloom in a year, but she was a small thing when I got her.
I can’t wait to get Annie Laurie McDowell, being shipped next week from Steve at Wisconsin Roses.
Nanadoll, I second the opinion of staying off ladders! I didn’t realize you would plant garlic in the fall in cold climates.

I went to Grace Rose Farm yesterday for a tour with a dear friend. The owners were out of town but Dan, such a lovely man, gave us a tour of the gardens and Ruthie made a lovely light salad lunch. She was also bringing in bouquets of fresh flowers for the AirB&B guest house they have on the property. Makes me want to stay there! Two pictures of rose fields with Distant Drums and Bolero, both had fabulous fragrance. What I am pretty sure is Paul Nabonand in Gracie’s personal garden that had a strong tea fragrance. We got to make a bouquet to take home. Mine has Distant Drums, Evelyn and Francis Melliand

Superb pics everyone!

Very nice bouquets and photos!

No home for you NANADOLL! We still have some more pink party bus trips to make!

Earthsong today:

Lightened pic

Good grief, Jim, do you live in Hawaii or Pennsylvania? That's a lot of lovely roses in October. Your garden is just flourishing, and may it continue on into the future. Do you have any theories why everything seemed to come together this year?

Stephanie, so wonderful to get a glimpse of you in paradise, you lucky girl. I can't believe your connections, not to mention a special lunch included. Your bouquet is perfection with some of my favorite roses. All of you are scaring me about the stepladder. It's a special one with extra wide steps for oldies, and a grab bar, plus shelf for tools. It's actually made for those less adept, or reluctant to climb regular ladders, which I won't do.

Trish, I'm glad you are safe and sound. I did some more checking, and coast to coast, as the crow flies is 2500 miles. From LA to NYC is 2700 miles. From Sydney to Perth is close to 2500 miles (didn't get the exact mileage), so yes, it's a long, long trip, especially with layovers. (OT--in 1985 I made a 2800 mile road trip over 25 days of rambling around the US with my mother and teen daughter in tow. I drove every mile of it--aiiieee). I appreciate your ladder warnings, but I have no one to take care of that !@#$ rose. My son in law refuses, and my daughter might help, but she's bad at taking directions from her mother. There are no gardeners around here--just mow and blow. My neighbor insisted on helping me last July. And my granddaughters are tooo short. I'm thinking that cutting down Colette to about four feet each year, so that I don't have to climb, might be a good option. But Colette wouldn't be nearly as lovely (when she isn't berserk with growth). I am about to track Flowers down and ask her why the heck she isn't posting here. I think, like me, she was down about the extremely early freeze she had--even worse than here. Thinking of you and hoping you have a lovely visit with your daughter, in spite of her friend's circumstances. I hope he receives the best of care. Remember fragrancenutter? She quit posting suddenly quite a while back. She/he? is a surgeon in Perth. Diane

You lucky lady, Stephanie! I’m quite jealous about your trip to Grace Rose Farm. Sarah had scheduled a trip for the two of us, but I decided it’s too much for me. A short week of camping several weeks ago made me realize I’m just not physically up to it. I’m glad you shared some pictures. I’ll bet it was wonderful!

Lol Diane, on two counts. I think the spider word choice came from having just read your description of your smoke bush! A second lol, because ALL the blooms on my one Dara plant ended up with that fluffy look. I assumed it was a normal part of them going to seed. Mine were the burgundy color, and turned into those greenish fluffy things after the color faded. Now, they’ve lost their fluff, and look like they have dry seeds ready. Is this the first time yours have turned fluffy like that? My single plant is almost 4F tall, and I left every bloom on the plant, except for 5 to use in a special bouquet for Sarah. I refused to pick anymore than that, since I want seedlings next spring so much. They’re such pretty blooms! I have about 20 dried seed heads on my plant right now. Every single one of them had that fluffy look for weeks and weeks. I hope mine are ok. I do have some leftover seed stashed in the fridge, so I’ll try both fresh and stored seed next month.

Trish, I know this isn’t a “just for fun” trip, but it’s great that you can be there for your daughter. There are times when there’s nothing more comforting than having your mom with you. Maybe your house sitters will take some pictures for you/us? :-).

