Thank god we are gardeners like Ben said. I just got back from visiting Maine for my husband's parent's funeral. They died at 96 for Joe's mom 2/20 and 103 for Joe's dad 2/29. The funeral was 3/14/20 and how could we not go? They were wonderful people. We flew through Seattle and Boston. We feel normal so far, so here we are hoping for the best. I'm a bit exhausted from all the travel but plan to get out there weeding and trimming soon. I'm wishing the best for all of you. Especially the older crowd, we have to hide out in our gardens.

Sheila, we hope for the best for you, too. And my sympathies on the loss of your husband's parents. What long, wonderful lives they must have lived, and made their final exit together. Diane

Oh, Sheila. Deepest condolences in your loss. And, bless you for braving the dangers of travel to be with family who needed you there. I hope your husband found comfort in being with the people he loves.

What do people who don't have gardens to tend do in times like this. Even the hard work of gardening is a stress reliever and distraction from the world. The sunshine feels so good after all these months indoors.

Diane, how could I have missed saying how much I love seeing Finn and Clancy. I was so distracted and disappointed not being able to find that beautiful video, that those two funny little guys got left out of my comment above. They are obviously content in their napping spots and love each other. I trust they are both in good health and getting to play outdoors more now. I have a special place in my heart for kitties of friends, even ones I haven't had the pleasure of holding and getting to know in person. I wish Daisy had a companion, but it's too late now. She'd have a heart attack if I brought another cat into the house where she is the boss of everything.

Your daffodil story is similar to my wild iris story. My brother came upon an old stone cottage while bicycling in the mountains. (west fork of the San Gabriels, for you Californians.) There was a field of irises blooming around the building. It looked abandoned, so he dug one up and took it home where it multiplied. I brought one home with me that only lived one year. Wild California irises apparently don't like northern winters. A few years later, he was bicycling up there again and there was a fella at the cottage so he stopped and talked. It was the meeting place for a rifle club. The fellow told him he could take as many irises as he wanted. They grow wild all over the mountains, but hikers were trampling them, so the club members started saving as many as they could and transplanted them to the area around the cottage.

Trish, your day sounds perfect to me, too. You haven't mentioned Rosy in awhile. Are you still carrying her up and down the steps? I hope she can put weight on that leg, now.

We're down to a pound of hamburger, a dozen eggs and cauliflower. What am I going to do with that. Mr. Flowers is doing the shopping since he has to go out anyway. He won't let me hose him down with bleach when he comes home. It feels awful not knowing what, if anything, kills this dreaded bug.

Wow so where I live we just had a 5.7 earthquake and lots of aftershocks even a 4.9 aftershock. I was a bit stressed but felt okay knowing we can handle being at home due to the virus for awhile...but this really has rattled me so to speak. Hopefully some more roses arive soon so I can distract myself or something.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Pippa. I didn't realize you were so close. I hope your roses DO arrive soon.

Pippa, I hope you remain safe, and the aftershocks are mild. I learned this morning about the Salt Lake City earthquake. What next? I thought it caused our computer outage, but that was due to upgrading our system (we are a network) to make it faster. Gotta do those important things. Anyway, an earthquake would rattle me, so stay calm and garden. I hope it's nicer where you are than here--not a very spring like day. Diane

Earthquakes of any size are so unsettling. The earth under our feet just isn't supposed to move!

I went out and worked on a section of sod to remove for roses, so that felt good. We are all okay and I don't think there were any injuries at all luckily but I think we just feel like it was the last straw when we were already on edge due to the pandemic. We have power but about 75,000 people here have no power now.

Those daffodils are so beautiful Diane! And your kitties are really pretty!

Sorry for the loss of your in-laws Sheila. They had an amazingly long life, I’m sure they were a wonderful couple.

Pippa, glad to know you’re okay, that must have been quite a scare! Glad you still have power, certainly hope it remains that way!

Kristine, Daybreaker and Sentimental both look like lovely roses, especially Daybreaker!

