Gotta second Barb, DD is my all time favorite rose (closely followed by Intrigue) and I too have seen a million people knock it for its lack of mildew/disease resistance. Yep. All too true. Frankly don't give a hoot. No one's come up with a rose with the knock out looks and unbelievable scent that _is_ disease resistent. Til they do, I'm willing to fight the problems just to get those blooms in my bedroom to wake up to!!! Anyway -- yes, I've grown 'em in containers. For 8 years I did it. I buried a few too, but as far as I'm concerned my yard wasn't complete without one or even two of 'em in it so here's my hints: 1. Make sure your container has really good drainage and plenty of room. DD is a big rose and should be given some room. Do not try to grow it in less than a 10 gal container, 15 better. Bigger is better. 1/2 whiskey barrels work quite nicely. Be sure that the container has several good-sized drainage holes (one little 1/2 inch thing in the middle is not going to do it. Don't put a layer of rocks/gypsum/etc. in the bottom. Just put a netting or something to keep the dirt from coming out the holes (I use the netting that the fancy tomatoes in the store come in). and use your blended potting mix to fill the container. (If you are worried about weight, mix some styrofoam peanuts _throughout_ the container, not just at the bottom. Do NOT let the pot sit in a saucer full of liquid -- if you have a saucer to protect your deck/etc., make sure that you have pot feet for your pot to keep the rose's roots from being swamped. (I use the bottle lids from bottled water) When planting, leave at least 1 1/2 inches in the top of your plant for fertilizing and watering. 2. Use a 3 to 1 mixture of high-nutrient (high-quality) potting soil to a high-quality cactus mix potting soil (to insure good drainage). Mix in a few tbsp full of a granulated hydrating polymer like Soil Moist or STA-Moist. 3. This rose will get powdery mildew if there's the slightest chance, so don't mess around. If you see little white spots of downy looking stuff show up on the leaves ___leap___ into action and a) pull off the affected leaves and b) spray. Same deal with Rust. Frankly on mine, I start spraying prophylactically with Safer garden fungicide as soon as the fog rolls in in June in my region. Sad, but DD is very susceptible to fungus stuff. 4. Water gently!!! Do not splash the leaves, especially do not splash the leaves with water bouncing up from the dirt in the plant. This encourages fungus stuff. 5. Keep your container in an area where it gets good air circulation. You cannot espalier this rose against a wall (unlike some roses like Royal Sunset that can live perfectly happily right up against other things) -- there just isn't enough air circulation to combat the susceptibility to fungus stuff. 6. Light/Heat: DD is actually pretty forgiving in terms of hours of sunlight/heat. While I wouldn't suggest planting it in shade, I have two that have done pretty darn well with only morning sun, even in a coastal area. They get direct sun from 7 am to about noon and have been just peachy. Granted the one that gets 10 am to 4 pm is bigger and produces more, the two morning ladies are perfectly respectable. 7. Fertilizing.... Hmmm. Well, I'm just a big fan of chicken poop. I sprinkle a cupful into the pot every month or so. During the big spring growth spurt, I add a sprinkle of Epsom salts a week after the second month's poop dose and they seem to go like gangbusters. Some time in mid summer after I've done a lot of cutting, I supplement the chicken poop routine with a fish emulsion dose (about 2 weeks after the chicken poop sprinkle) and then the following week do another Epsom salts dose.

Last year I found a bunch of these at Home Depot. I wasn't looking for a small hydrangea but I bought one. liked it so much I went back and bought 7!! I'm going to buy more this year also. They were a blooming machine, had fantastic fall color and they all survived what was one of the worst winters in CT in a very long time. And to add: I live in deer infested woods. I used Liquid Fence and so far they have been ignored. I honestly adore these hydrangeas.

I think the candies are beautiful. They will look lovely with the napkins. I love the idea of antique architectural elements, even to just to use them on the guest book table etc. will help set the tone. You can look in craft stores, such as Michaels. If you go to their web site, you can sign up to get coupons for 50%off emailed to you each week. That is what we have been doing. Also, I was going to make the runners, but then I found this site, http://www.tableclothsfactory.com/default.asp The satin runners are only $2.99! You cant make them for that! Funny you mentioned Martha. That is what my friends call me : ), so I am feeling a lot of pressure to get everything just right with this wedding. It is hard because my daughter has her ideas and it is her wedding. I am being the good mom, supporting what is in the budget and what I think will work and waiting her out on things I don't. (I bet she is telling her friends the same thing.) Have you been to the Martha Stuart wedding web site? It has plenty of ideas and photos. Robin Here is a link that might be useful: Martha Stuart weddings

Oh my, Allison I am sorry! I wondered how your DD2 became engaged and married so fast :-( I should have known you would at least have posted a dress issue or something on the conversations board with all that wedding talk! Very sorry for that misunderstanding. But initially the posts that crossed over to houzz were not dated, so I had no idea the thread was four years old. Now I see they are dated, although in the faintest possible ink color. (Houzz must have mostly 20 and 30 something users with better eyesight.) At any rate, the groom may not have been a keeper but the flowers were lovely!