Millie is doing great. She has been a little whiny about being kept inside during the Santa Ana. I’ve never seen the kitties drink so much water. It’s SO dry here. The worst is now over, but there’s another one coming next week. The air smelled of brush fire yesterday evening. There was a lot of smoke from many small fires around here.

We’ve had several fires yesterday and the night before. The one closest to me (about 2 miles away), was put out very quickly, and only burned 3 acres. I’m a bit concerned about Ingrid, since there was a fire that looked to be VERY near to her. I emailed her, but haven’t heard back yet. The fire was brought under control, but came very close to homes. I wonder if they were evacuated, or don’t have power. They must be ok, because no homes were lost, just some outbuildings. I’m sure she had quite a scare, though.

Stephanie, I distinctly remember that I thought Cornelia was a dud rose. Mine was SO slow, but once she got blooming, it was all at once. She did none of that “a few blooms in year one, a few more in year two.” She went from nothing to full of blooms one spring. She hasn’t stopped since.

I’m going to see how the roses held up yesterday. I watered and watered the night before, so they’d have a good drink before the winds came. Diane, I doubt you’d want to trade weather with me now. It’s just miserable outside. Maybe I’ll take some pictures, if anything still looks ok. Lisa

I appreciate the compliments from everyone on my roses. Garden nut, that’s a gorgeous bloom, thanks for sharing it.

Trish, I’m glad you can be there for your daughter and her friend, such a difficult time.

Diane, be very careful and please stay safe!

Stephanie, what a great experience. Gorgeous bouquet with some very lovely roses.

Jim, those roses are beautiful, is that Earth Song?

i really do enjoy reading all your posts, I also feel like I don’t have much to say, in other words I have a difficult time expressing myself. I’m sure our backgrounds and life experiences are very diverse, but i think everyone has so much caring and compassion, and that is so evident in your words.

Yep that's Earthsong Sara Ann!

Nanadoll, I have no theories...lol...Only thing I do is keep the best performing roses and best performing flowers, etc... And I have fun trying different plants in the process! I do not get upset anymore if a plant doesn't perform I just get rid of it and move on and Chalk it up to a new learning experience...lol

What a special ladder that is, Diane. Pity it can't prune too. I can understand you wanting to keep Collette taller - your arch looks amazing when she's in bloom.

I am having a lovely time with my daughter. We just walked over the hill, and she took the dogs down to the beach I posted last year. Glorious morning. I wasn't quite as adventurous (or fit?!) as last year, and let her do the last bit on her own, while I sat on the hill and watched. Pale turquoise water and creamy sand, with granite islands dotted out to sea. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts.

My French friend said he'd send some pics, so I will certainly post them here if he does.

Forgot to add, Diane, that of course I remember fragrancenutter, and have been wondering why she/he stopped posting. I'm afraid my daughter's friend is beyond surgery though. Lavenderlace also disappeared. I wish people would say goodbye when they decide not to post any longer....

Trish, that all sounds like a movie--the turquoise water and pale sand. It forms a stunning and romantic picture in my mind's eye. We need pics now. Deliver me from winter. I think you most likely made it farther than I would have before sitting down. It's more fun sitting and watching and absorbing the details. My daughter and son in law returned today from a few days in a mountain resort town. They're big hikers, too, and did some horrid hiking up a mountain trail--the weather was shirtsleeves nice. It was nice here yesterday, too, and today was very windy. You can barely see our backyard grass because of all the leaves blown down on it.... OK, I give up. I've decided to just prune down Colette to about four feet. I can cut down most of the floppy canes while standing. I won't climb the ladder. My kids didn't want me too, either. Take care and enjoy yourself.

Jim, you actually have a plan for your garden and it's paying off. Grow what does well and what pleases you. But you are also a hard working, very particular gardener. Everything looks so perfect and well trimmed. My biggest mistake is hanging on to roses that make me mad for various reasons. I think of them as my children or something, and I feel guilt over removing most of them (Princess Alexandra of Kent is an exception--no guilt there).

Sara Ann, you have every bit as much to say (and you do it well, too) as anyone else. Most of us live pretty average lives (Trish is the exception). except for the occasional tall tale from Jim (Cow Drop--ha).

