I like them. If they are for a place the receiver enjoys, they can be just as thoughtful as a perfectly selected gift. I love to just get out of the house for a couple hours to myself and spend it browsing Barnes & Noble with a latte from Starbucks. But I'd drop $30 just to get a little me time. So when someone gives me the gift cards to those places, they have given a gift of "me time." I think of them while I'm there, and I'm very thankful they did that for me. My mom sent me one for Christmas to JCPenney so I could pick some new clothes for the new job. She can't be here to shop with me, and if she chose them they might not fit, I need to try them on. What I needed was to do a little shopping, and she sent me shopping trip. Very thoughtful. I gave gift cards to a couple who help me out a lot with kids' activity transportation. I could spend hours picking a gift to show my appreciation. But I spent 10 minutes stopping by a restaurant and movie theatre for gift cards so they can spend few hours together. I bought them a date night, and threw in child care from me. Dinner, movie and babysitter add up, but what couple doesn't need that? So I don't think they are thoughtless at all. Of course they can be. If someone sent DH one to Starbucks he would give it to me. So that just shows no knowledge of what he likes at all. It's not the card or the gift, both can be selected well or badly.

Patty or anyone else. Do you happen to know when they will be back from vacation? I got a gift certificate, but had trouble using it, so he's going to put my order in for me. I asked him to write me a email to let me know when he got it done, mostly so my mind would be eased and I would know that I got my roses. This was around Dec. 27th or so. I have tried calling the last couple of days with no luck, so I figure they haven't made it back yet. I was wanting to add one if it was going to be one they put back in stock and ask a question. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone knew when they were planning on coming back from vacation. I wish I could afford one as long, lol