I was finally able to get some roses planted this afternoon, we finally had a reprieve from the gloomy, wet weather. Nice and sunny this afternoon, with temperatures in the 70’s, perfect for what I needed to do. I think we’re going to have more rain and some colder temps. Hopefully by the time I get my Palatine roses it will be nice again. They’re supposed to ship them on Monday, I’ll probably get them around the 27th. I used my new shovel for the first time today, love it! Thanks Lilyfinch! You really should get a commission! I’ve also tried some of the winter sowing you suggested. Things seem to be okay, except I used Sharpies to write on the jugs and the writing disappeared on a couple of them when it rained, very brilliant of me! I have no clue what they are because I didn’t write it down in another place. I’m now using clear packaging tape after I write on them, I think that will work, because that tape sticks pretty good!

My roses are looking very healthy and leafing out more everyday!

LAVENDER LASSIE, so anxious to see what this does this spring.

ZAIDE

SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON

We've had a little trouble with radon gas escaping from under our basement. Washington is one of a very few states that have radon in the ground. It came to light when we were having the heater trouble a couple months back. Our builder had not installed a sufficient, ah, whatever it is he was supposed to install. So, installing it after the fact was not optimal. We now have a thing on the end of our house that faces the road that looks like a smokestack on a foundry - ugly. I just told my husband that I'm planting something to cover it as soon as I can. But, it faces north and whatever I plant needs to be about 12' tall. It's hard enough to get climbers to climb here when they have full sun.

There are two old Wm. Baffin roses on that end of the house. They get almost that tall, so maybe I ought to just plant a third one. It wouldn't be symmetrical.

Sara Ann, is your Souv. de la Malmaison the bush or climber? I have a climber by mistake. It's taking a l-o-n-g time to get started. It's healthy and green, but no blooms in 4 years.

Sara Ann, I switched out Sentimental for Celestial night

I read a few reviews that weren't too positive.

Sheila. I am so sorry about the passing of your in laws

It sounds like they had an extraordinary life together and didn't want to be without the other.

I'm glad that you were able to be there with the family.

Flowers, so sorry SDLM hasn’t bloomed! Mine is the bush form. I do hope it will begin to bloom for you. Good luck with finding a rose to cover your “smokestack!”

Kristine, I’ve also read some not very positive reviews about Celestial Night

Me too, so I will give it a try and see

Maybe it will love my yard so much that it will look just like the pretty pictures that forced me to buy it

Lol

Kristine, I hope Celestial Night does good for you, it really is a lovely rose. I wouldn’t have and love my Dark Desire bushes if I took all the negative comments I’ve read about that rose to heart. Roses can perform so differently, depending on where they are grown.

Sarah Ann says it bes. You just have to try it and see for yourself.

Thank you, Sara Ann. I will give SdlM an extra dose of TLC this year. She's draping herself nicely on my fence, so there's that.

Kristine, I don't know where, but I've read good good things about Celestial Night. I wanted to order her, but had to stop somewhere.

Happy Spring Everybody! Today marks the end of Winter.

Narcissus Geranium....A particularity fragrant variety

My Weeping Peach. Last year she got really sick, I had to use systemics as a last resort. But looks like she’s making a recovery.

Quince Scarlet Storm

A wonderful, long lasting cut flower

It practically arranges itself in a vase...I gave vases to four happy neighbors.

Here’s a close relative, Quince Orange Storm

Once interesting quality of the blooms is they stop developing color indoors, so the buds open to bicolor effect. The same vase 9 days later:

I planted own root Chianti and Veilchenblau last year.

Can I expect these to bloom this spring? They are all still quite small.

I'm excited that they might, but not sure what to expect.

Jc I also planted Veilchenblau last year so am excited to see what others say!

Oursteelers, what does yours look like now?

Chianti planted at mailbox

Large veilchenblau, probably 3-4ft cane

smaller one, planted at same time

Ben, I am a great admirer of skillful pruning & your Weeping Peach is a beautiful example of it.Well done! I too have a quince, has to be ovet 60 years old. When I moved into my home 16 years ago it was a tangled, weedy, multi-trunked mess. It took one skilled gardener over 4 years to clean it up & is now a star in the garden; seldom out of bloom. In this area at least, it is an under-appreciated & under-used gem.

