Thank you. prettypetals, I got all of them but Ambridge from heirloom. Ambridge was the biggest surprise for me. I planted her (bareroot) At the end of June and this is her second full flush of roses. Margaret Merrill opened all the way today and is positively stunning Yes, Marissa reminds us of BOO. She's a little actress too!! Thank you all for looking and your positive comments. Donna

Lilyfinch, I was just trying to rock the boat a bit and came off sounding harsh. I didn't mean to imply that you think fungicides are evil. And I don't use them because we don't have fungal diseases here on roses, so I should quit feeling so self righteous. I do feel there is sometimes confusion on the forum about sprays because fungicides are not the same as insecticides. If my roses got blackspot, I would use fungicides. LL, I think Evelyn is mostly apricot and is called that by David Austin. But pink Evelyn roses do show up fairly regularly. They are lovely, too, cause she's most always lovely. I'm in love with Evelyn, so I'm not biased--ha. Diane

Haha! Titian - I really laughed at the description of your "feral" hollyhock! I could just picture it in my mind!! Do you have a photo? I'd love to see it! Yes, my hollyhocks have been a LOT of bother too. As I said, they've had rust and spider mites and white flies and every-other-pest-in-the-garden... the lower leaves turn yucky & yellow and fall off, leaving bare knees... and the individual flowers only really last a day... but still, I really love them. :-) I've cut down all the big "first" stalks now as I read online that this will encourage new - shorter - stalks to grow from the base and that seems to be working. So hopefully I'll get another crop of flowers before the summer is over. Do you know if they'll flower again next year? Should I leave them in the ground or dig them up and start again with new seedlings for next year? I know normally, they're biennials so you leave them the first year - but mine have all flowered now in their first year so I don't know if that means they're finished? Oh, I'd LOVE to try and teas and other OGR's but sadly, I think I'm already running out of garden space. At least, of the prime spots for roses... I really only have a tiny garden, with very narrow beds. . Kristine - thank you for the compliment! :-) I'm sad to report that I had a look at my Abraham Darby yesterday and oh dear - he DOES have some blackspot on the lower leaves!! :-( It's only very little and the overall bush is still very green & healthy and he's blooming again... but it's a bit ominous that he's doing this in hot, dry, summer weather. So it seems everybody is right about his disease susceptibility. Just thought I'd let you know so you're prepared - I hope he does well for you, though! ~ HY

All, beautiful roses! I’m envious of all your hard work and I know how much of a passion your roses are for you. I left behind all of my roses when we moved into this new house. I’m in the process of redoing the front beds and just about finished all of the bee, butterfly and bird plants. As for my roses, I’ve got the 4 AD and that’s it so far. I want to get the ones i left behind, too: Louis Philippe: Belinda’s Dream: Lagerfeld: Mr Lincoln: Molineux: Mrs BR Cant: Sombrueil: Climbing America: Don Juan. I’m forgetting some I know. I usually buy mine from Hardin’s or a nursery on 49th St in St Pete whose name is escaping me. I’ve only bought on fortuniana stock and have been curious about own root for the OGR’s. I amend my soil very well, try to stay as organic as possible and put most of my effort in time spent on just taking care of the garden as much as possible. I’m 43 years old and have Lupus so some days I’m too tired or too sore to go outside, especially in this crazy heat. But those days are not too frequent thank goodness. I believe that we are stewards of our environment and must help take care of all the critters living with us in this world. I’m happy to see so much beauty in all of your gardens and it gives me hope that we’re all in this together!