Abraham Darby - My first one I bought in late 1980s or early 1990s. It was very hardy and disease resistant at that time and was on an arbor at about 6'. I lost it to Dr. Huey in the winter of -40F. The one I replaced it with is not as florific, only 4' tall and has very little resistance to disease. I love the color, flower form and the fragrance of Abe and wouldn't like to be without him but just wish he was a little better performer.

Love the boscobel color. Is it just one bush? It does get big

Dianela, your Boscobel is a bloom machine par excellence, and the blooms are just gorgeous. The lack of leaves seems a minor thing compared to its flowering. Do all roses bloom that well when missing leaves? Doesn't he/she have a great shape? Most of my roses are "he's" and I don't know why, but in this rose's case, it's the name--all I remember is the horrible jingle from my childhood about the chocolate syrup called Bosco. This beautiful Boscobel is definitely a keeper and named for a stately home in England, not chocolate syrup. Hope you're feeling well, and I'll bet you are if you're posting here. That's so great. Diane

Ikaye, I have my problems with Abe Darby, too, so you have my sympathies. Also more sympathy for the -40F low. That's mind boggling to me. I wouldn't have any roses left, except for Dr Huey. It's sad to learn that there is so much difference in the same rose, depending on the clone, rootstock, and other factors. I've noticed rootstock can make a difference here, and I prefer Dr Huey mostly, though I have some roses who perform beyond expectations on multiflora. Diane

One rose that seems not to like my garden is Gertrude Jekyll. Right now it is five three foot long sticks with a few leaves and a flower on top. It looks horrible! But the flowers are cute and smell great, so I'm keeping her. I just have to figure out where to put her so her bare canes (and thorns) are concealed...

I will stop by later since I have decided to spend the entire day at home doing minor laundry tasks and resting 😁. I will make a quick trip to publix for some Cuban pastries ingredients. The weather app says it is 88 and feels like 97 right now and I am not up to any gardening.

Diane very few roses here keep blooming without leaves. The only ones I can think off are Boscobel, Darcey bussell, and Iceberg. It is so impressive to me they can still manage those blooms without all the green. Bosco is definitely a boy here in my head. His shape is perfect like that with zero pruning and just light deadheading. I have many roses I call favorites and hate choosing but he just melts my heart with his beautiful blooms and eagerness to bloom.

Ikaye: Abe has been one of those roses together with Evelyn I have always wanted to try and haven’t had the courage. Both seem to be supreme beauties that can be problematic to grow. I wish your plant would be perfect also. Those terrible winters sound like something out of movies to me having always lived in such warm areas. My family refers to Alabama as “the north”.

Mysticwaves: There are two plants of Boscobel planted around 2 1/2 feet from each other. They are no taller than 4 feet here and never trows long crazy canes.

dianela - "My family refers to Alabama as 'the north'"...LOL I love your Boscobel!!! Wow!!

I wish my Chrysler Imperial would get rid of its powdery mildew hell and be healthy. I smelled one of its flowers (yeah, one...this rose hates me)...and I was BLOWN AWAY by its fragrance!!!

Diane I bet you had some awesome pastries while you were having your baby. I actually cheat with the pastries because I buy the frozen puff pastries from Publix and the guava paste instead of having to cook the fruit and all the rest. I just place my guava and cream cheese in the puff pastries, brush on some eggs and bake for 25 minutes. My DH thinks they are the best thing ever and I don’t even have to work too hard at it. I have gotten out of the morning sickness stage for which I am very grateful, but my torso is so short and I have so much pressure from my growing belly the reflux is killing me. The tiredness is my biggest problem, it won’t go away. I cringe 😬 when I see what my garden looks like now with weeds over my knees, but I am too tired to even try and do anything about it. It is pitiful, I am in awe of all those women who bear it all without complaints. Which tells me it is time and go do some more work. I have been taking breaks to rest my feet through the day.

Oh, nobody I know bore it all with no complaint, Dianela. I'd like to see a few men do that, too. Your pastry sounds scrumptious, but where is guava paste available? That's something I've never seen around here. I remember eating everything in sight. I stayed late at the table at my in laws and ate the left overs off everyone's plates. How gross is that? I do think your tiredness will lift as more time passes. Are you still working? If so, that's probably the source of the tiredness. I'll bet you are short, and that can make things a little more difficult. One of the first things my doc said to me (so sexist, of course) is "all my tall girls have it easy". I am quite tall, and he was right as usual. But it's never a piece of cake. As the saying goes: If men got pregnant, all families would quit at one child. Heh. Diane

Dianela, I'm always so impressed with your Boscobel. Mine needs to take a lesson from yours. Best wishes on enduring your pregnancy.