I ordered quite a few for the cemetery. Eleanor -- the cemetery president -- wants to have a "planting day" in Spring as a way to get people interested in volunteering, so I've been waiting for the end-of-season sales to start. I also nabbed a few from Rose Petals Nursery, which still has a bunch listed for $7, and one for $5. They can't be sorted by price, but if you go to "in-stock roses" and scroll through, keeping an eye on prices, you'll catch those marked down. Those two orders will be shipped April 15. Angel Gardens' sale was on the stipulation that the roses would be shipped by October, so I chose only a few which weren't so tender that they'd be iffy going in the ground here this time of year. Since I know you'll ask anyway, I copied the email I sent to Eleanor and pasted it below. It includes a little something about some of the roses, and possible placements. I tried focusing on things that weren't easily found elsewhere, or were "found" roses which would fit here, or were things that would fit and were marked down in price. Moving forward, I'm going to try expanding the cemetery's collection by asking for cuttings, which I'll either try rooting, or just bud onto 'Pink Clouds' and plant deeply enough so that they eventually go own-root. From Angel Gardens, coming this month: "Barbara's Pasture Rose" http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.37549 'Felicite et Perpetue' -- for Maple at Needham-Roxbury http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.2722 'Gruss an Teplitz' -- for the Staat bed http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.3131 'Kiftsgate' -- for Beech at first bed http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.3614.0 'Rambling Rector' -- for one of the pines http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.5077 'Seagull' -- for one of the pines http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5667 From High Country Roses, coming in April: 'Alfred Colomb' -- Leu bed? http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.132.0 "Beulah Blakely" (Riverside Cemetery in Denver) -- not sure where yet http://www.highcountryroses.com/beulah-blakely 'Dupontii' -- not sure where yet, but look at the pics and think about it http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.1682 'Enfant de France' -- Leu bed? http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.2627.0 "Fairmount Proserpine" (Fairmount Cemetery in Denver) http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.62618.0 [possibly the real 'Proserpine', which see below] http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5003&tab=36 "Fairmount Red" (Fairmount Cemetery in Denver) -- behind main stone in Staat bed http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.30250 [possibly 'Rivers' George IV', which see below] http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5227 'Francis E. Lester' (named for the man who started Roses of Yesterday and Today, an old-rose nursery in California) -- possibly to climb the maple in the second (huge) bed http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.2836 'General Jacqueminot' -- Leu bed, or can be pegged to the railing in a front corner elsewhere http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.2919 'Gloire de Guilan' (a rose found by English gardener-writer Nancy Lindsay growing in Iran to produce attar of roses in the 1940s, but which was much, much older) -- something for the base of a tree, possibly at shorter strip bed http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.2977 'Great Western' (named for the second mail steamship to cross the Atlantic in 1838, which arrived just a few hours after the first -- Sirius -- which left four days earlier) -- behind a featured stone http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.308988 'Harrison's Yellow', aka 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' -- longer strip bed http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/pl.php?n=56662 (George Folliott Harrison bred the rose in Manhattan, and his grave is still there, and is now a part of the Heritage Rose District of NYC, which see below) http://www.heritagerosefoundation.org/heritage-rose-district-of-nyc Oh, and good thing I placed the order, because now it's sold-out "Hattie Burton" (found-rose grown since at least 1920 in Utah, so must be older) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.30251.0 'Henri Martin' -- behind a featured stone, perhaps Leu bed? http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3247 'Henry Nevard' -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3252 'Marchesa Boccella' / 'Jacques Cartier' (one of several examples of an old rose whose true identity is suspect, so it's listed under both names) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3252 'Mrs. John Laing' -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.4317 'Nevada' -- longer strip bed http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.4454 'Paul Ricault -- in commerce as' -- behind a featured stone http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.2201.0 [in all likelihood, its real identity is 'Paul Perras', which see below] http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.63925.0 "Souvenir du President Lincoln -- in commerce as" (the original was dark red, but this rose is deep pink -- still, it's very fragrant old long-caned Bourbon from the 19th Century) -- to peg to the railing in a front corner somewhere http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.24649.1 'Stanwell Perpetual' (the old-rose that inspired David Austin to breed repeat-blooming old-fashioned roses) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5953 'Sydonie' -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.17662.1 'William Lobb' -- behind a featured stone, maybe Needham-Roxbury, maybe Leu http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.6102.1 From Rose Petals Nursery, coming in April: 'Anna Olivier' -- not sure where yet, probably Staat or Leu or someplace in full-sun http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.268.3 "Baretta St. Bourbon" (found-rose from California) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.20455 "Chester Cemetery No. 2" (an old Noisette found at least three times, and given a name each time, then later recognized to be the same....so whatever it's real name was, the rose was grown in South Carolina and California) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.36863.1 "Green Mount Red" (Noisette from Green Mount Cemetery in Maryland, replanted in Heritage Rose District in Harlem, NYC) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.73077 'Kazanlik' (dating at least to the Crusades, when the earliest Damasks were brought to Europe, this is grown for attar of roses in Bulgaria) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.1948 'Ornament des Bosquets -- in commerce as' (original was a once-blooming Ayrshire, but this is a repeat-blooming Noisette) -- climber for a sunny tree http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.22667 "Picayune" (an old miniature Polyantha found unnamed in Louisiana, the "found" name refers to a Mexican coin, which is the same size as the tiny blooms) -- for the Staat baby girl who died in the early 20th Century http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.32038.2 'Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux' -- not sure where yet, needs full sun http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.5205 "Roseville Noisette" (found-rose from California, probably early 19th Century) -- not sure where yet http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.60770 'Souvenir d'un Ami -- in commerce as' (probably not the original, but still a 19th Century Tea) -- not sure where yet, needs full-sun http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5908 :-) ~Christopher

Vaporvac, I would love it if you could come. But there aren't any other rose aficionados there. I brought Oranges N Lemons and Sally Holmes last year and there weren't really any takers. The Oranges N Lemons went in the free for all at the end where you just grab whats left but I brought the Sally Holmes home. This year I didn't bring the Gourmet Popcorn I gave away because we hadn't dug it up yet. Instead I advertised it on Nextdoor so someone could research it and really want it. If I thought there would be any interest we would have made more of an effort to get it dug up. In terms of timing they are decided upon a few weeks in advance based on the schedule of the person volunteering to host. BTW, my other Oranges N Lemons I tried to propagate died over the winter in our basement but the Sally Holmes appears to have hung on. It showed a small amount of new growth this spring but is back in the basement due to bad weather. I don't yet know where I will put it if I keep it. The Oranges N Lemons in the yard showed great new growth a month ago but then got badly shredded by the hail. Right now it is looking iffy if it makes it with barely any green on it's little stub of a self. I think if it doesn't I won't replace it with another. We just have bad juju with that rose. First it gets run over with a garden cart the same day it goes in the ground, then the rooting portion dies due to neglect when my mom forgot to water the basement plants while we were on vacation. And now it gets hammered by hail.