Lisa, I didn't have any fuzzy green umbels on Dara last year. When they started appearing this year, I thought the plants were reverting to some wild thing that would end up all over my garden. I had sown the seed I gathered from last year, and there were dozens of plants, most of which I tore out in August. Some seemed to have the green blooms to start with, and in others the lacy blooms evolved into the green things. That's why I never sent you any seed. Your plants sound much nicer than mine and more colorful, and I hope your next group stays that way. My only fear is that Dara might become invasive in your mild climate. Enough about Dara. I'm glad no fires have come near you. If you hear from Ingrid, please let us know how she is. Diane

Trish, I am so sorry for your daughter's friend . I am so glad that you can be there for her. There is nothing better than the comfort of our

Mommy

I miss lavenderlace, she loved lavender roses and I didn't

She would have a good laugh if she knew that I planted a whole lavender garden .

Sara Ann, I love hearing from you

You are always so kind and encouraging . Don't ever think that you don't have anything to say

Just be your sweet self

It looks like my eye surgery will be in February. It is getting harder to see so I hope it will help .

We are going through the adoption process for Azalea so there is a ton of paperwork . It's challenging to fill out all of the paperwork when I can hardly read it.

Have a fabulous weekend!

I'd better poke my head in here before Diane comes after me with the Rose Forum police. All is well. October is our family birthday month and I've been shopping, wrapping and packing. Most of our family's birthdays are this month including my daughter and her 2 daughters and dog, 4 days in a row. Couldn't have planned that!

It's been winter here for about a month. We've had 2 snow storms. Sunny today so I did a little more garden clean up until my fingers were frozen stiff. Seems like I just got going good this year when it was time to stop. So many inspirational photos here. Hard to believe so many of you have roses still blooming.

Kelly, we don't see enough of your kitty. He looks like he's asking to go outside with those pleading eyes. Mine only knows outside in our arms because of so many predators and she's very small.

Lisa, it was gratifying to read about Millie's day of pampering and treats at the vet, as a visitor, not a patient. It's great that she's not fearful of going there. She and Daisy have a lot in common, each with a heart wrenching diagnosis, but deciding they have their own time table. It's been 3 1/2 months since Daisy was given 'weeks' to live. She looks and acts perfectly well, except for being thin.

Sara Ann, I think your friend's bunny is our first bunny photo here, except for wild ones. The bunny's mom will never forget your kindness. You're right, sometimes it takes so little to make someone's day.

Jim, Lacey looks quite happy in her little hiding place under Rozanne. Your good weather is hanging on longer than usual, isn't it? You've had a truly good year.

Stephanie, I think we all wish we could have shared your Rose Farm tour with you. It looks massive. Don't they grow 20,000 roses? Probably more, but that number stuck with me. Maybe that's one variety?

Trish, I'm sad to hear of your daughter's friend's illness. Your presence must be a great comfort to her and I imagine he is also relieved knowing you are there with her. Those kinds of trips are hard and travel seems to take forever. Sounds like you're getting in some good time together. I hope he has family with him, too.

Kristine, all that paperwork will soon be behind you and your little Azalea will be all yours. Someday, she will know how blessed she is to be your little girl.

I miss lavenderlace and fragrancenutter, too. I think fragrance had one of the longest running threads ever with her fabulous bouquets. Her Mme Isaac Pereire, along with all her roses, was something to behold. MIP just stood out to me.

Diane, any chance we can convince you to forget the ladder and just let Colette have her way? I didn't think so. Just don't do it without your son-in-law nearby.

Is it too early to start the count down to spring? I really don't want to see the number of days we have to check off just yet. I want to live in ignorant bliss and tell myself it's just a few weeks 'til Christmas, then in no time, spring will be upon us.

Hi Kiddo, welcome back from all the birthdays. You and I will have to start posting old photos so we can be part of the group with all their roses still blooming. Total sour grapes here. In my post above, I was mentioning to Trish that I give up...between all of you and my family, I have decided to not climb the blasted ladder. Do you know how much money I wasted on that thing? That's a lot of ice cream I had to give up. But I'm glad you're back. Diane

You people are so sweet and kind, thanks! You’re all so special!

We just had our first light freeze last night but I’m already in the fall/winter camp.