How did I miss that you were pregnant, dianela? Congratulations. Sorry to hear you're having a bad time of it though. Reflux is horrible. I had no idea height, or rather, torso length, was a factor, but it makes sense. I'm tallish too, so that explains why my pregnancies were comparatively easy.

I craved Brussel Sprouts, of all things. My childhood friend's mother said she used to eat coal! Cuban pastries sound way better! That's after the 3 months of 'morning' (all day) sickness passed. I remember being so tired with my second one, that I lay down on the stairs, as I didn't have the energy to get up them. It does pass, though it seems it never will.

I was surprised to read that the bush behind Boscobel with that lovely foliage is Dark Desire. I thought I'd read that it was a dud. I hope you'll be up to posting photos of it in bloom.

I also missed that! Congratulations, dianela! I had no idea you were expecting.

I gotta say, I think your Boscobel looks pretty dang good. I wouldn't even count that as being defoliated. He's still got the hair on his head. You don't know defoliated until you've seen a clutch of naked canes pointing into the sky, with maybe one green leaf left.

ETA: Your Dark Desire is amazing. I don't think I've ever seen that much red foliage on a rose. If you squint it looks like a loropetalum.

Diane - I'm not sure...maybe I was gone?? My memory is terrible.

I hated being pregnant...I threw up 6 times/day every day of my pregnancy, I had to be on bed rest for 6 months, I went to the hospital for kidney stones three times since I was off my medication, I had to have blood transfusions...(both kids)...it was awful. I even fell asleep in my car at red lights and at doctor's appointments before I was put on bedrest. So Dianela...don't worry about not being able to do things in the garden. We're not all super women. :) This will pass. Something that you learn with age is not to suffer from guilt from not doing everything....it'll be okay. :)

Diane - Yes...so true...my husband would have stopped at one if he had to bear the pain. LOL Oh my!! Eating the leftovers...what our unborn babies make us do!!! LOL

Titian - brussel sprouts? Oh my!!! What a cruel baby. LOL For me it was Chinese food!!

ohhh =) you are all making me feel so much better lol. Diane your leftovers was very funny, I keep getting some very funny looks from my husband for the way I have been eating. I have been drinking gallons of orange juice which can't possibly be good with all the sugar ans the reflux, but even when water would make me gag OJ would feel good. I am hoping to keep working until the baby comes. My husband is really doing a lot of the work for both of us, but I am helping out because the hospital has been very busy and we are short staffed with one of our techs being on maternity leave. Getting up early after non sleeping much definitely does not help. You guessed right, my drivers license says 5'3, but that is probably generous. I have had some funny comments from people along the lines of "are you sure there is only one" already.

Noseo I hope your Boscobel gets gong and makes you happy. I am always hoping mine will get big like Diane's here also, but he refuses. Thank you for the good wishes!

Ill be back later when I get another break =)

Dianela, you deserve a medal from your hospital: "Pregnancy in the Face of Great Hardship", and the hospital should step up the breaks for you. I personally thank you for your service. Pathologists are the essential workers who tell us whether we have cancer or not, and other important information. They are just not out there getting much glory....My driver's license says 5'10". I had people who couldn't believe I was pregnant when I was seven months along--about the time I first started wearing those awful "maternity clothes", because back then we were supposed to hide our impending maternity. I love orange juice, and I can understand your craving. I lived on vanilla milkshakes for a month or two--so no guilt for you. Diane

Milkshakes!! YUM!!

All that orange juice...maybe your body is short on potassium?? :) I'm glad it tastes good. :)

I have to have my OJ every morning with breakfast, or I get really cranky. It's a lifetime habit, and I love the stuff. Coke (the soft drink) is also a daily necessity. That's not one of my better habits. Diane

I love coke...pepsi can't compare. I have it almost every day too. Although I'm trying to cut back.