Mine is definitely in the same camp as your little one!

Smith dale,

Thanks for the compliment, but the flowering tree does all the work...it’s naturally artistic, grows horizontal with craggy canes and weeps. Quince are such beautiful and tough plants, I’ve seen them on abandoned homesites still blooming like crazy.

Sheila

What an extraordinary life your husband’s folks must have had. I’m glad you made the trip and are OK.

Kristine,

Lucky you to still have a package to look forward to so late in the season. I’m never more happy then when I receive plants (Ok, nursery shopping is equally good.)

Flowers,

Saw on the other thread you’re getting Palatine early, so lucky you, too!

Sara Ann,

We’ve had endless rain for a week now too. We must have had about 8 inches so far. I’m thankful for it, and I got lots done in between the rainstorms, still ready for a clear day or two.

Diane B,

Daffodills and cats must make being sequestered much easier.

Nanadoll,

My text to speech translated ‘Roald Dahl’ to ‘rolled dolls’.

They are rather creepy, I’m afraid that since they are missing heads, they will want mine!

Love those headless dolls, Ben. Now I know what rolled dolls are. They are new to me. Actually what I really like is your stunning weeping peach tree and the quince. The peach is so unique and your pruning is a work of art, as are those quince bouquets. Just wonderful, and I love the blue vase the orange quince is in. Thanks for posting these unusual photos.

JC, I am interested in how your Chianti rose will do for you. It should be a real beauty, but I read that Chianti gets quite huge. I hope it doesn't cover the mail box!

Sara Ann, your roses look great and are quite a bit ahead of roses here in the north. Zaide looks to be a big girl. You'll have blooms before long. We haven't had any 70s and very few 60s. What roses did you plant? I'm in the middle of a massive pruning. About half of my big monsters need a real take down with a hard prune. They grew way too much last year. Some roses were pruned hard last year, so they didn't need so much taken off. I just finished my two big Julias. Each rose takes hours, and each fills two garbage cans with their canes. They try to kill me, so I must wear a hoodie with my ripped up coat on top of it. It's helpful to have the hood on if you want to keep your hair, so you can imagine how charming I look--sort of like the abominable snow woman meets bag lady. I also wear the goatskin gauntlets, which are quite charming, too.

Lisa, I hope you are doing well and keeping safe in the midst of this corona mess we are in. California really has it rough right now. Please let us know how you're doing.

Flowers, so did Mr Flowers survive his chlorox hose down? Poor man. I truly hate the smell of chlorox. I hope you're taking care when going out--I know Washington is having it rough, too, right now.

We are on day 2 of spring, as of a little while ago. We can take some cheer in that, and enjoy and work in our gardens, even if some of are roses try to maim us. I know gardening is keeping me sane, even the hard jobs. Stay safe and sane, fellow gardeners. Diane

Jim, we hope you are well, and we know the current crisis has added to your burdens. If you want a break from being our faithful seasonal "moderator", we will all understand. You can always take the job on again at a later date. Let us know how you're doing. We are concerned and thinking of you.

Meanwhile, just in case, would any of you out there like to be our seasonal "moderator" for now? We need to jump into spring. Diane

Diane, thank you! After two nice days in a row, we’re having a cold front, the temperatures will be a little colder, mostly in the 50’s, then another warm up in a couple of days, very windy today. I like Zaide a lot, it’s been a good rose here. I planted Julia Child, another Love Song, Twilight Zone, Rouge Royale, Firefighter, Sugar Moon and The McCartney Rose. Of these, Sugar Moon is the only one that’s new to me.

BenT, we haven’t had as much rain here, but plenty. Your flowers are gorgeous!

Diane, I am actually hoping Chianti DOES cover the mailbox.

I should draw a picture to explain, but the little rose is "enclosed" with a circle of evergreen holly hedge, the mailbox, and some forsythia that will force Chianti to grow up and over.

I have a Cl Royal America that should intertwine with it, too.

Of course knowing me, everything will turn into a big tangled mess of diseased thorns and weeds with no flowers at all.