Looking forward to the holidays with the first grandchild being born the end of September. The age of my kids range from 27 to 13 so holidays were starting to lose a bit of the magic...I am so thankful for Kanin (and Kennedy, the little girl I watch)...they make everything so much brighter.

Diane, I’m also happy you are not going on the ladder. It is so easy to lose your footing and recovery takes soooo long.

Kristine, good luck with all the ppwk! We adopted our youngest thru the foster care system and even with no one contesting it (or ever showing up) it took 18 months. It was such a relief when it was done.

sara Ann, even though I’m done with “fun” gardening for the year (I still have lots of leaf work to do) I love seeing your pics. Gives me lots to research while I watch football.

Speaking of, Jim...I’m glad we’re Monday night. It means I have to get some leaf piles shredded and disbursed today!

I’m waiting for some buds to open on Evelyn but Cherry pink opened fully today. I am impressed with the form and color of it, the fragrance reminds me of old rose and citrus.

Oursteelers, thanks for sharing your adoption story. I thought that they would use all of the previous paperwork. Heck no. That would be easy lol. So more of everything.

The Judge gave November 27 2020 to complete the process

I am not holding my breath

But she is here so it doesn't matter really .. It's not like when we were waiting to get her home.

I think Oregon does its due diligence and I appreciate that

Thank you oursteelers. Garden nut, your Cherry Pink bloom is gorgeous! I was wondering if it was fragrant for you, glad that it is.

Here’s an arrangement of Beverly from today, it’s been such a good rose for me.

Oh boy is your Beverly ever pretty

Yep Monday night oursteelers! Hope we can pull off a win..lol

Wow nice looking bouquet Sara Ann! You sure can make great bouquets!

Good looking bloom garden nut!

So, I have backed myself in to a corner

I have a new Heirloom rose and it is a really great rose , healthy and bloomy . It was getting crowded out by the Canna on one side and a hybiscus on the other side

So ,I pulled both out and now I have room for two more roses

Here's the problem

Heirloom is mauve and the roses that I have coming are Hot Cocoa, which might be kind of interesting

But , also needing a home, Veterans honor, Double Delight and Maurice Utillo

I guess I shouldn't even worry about it but I kind of think that Veterans honor might look the worst

Oh and I hate to move Heirloom

It is doing so well so I guess that I will have to live with garish colors

Kristine, I often have the same problem. Sometimes I just have to tell myself that GREEN is the color that ties them all together. I’m beyond the point of being able to move roses, so I just have to let some things be. Stuff usually ends up looking fine. I’m glad your getting through the adoption process. Just think of how wonderful it will be when it’s all final. She’s so very fortunate to have you.

Garden nut, I really like that Cherry Pink. It’s such a pretty bloom.

Diane, I’m glad (and kinda surprised) you’re not getting up on that ladder, after all. I often “shouldn’t do something for safety’s sake”, after being told (and convinced), I agree not to. What happens is this; one day I feel like I have some energy, and I go ahead and do it anyway. Usually it goes ok, but not always. Then I really regret doing it, because of the recovery time involved after a fall. You’re much wiser to not risk it, but I know how hard it is to not do something that you would have done a few years ago without a thought.

I’m don’t know what to think of the Dara plants. I hope the don’t get out of control next year. The Dara and Orlaya can fight it out! I have been seeing Orlaya sprouting all summer long. I’m trying to pull them when they’re little this time.

Sara Ann, that’s a beautiful bunch of Beverly’s. She reminds me of my Princess de Monaco,( the old one, not PCDM). Btw, you’re a great addition to this thread. Don’t worry about what to say. This is the thread where we can talk about all sorts of things. It’s not always strictly roses. I find myself coming to this seasonal thread because it’s personal, and we get to know about each other’s gardens AND little pieces of life. I sometimes worry that my posts are all “fluff”, with not much rose knowledge being shared. Yet, I’m glad for the interaction with the wonderful people here.

Flowers, I’m so glad Daisy is still feeling well. Each day we get like that with our kitties is a gift when they’re on borrowed time. Millie continues to do well, but we’ve been warned that it could come back at anytime. She’s even talking all day again, and watching TV again.