Diane - I just checked in on my emails...and I saw all these "liked messages" by Diane Brakefield. LOL You and I are such night owls. Although it's 2:30 I may try to go to sleep now. :)

Diane thank you, you are always too kind. Wow 5’10 😀I am so jealous. I always feel like tall women look so beautiful and elegant and I am short no matter what high heels I manage to wear. Vanilla milkshakes sounds amazing, vanilla ice cream is my outmost favorite flavor. I actually love vanilla everything. I can totally understand needing your OJ in the morning, how else is anyone supposed to start the day. I have been lucky so far that after always loving to wear lose dresses I have several I can still wear and not look like I am being squeezed from all directions, but it is early yet. I love Coke floats and I am sooo grateful there is such thing as caffeine free cokes now so I can still have some. I know they are not healthy, but if we get down to a few we call it a “coke emergency” around here and run to buy more.

Carol I have not gotten any bloodwork recently, but I don’t know I am just obsessed with drinking OJ. I will do my glucose tolerance test soon and hope it is all good. I have been trying to lower my sugar intake and do not drink cokes every day but failing with the ice cream and Oj.

Oh dianela I am soooo excited for you .

I also craved orange juice with my kids. And it gave me “fire breathing dragon reflux “ with Lucia. I worked in a breakfast restaurant when I was pregnant with her . And I drank so much orange juice and stored a container of tums there to help put the fires out 😂. I craved breakfast sandwiches made with white toast , a very generous layer of mayo on both pieces of bread , crispy bacon ( a lot ) and a slice of cheese. The chefs knew my order and knew not to be skimpy on the mayo. It was ridiculous!

And diane , I drink oj every morning with my coffee. I just love orange juice so much ! And coke too!! My husband dosnt like carbonated beverages so he dosnt get it it but ice cold coke after working in the yard is the BEST.

And as for being tall or short... I am 5.6 . I always felt so awkward and wished to be shorter! It seemed the short girls in school were just so much cuter than me ( it felt ). Just like wanting curly hair when it’s strait and vice versa .

I love your boscobel!!! It’s so beautiful. I will definitely try it again someday . I can’t wait to have a ton of roses again someday . It’s so hard to keep them narrowed down

Dianela, my blood runs thick with ice cream. Luckily, after the vanilla milkshake thing, I only desired healthy foods when I was pregnant. But that is not me normally. I instantly didn't want alcohol, and coffee started to repulse me, which was so strange. Once my daughter arrived, I was having my morning coffee again. Woman and their pregnancy stories...don't get us started. I've been 5'9 1/2" since I was 14--I cheated on my license. But at nearly 75, I don't look tall and elegant. Yes, I loved those loose dresses which were much more fashionable than the "maternity" outfits like Lucille Ball wore way back when. The tent dress, A-line dress, and empire waistline dresses were in style in 67-68, and I had a bunch of them.

Carol, isn't Pepsi awful? Do you remember the New Coke? Yeck. I filled my garage with Coke Classic and rode out the New Coke thing, which I knew would bomb. And sure enough, it was the marketing disaster of the decade. About the time my garage supply ran out, Coke Classic was back on the store shelves. Cackle. Sweet vengeance against Coke execs. Hope they all got fired back then. That was the dreadful 1980s. Diane

Dianela - yes, we've had coke emergencies, and my husband will go to the store even in the dead of winter in the evening. I'm with you...I love sugar so much!!

Lilyfinch - yes...Coke with pizza!!! I used to play mahjong with a friend once a week at a restaurant (we'd have lunch and stay for hours)...but they served Pepsi. I asked if I could bring a Coke and pay them for it. LOL They ended up stocking their bar fridge with Coke just for me! :)

Diane - your blood runs thick with ice cream!!! LOL :) You are so much fun! New coke - phooey!! Pepsi - phooey!! I remember when I was a teenager doing the Pepsi challenge...that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke. I easily could...Pepsi...phooey! Excellent - Coke Classic stored in your garage! :)

Carol, I've gone out in bad weather, too, for my Coke supply. I loved your story about the restaurant stocking Coke for you. And, yes, I could, and still can, tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke. When I was a freshman in college, I started out at Syracuse U which had 19th century dorm rules for girls (one of many reasons why I left the place for sunny California). All we could get for snacks and drinks were in machines in the rec room, and the only soft drink was--yuck--Pepsi. We weren't allowed to leave the dorm after 9:00 pm! My roommate and I collected the wretched bottles all semester. We were forced to drink the stuff, and too lazy to throw the bottles away. I was so glad to leave that dorm. I just had a luscious cone of Tillamook Oregon Strawberry for a change. Sigh. During the pandemic, we're keeping my big Coke supply in the useless fancy dining room. So convenient for me. Diane

Lily, orange juice, coffee, and cinnamon toast--yum. Diane

Diane - I love your sense of humor!!! I hate fancy dining rooms...they're soo not me! I'd far rather store Coke...in fact I do...we have a little refrigerator in our "dining room" it's filled with Cokes!!! Pepsi in the dorms...cruel and unusual punishment. :)

Cinnamon toast...oh yeah!!!