I have a Regans order arriving today and an order from High country next week. And not until

Mid April is the order from Northland coming

I need to put 6 in pots. I told my husband that I need soil. Wait until he hears how many bags I need. He is ok, with one or two but 6 may push him over the good sport edge.

But it is a pain for me to get them in the cart and then in the car all of the while toting a Toddler with me

Plus because I am old I haven't left the house all week. My sweet younger husband has been doing all of the shopping . But I really need that soil .So. better to irritate him and get all 6 now or 2 every week as the roses come in. Yep, probably better get it over with .

I hope that everyone is staying safe and being smart about social distancing. I realized that I am a hermit so not having any problem just hanging out. But super grateful that I have a yard to enjoy.

Kristine, we are doing the same thing.

My wife, kids and I have been quarantined because some folks in her office building tested positive.

I'm the only one who leaves the house/yard if we need anything.

Better safe than sorry!

Two of my local garden centers are offering curbside pickup and free delivery.

Might check your areas to see if anyone is doing the same.

Thanks for that info! Maybe i can get a few more from Menard's after all! We had tornado warning yesterday and after it (fortunately) didn't touch down, we've had enormous rain all night. It's always raining, but it was SO heavy. It's finally stopped, but I think it's too soggy to do much outside. : (( Good thing I like to isolate! We are running outside, but who knew that weights were the new toilet paper! One friend was super kind and rustled around in his garage at his old house and found some heavier ones he wasn't using and drove them all the way over from KY to bring them and just left them on the porch. That was so sweet. I'm glad to see everyone is hanging in there. It's worrying for one's older parents and it's hard to be separated, but it's what's necessary. Take care out there!!!

Regans order has arrived

The Pope is looking .nice

Good to know, jc. What I need are stepping stones that I can't lift. I'd love to have those delivered. I have bags of this and that left over from last year. I have a whole garden's worth of bagged manure that I wasn't able to get on the roses before it snowed last fall. Also enough Milorganite to last the rest of my life - a great tip from BenT.

Kristine, I sympathize. The dilemma is always whether to go for the whole enchilada and get it over with, or incrementally to avoid getting 'the look'. My husband is also the one doing all the shopping. I just don't think he's as careful as he could be.

It's definitely starting to feel like spring, especially with all this sunshine, but snow is predicted in a few days. Mr. Flowers is already wanting to get the roses out of the garage. Our non-gardening spouses can only take so much.

Rose orders will soon be rolling in. This was the year I wasn't going to add any. Sheesh.

I had to take my roses out of the garage about two weeks ago - it had been warm enough long enough they were starting to leaf out. Last night I got to haul them back in because we're supposed to get a hard freeze. Of course, I'd gone ahead and planted my peas and replanted my sweet peas this Monday!

There's a reason my state is pronounced 'Misery', ugh.

Looks like I might have lost a few - 'Urban Legend' isn't looking very green, same with 'Snow Pavement' and unfortunately 'Lunar Mist'. They were all a fall order, potted up to wait for spring planting. Of course one of the losses is a rose I had to look everywhere to find! They're all own-root, so not all hope is lost. Lesson learned though - only overwinter as many roses as I can fit in ONE garden cart so I can keep track of which I've watered, not two AND a bunch of pots!

Ac91, I bet Lunar Mist makes it. That rose is incredibly tough. My first one was lost in a windstorm, and found 2 years later with hardly any pot -band- left. The soil was gone and the roots were dry. I planted it anyway and it grew like Jack's Beanstalk. I hope they all pull through, especially the special one you had to track down.

That's great to hear, Flowers! It's in a gallon pot, and we've had at least a couple inches of rain since I set those out. Hopefully I'll have a good update to share with you guys in a couple weeks on those three!

ac91, you might be surprised what makes it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. Sheila, I'm sorry to hear that sad news. There's never a good time, but it seems they didn't want to be apart.

Lunar Mist and Snow Pavement are both great. I hope you get another one of each if you let them dry out, ac91.

Vapor, yes, I think Joe's Dad waited until his wife died then decided to go. They were so romantic. They were together 75 years.He had flown to France and represented the USA in 2014 at the D-Day Sword Beach Ceremony for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. He was almost 98. He also was awarded the French Medal of Honor. Joe's Mom was a tennis champion for New England and played in the symphony until she was 90 besides raising 6 children and teaching music in the public schools. Talk about having great in laws, I had the best.