Well, I talked about taking some pictures last time I posted. I did end up taking pictures that evening, but between picture posting frustrations and seeing every single flaw in my yard, I put off posting them. I’m going to submit this and then try to post them. It won’t be nearly as frustrating if I lose just the pictures, as losing all this text. Lisa

St. Elisabeth of Hungary is really blooming. Her canes are bent down with clusters of very big blooms.

If only I had brought my pruners up the slope! Two snips would have made a vase loaded with blooms.

Here’s one of the pictures I was so hesitant to post. It’s looking rather wild and messy in some places. Why do I only notice the problems AFTER I take the pictures?

The Faun is such a no fuss rose. I only need to keep Mel’s Heritage and the lavender bush from engulfing it.

A Love Song candelabra. This rose is amazing. Don’t forget this is after our Santa Ana, and it’s in a half barrel in full sun all day.

Wild Edric from Ingrid. It had the most perfect open bloom the day before. I wish I hadn’t waited to take a picture.

This Wild Edric bloom shown below was so perfect the day before. It didn’t last very long in the dry hot wind.

This is what 7% humidity, wind, and 97F can do to an exposed rose. This Crepuscule cane was hanging high in the air, and took a beating.

The blooms at the bottom of Crepuscule are pretty unscathed.

A cluster of Mel’s Heritage; I should have given this cluster a good shake before taking the photo. Hindsight....

I see that I’ve reached my limit, as the photo icons have turned gray. I still have more pictures, but let’s see if I can get all 10 of these to post. I hope. I hope! Lisa

Adding this; I keep getting the dreaded message “unable to add comment. Please reload the page and try again”. I’m going to start deleting pictures one by one, and try adding them when/if it will post. Lisa

Sorry about the missing photos above. I took them out one by one, and tried posting each time I removed one. Now, I’m going to see if I can edit my post and add them back in, one at a time. It would only post when I got down to two pictures:-(. Lisa

Missing photo in slot #3

Missing photo in slot #5 (Love Song candelabra)

Missing photo from slot # 6 Wild Edric

#8. Crepuscule that was really exposed in the wind.

#9. A sheltered bloom of Crepuscule that’s very pale in color.

#10. Mel’s Heritage cluster that I should have shaken before taking the picture.

Lisa, I had to laugh at Millie watching tv and talking all day. Sounds like you're describing a lazy husband. Much cuter in a cat.

You keep coming up with roses I didn't know you have. St. Elisabeth of Hungary needs to come live in my garden. Beautiful!! I'm anxiously awaiting the others you are posting. Posting here tries one's patience!

I would grow The Faun in a heartbeat if I could find a place where it wouldn't get smothered in pine needles. It's easier to pick them out of big blooms.

You're not alone in not seeing the weeds, garden tools, hose, dead stuff, buckets, etc. until you take a photo, then they stand out like sore thumbs.

Ahhh, now I'm seeing all your photos. O my goodness! So much beauty and so many blooms. Lisa, don't they know it's almost November?? I really do like that artsy photo of the windblown crepuscule. The Faun is the sweetest thing.

No need to apologize for what you call the 'confusing mess'. You didn't create it. It's not your fault.

Diane, we've all breathed a collective sigh of relief that you're not scaling the heights with all those thorns just waiting to poke, scratch and cause you to lose your balance. It's not worth the risk. The trouble with falling is you can't choose how or where you want to land. You might try bartering your ladder for ice cream.....

I hear you about no new roses to post. I've been posting old ones most of this season. I didn't have a very bloomy season this year. Not sure what the problem was. I think the final flush that is now frozen on the bushes, might have been my best. There's always hope for next year.

Sara Ann, what a beautiful Beverly you grow. I've never cut many roses for the house, but with yours and Lisa's and other's bouquets, I've decided I'm missing out on another great way to enjoy them. I only have one pic of roses in a vase this year. It's nothing much, just a few that still looked pretty good when we had our first below freezing night.

Lisa, I think I was getting Mel's Heritage mixed up with The Faun. I would be happy to grow either one!