I’ll be back later. I just got up and had breakfast and realized it is 63 degrees outside for the first time. Maybe I can actually go pull some weeds, I just can’t handle the heat. My husband laughs and says I am a bad Cuban complaining about the heat. My poor father works construction in Miami all year long and I complain about not being able to be outside much during the summer. My dad came to help us on eve in October with a project and said 55 degrees was freezing.

Im no t even pregnant ( although as I found out you dont actually have to be to get a baby ) and I love icecream, every night. Cherry Bordeaux with big chunks of cherries, yum .

Thankfully, I have never loved coke or pepsi but do enjoy the occasional root beer.

When I was pregnant in the early 70s they didnt want you to gain more than 18 pounds and would really get on you if you did

So it was radishes and salads for me.

Now I eat like Im pregnant and beginning to look like I might be lol

So happy for all of you young energetic moms.

Kristine, I was so tall that I was never nagged by my doc about weight gain--I ate everything in sight, once the nausea passed. What?? You don't have to be pregnant to get a baby! I shall go into hiding (but you're doing an excellent job as a mommy). Love that you're an ice cream person, too. I like Cherry Bordeaux, as well. Is there a bad ice cream? Actually, for me there is--the cookie dough stuff, but many would disagree. Diane

Dianela - I'm like you...can't stand the heat. LOL Radishes and salads. So good for the baby...but blech. :)

My favorite ice cream is Skor Ripple!!!! Yum!!

Carol, I don't think we have that flavor around here. Does it have Skor candy bar in the ripple part? How decadent. Yes, I just finished my Oregon Strawberry cone. Sigh. I hadn't had strawberry in ages, and it was so nice to come back to that classic. I still love my green ice cream, Pistachio. Need to get some of that next. Tomorrow, Clare comes for dinner, and it will be cucumber sandwiches and tea. They have a savory cream cheese filling. It's one of our favorites, which leaves room for ice cream later. Diane

Dianela!! How did I miss all this about tiredness, morning sickness, resting, pregnancy and babies?? I am thrilled for you beyond words. You posted a pic of yourself with your roses awhile back and I thought you must be your daughter. That was before I knew you are very young. You are a tiny little thing. I am a shortie, too, and worried I didn't have enough space for the baby to grow. No worries, the Creator of life has it all worked out. I had the easiest deliveries ever. I actually think it works in our favor. I'm sooooo happy for you.

Diane - yes...Skor chocolate!!! Yum!!! Oh have fun with Clare and save me a cucumber sandwich. :)

Carol, see my message to you on the Late Summer Blooms thread. It's about our cuke sandwich pig out. There are a few left, but I fear they won't make to Canada before they end up in someone's stomach. I am sorry. Diane

LOL Diane. :) :) Darn! :) :)

Kristine Ice cream is certainly one of the best treats out there. I really need to get to those salads some time as I already gained 10lbs in the first 5 months. Of course I had a sausage biscuit with strawberry jelly and OJ for breakfast, maybe I can eat better at lunch. Like Diane said, that little baby could not have gotten a better mom after all. I am sure it has brought all kinds of challenges for you, but you seem to have taken them like a champ. One of my good friends right now has taken custody of her 2 grand babies (4 yo & 10 months) after discovering her daughter was not feeding them and was on all kinds of drugs. You probably have a good idea how their lives have changed. One good thing about being pregnant is that now I am not overweight =), just pregnant lol.

Diane I would love it if you could loan me a couple of inches of your height =), right now I am starting to look pretty round with only 10 extra pounds and half way there. I actually do not love ice cream with too many things inside for some reason like the rocky road of something like that. Other than that I love it all. To be honest I have a big sweet tooth. Pistachio ice cream is one of my all time favorites. I have never had a cucumber sandwich, I may have to look into that. I bet dinner with Clare is always such a lovely time for you.

Flowersaremusic: Thank you very much =). I am definitely excited for this baby, tho concerned about being able to handle it after he is born. I will just have to see how it goes and hoping all my cat mom experience will hep some =)

Dianela - you will be fine. :) AND...you have a lot of experienced moms here if you have any questions!!