Passion seems to be a new variety yes, grown for cut flower production (a mislabel for Ambiance this season) About the 2nd Belladonna, I am not sure. Even Charles from Hadeco could not say much about it, he did confirm that the 1st one is Belladonna indeed. I mean, if I happen to have had a complete white Thai Thai, perhaps it is the same for the 2nd Belladonna, no idea. We shall see how it blooms next season

This weekend in my garden. Krossa Regal from above. It is new, in a pot. Hardy pink oleander blooming for this first time. I can't believe it is surviving in the ground in zone 7b. Blue jay fledgling in Fried Green Tomatoes Hosta. Elegans is about to bloom. Chipmunks' favorite azalea is blooming. I call it Barbie Pink. Part of my messy garden in the dry creek bed. The bench is in the delta. The creek flows swiftly under the bench when it rains. During flash floods, the water flows over the tops of the pots in front of the stumps. The Hostas love it. Hope your gardens did OK after the frosts last week. We have Tropical Storm Arthur headed our way.

PM2: The University of RI people have been releasing parasitic wasps that attack the Red Lily Leaf Beetle and they seem to be working too. I occasionally see a Red Lily Leaf Beetle but they haven't been a big problem here for years. "Research efforts to manage the lily leaf beetle have concentrated on classical biological control which acquaints natural enemies (from the pest’s native range) with their host in its introduced range. LLB came from Europe so European parasitoids were released with the intent of establishing and distributing themselves to provide long term control rather than needing to provide regular releases each year. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island and their collaborators have identified three parasitoids (wasps) that are specific to the genus Lilioceris and were approved by the USDA APHIS PPQ for field release. These parasitoids cause a high level of parasitism in lily leaf beetle populations throughout Europe. Tetrastichus setifer, Lemophagus errabundus, and Diaparsis jucunda have been a part of release, recovery, establishment, and distribution studies in New England from 1999 – 2016 and beyond. T. setifer is a gregarious larval parasitoid native to a large range in Europe and overwinters as mature larvae in host cocoons in the soil. Because of the large range of climatic conditions T. setifer survives in its native distribution, it is likely the best candidate for controlling lily leaf beetle in the Northeast. L. errabundus is a solitary larval parasitoid that overwinters as a teneral (freshly molted) adult in the host cocoon in the soil and is also native to Europe. D. jucunda is also a solitary larval parasitoid native to Europe and attacks all larval instars of the lily leaf beetle. Tewksbury et al 2017 reports releases of T. setifer in Wellesley, MA (and establishment and spread); Waltham, MA (establishment was not confirmed in Tewksbury et al 2017); and Cumberland, RI (establishment and spread). They also report releases of L. errabundus in Kingston, RI and Plainville, MA (establishment and spread were confirmed in Plainville). D. jucunda was released in Cumberland, RI (establishment confirmed) and Orono, ME (establishment confirmed nearby the release site). For More Information, Visit: The University of Maine: https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2450e/ Tewksbury, L., R. Casagrande, N. Cappuccino, and M. Kenis. 2017. Establishment of Parasitoids of the Lily Leaf Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in North America. Environmental Entomology. 00: 1-11. Written by: Robert Childs Updated by: Tawny Simisky on 4/24/2020" Lily Leaf Beetle Biological Control Research

Darren, I have been eager to see an update and found myself leaning forward into the computer screen to catch every detail. Harlow Carr is such a beauty, I have not seen one before except in the Austin handbook. All your rose cuttings are amazing, so healthy looking. It was extremely helpful to hear how you start them. I've had a 100 % failure rate with my cuttings and will try it your way this year. How terribly difficult for you to find the garden in a damaged state, and the stunted blooms are heartbreaking- Ava's sad little face showed she felt your distress. I bought an organic Miracle Grow soil that nearly killed everything in it. I am going to use Alaska Fish Fertilizer, but it stinks horribly as you would expect for multiplied dead fish. I should plant a Gertrude to counteract the fish scent with her perfume. Today I noticed my fern had not died as I had thought, two small fronds had unfurled. I hope the victories you experience this year will far outweigh the setbacks. I was looking at shelter dogs online this morning and spoke to God out loud I would trade all my roses to have another dog. What a comfort you have with your horticulturist Ava, better than thousands of roses. Have some hot tea together, better days will come.