I think that Fawn is my most surprising new rose. Those cupcake pink blooms just make me smile

Flowers, that is just a beautiful bouquet. I love the table it's on, the blue and white jar, and the second table we can just see. Please tell us what those roses are. My bouquets were pitiful. I have so few roses with stems long enough for good bouquets. My last photos taken just before the freeze ended up being too large to post--camera adjustments didn't "shrink" the photos enough. I am sick of all the maneuvers we have to go through just to get a photo to post.... I'm still not sure how I'll get enough canes off Colette so she doesn't snag trick or treaters. I spent this afternoon slinging bags of compost to mound the compost around my cold sensitive roses. Tomorrow night we get down to 14F. Those are January temps not October ones. I'll be slinging again tomorrow and the next day, until every rose has the extra compost. Ugh.

Sara Ann, your Beverly bouquet is a beauty, too. It's another arrangement with a lovely background.

Lisa, thank you for your posting persistence. The photos of St Elizabeth were so gorgeous I immediately had to look her up on HMF. I think your photos are the best of all of them. I'd love to grow that rose. The photo of the big roses growing along your fence is amazing. I can't believe the number of blooms they have for this time of year, especially at the temperatures you've been experiencing. Are we even on the same planet? I kind of think like you do when it comes to the ladder. I guess what is keeping me from climbing it is the thought that for a 74 year old, recovery doesn't always take place at all after a fall. That is so great about Millie resuming her "talking" and TV watching. What a kitty. I hope you temps modderate and fires keep away. I don't think Ingrid has posted recently. I hope she is fine. Diane

I love the photos, Lisa. If you think your gardens are out of control, I may never post again. My fillers are a jungle here, as I am sure is obvious to everyone. Brave souls posting photos deserve a gold medal from Houzz.

Kristine, I think what Lisa said sounds reasonable, “GREEN is the color that ties it all together.”

Thank you all for complimenting my Beverly bouquet. I don’t think I’ll have blooms much longer, yesterday was gorgeous, in the low 70’s, and it never got above 44 today, I really don’t like winter!

Lisa, I love seeing your pictures. I think trying to post pictures has been frustrating for everyone.

flowers, that’s such a gorgeous arrangement, I love the touch of light pink with the deeper pink, beautiful combo. Lisa’s bouquets are always gorgeous, I enjoy them so much.

I’ve posted this picture before, but grandkids grow up so fast. This picture was taken in 2005.

Even this picture is almost four years old. None of the three younger ones were born when the first picture was taken. Their names and current ages, Jackson 18, AJ 16, Anna 10, Mason 12, Sarah 21 and Joe 5. They’re pretty special!

What a beautiful family, Sara Ann. It’s amazing how quickly children grow up, isn’t it? Grandchildren must be so much fun. I’m still waiting for a grandchild, and hoping for a big announcement someday soon.

Flowers, I really like the bouquet! It’s perfect for the setting, and the contrast of pinks is lovely. I’m always surprised when people say they don’t pick any roses to bring inside. For me, that’s a big part of the pleasure of growing them. Fresh blooms inside always lift spirits, and people associate them with special days or celebrations. They bring a bit of the outside in.

I made a stab at putting together an arrangement with “oddball”/coffee colored roses the other day. Unfortunately, they never seem to bloom all at the same time. I wish I had those Honey Dijon blooms from a few weeks back. I sure could have used them in this arrangement.

The colors have been a challenge to work with, considering I only use what’s blooming in my own garden. I’ve been playing with it for a few days, adding new and taking out faded blooms when I change the vase water.

I have a few pictures left from the other day’s posting fiasco. I’ll end here and post two in the coming comment. Lisa

Flamingo Garden’s Tea has been blooming like a champ through the heat. As you can see, Pomponella Fairy Tale is beginning to encroach on FGT. I’m going to cut Pomponella’s canes way back as soon as the blooms are spent, or I cut them for indoors. I should cut them this evening, since tomorrow we have a Santa Ana arriving in the early morning hours. It’s supposed to be the windiest one yet. It will be interesting to see which roses will hold up best when it’s over and done with on Friday.

I just took the photo shown below. I hope all of FGT’s unopened buds make it through unscathed. It’s just loaded with them. Lisa

Baronne Prevost is still blooming. Unfortunately, the bugs adore her as much as I do. She smells wonderful, and I’m not usually one to rave about scent. The climate is so dry here that many supposedly fragrant roses hardly produce any scent at all. Baronne Prevost has such a true old rose scent, not to mention her romantic blooms.