I got a notice yesterday from Edmunds that my bareroot roses have shipped and will probably be here early next week. Then hubby came home after going to the P.O. because there was a notice that my raspberries, hostas and gladiola bulbs were waiting. I need a bale of peat moss but not going to send hubby out after it - not ready for that encounter! Haven't heard from High Country yet. I will have to pot up those hostas and raspberries today because it will not stop raining here. I had pulled my tarps back to put in the center of my new garden but had to cover it up again. 4-5 more days of rain predicted for the next week. We had 67F overnight Thursday and up in the 70Fs all day Friday. Then it cooled down to 37F this morning and supposed to be down in the 20Fs tonight. I was going to mow as the grass is getting really shaggy and I could use the nitrogen to make some compost but just can't get in the mood and I might need to rig a light on the push mower because it is so dark out here!

I think we must be having the same weather! Rain rain go away. Well it went away today but now it's in the 30s. I've been waiting for the Forsythia to bloom and it appears my neighbor has cut down their Bush. I drove down another street and I find they're all In bloom, so now I'm behind on my pruning and it's too cold!

No forsynthia blooming here, now that I think of it. Good thing I got busy and didn't get around to pruning anything - we had a hard freeze last night! Covered up my newly planted Palatine roses with empty flowerpots; the next few days will show what got damaged. Nothing looked bad this morning though, fingers crossed!

Sheila, your in-laws were remarkable people. Extraordinary accomplishments even at advanced ages. Truly inspiring. What was their secret, not only for longevity, but to maintaining their zest for life?

Ikaye, you've got a lot on you plate. I don't know how you do it all. I just pruned one third of a rose yesterday and I had to use a heating pad all night. John Cabot won the first round, but I'm calling my garden helper to finish the job because I need a ladder for the rest of it. Next up is the Bonny arbor. I don't know why I keep wishing for climbers. I need help taking care of them.

It's hard to know when to prune this year. Roses are all leafed out but we're still expecting snow and night time temps are in the 20s.

Kristine, is your PJPII a standard? It’s going to be gorgeous!

Sheila, your in-laws were definitely an amazing couple

I was very surprised today, not the way I usually am, anticipating the first buds on my roses. I was out checking my winter sowing jugs and spotted a fairly good sized bud on Bliss Parfuma, looked around at some other roses and spotted a few more, I rarely see buds in March, pretty sure they’re close to two weeks early!

Bliss Parfuma

Beverly

A little of my thoughts on the Coronavirus. Yesterday I sent a text to my sister to let her know what a beautiful name her son and daughter-in-law had chosen for her soon to arrive granddaughter, “Vivienne DeJean”. In about three weeks we’re supposed to have a family baby shower for her daughter-in-law. That possibly might not happen because of extra precautions, depending on what the situation is at the time. One baby shower has already been canceled. Anyway her daughter-in-law is a little worried that they won’t get everything they need for their baby girl. I’m sure somehow this will all work out and friends and family will come through. But it made me stop and think how this is changing so many routine happenings in our daily lives. So many events are being canceled or changed everywhere because of this virus. If things ever get back to some kind of normalcy, I hope we don’t take these things that bring us together with our loved ones and friends for granted.

Flowers, I think my in laws always kept trying to be the best people they could be. They were full of generosity and joy. They always kept trying to be better. They also made younger friends.

My mother, OTOH, sits around and eats bon bons. Oh well.

Everybody deals with stress in different ways. Me, I look for flowers blooming!

And roses starting to bud!

Hey, isn't it time to start a Spring thread?!

Not sure if containers count, but I have a colorful one. This is testimony to my poor self-control when it comes to color palette. Can't help myself and I keep sampling until I make a circus of colors. They're happy though.

Sheila, your husband's parents must have been a joy and a delight. Caring for others, always learning and a positive outlook is the combination I've heard many times for a fruitful life.

Here is the new thread Lily Finch started. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5884260/spring-a-time-for-new-beginnings