As I mentioned, the bugs love Baronne Prevost. Molineux and Violet’s Pride on either side of BP are untouched. Nothing has been used on any of them, yet BP is eaten by small green worms every year beginning in late summer/early fall.

Cupcake blooms on ‘The Faun’

Tiered wedding cake blooms on ‘Lady Ashe’

Lisa, your Flamingo Garden's Tea is the epitome of a tea rose and I am captivated. I hope all those buds remain intact through the high winds. Gorgeous with Pomponella peeking through. Your bouquet may not be what you had in mind, but it is lovely and I wouldn't change a thing. I will be looking for a Cherry Caramel phlox! Love it!

Sara Ann, what pretty grands you have. The grown up girl on the right in the 2nd pic must be the little girl in the first photo? And, the boy on the left must also be on the left in the 2nd pic? I can't decide which of the two young boys the little cutie blondie is. Mine are all girls except 1 grandson. We have photos of him and my dad, his great grand dad, sitting side by side on the porch, each wearing one of dad's hats from when he was tiny through his 20's, the last one taken just before my dad passed away. Those photos are so precious.

Diane, you are always so complimentary. I could post a photo of dirt and you would find something nice to say about it. Those roses are Rosarium Uetersen, Quietness and Florentina, all in their shrunken, cold weather glory. Hope you put an extra blanket on the bed. We are both scheduled to get down to 14˚ tonight. I'm still doing the compost sling, too. Hope to wrap it up this week. It's too cold to stay outside for long.

Thank you so much, Lisa and flowers! Lisa, I hope that happens soon, you’ll be a super grandma! Flowers, yes, those photos do become pretty special. I listed them in order, the cute blonde is AJ, he’s the one who is 16. They are one quarter Native American, from their Mom (my daughter). It’s amazing how different traits show up. As kids go, they’re the best!

Lisa, what gorgeous arrangements and other blooms, I love seeing your beauties!.

Lisa,
Flamingo’s Garden Tea and Lady Ashe are lovely. Love the multi colored petals on LA! Do your Tea roses generally have a strong fall flush? So many buds on FGT! My Monsieur Tillier has been having a large flush, but it flopped down into the salvia and other plantings after our first big winds last week so now the roses are peeking out amongst the other plants. Its still pretty. It is a baby so it’s not strong on its own “legs” yet. I was going to stake it up but now that it’s blooms are rather protected down low I’m leaving it until this flush is done as more winds are coming.

Flowers and Lisa, I LOVE both bouquets. I can get enough of cut flowers indoors!

Sara Ann, you are blessed with some beautiful grandkids. I love that the first picture is taken with roses :-)

Thank you Stephanie.

I Love Tea Roses, they’re so beautiful! I really do think Monsieur Tillier is lovely. I admire them from afar!

We have a hard freeze this morning, so many roses that won’t open! Boo Hoo!

I did rescue a few:

Garden Party, Grande Dame, Stephen’s Big Purple and Perfume Delight

Neil Diamond

Sara Ann, what a lovely family

Isnt it amazing how quickly they grow up?

Your Neil Diamond is fab

Hello everyone!

First off i'm really enjoying everyones photos! Just awesome! :-)

My wife has been feeling so much better lately its great to see her smile again!

BUT now our Cat Cagney is having troubles... Shes been slowly losing weight over the past

3 months and not eating well at all... Vet thinks her IBD disease has progressed! Cagney weighed 10.2 pounds 3 months ago but now weighs 8.4 pounds... Its been a hard fought battle the past 4 years...We are going back to the Vet next Wednesday for another appt.

For those of you not familiar with IBD disease here's a link...

https://onlynaturalpet.blog/2010/09/10/988/

Weather wise we had a rash of 60 degrees days for awhile now and it has been nice!

Todays raining and will reach 70 degrees with thunderstorms... Unfortunately a cold front is moving in tonight and it is the END of our great temps...

Tomorrow high is 45 degrees and nights will start dipping to high 20's and 30's!

The garden party is over for us here...lol

Our Halloween trick or treat night has been changed from tonight to Saturday night...

Severe rain and thunderstorms coming and possible snow for tomorrow...

Have a great day everyone!

HELLO EVERYONE...

I HAVE CREATED A NEW FRESH FALL THREAD...

Click below:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5816041/fall-is-here-seasonal-thread-part-4