I hear all of you, but I live literally 2 minutes from Roses Unlimited. (heavy sigh) So there is no hope for me. My hubby told me I needed a hobby, so I chose roses. He was thinking more on the lines of model cars or puzzles....so it's his fault. He has given up on saying anything to me, since our kids are grown and I'm home all day by myself, I need to amuse myself....muuuuuahhhh! I told him yesterday that I needed him to fire up the roto-tiller for my new flower bed. He rolled his eyes and then promptly went out and fired that baby up. One pass through and now the rain comes, so maybe by monday I'll try again. I have to be ready you know.....for the new arrivals in april.

Hi Nastarana. I don't know of a specific source other than checking on Help Me Find to see what they list. I lost some of these myself although I know where I can get material to get them back. I have quite a bit of our old collection in pots on our farm and we are working on a permanent home for them. Once I've settled that we'll work on replacing what we've lost. Sorry I can't be of more help Paul

Kentucky - I have been trying to figure out how to make some raised beds- or raised pots for the front yard landscaping. I don't want the look of basic garden vegetable beds for around the front of the house though. I thought maybe I could dig 2 ft hole and put a 2 ft raised planter on top of it, that night work. I iam also thinking about making very big planters (they are ridiculously expensive to buy. I am not sure about the aestetic for my front landscaping, but after considering many materials and my craftsmanship capabilities I have a plan. I will just have to try it and see how it looks. It could sit above ground, part in ground or in ground. My design is 2"x2" wood frame cube (or taller) dark cedar stained (ECO friendly and plant safe). Side and bottom panels of 1" hardware cloth. Inner lining of natural burlap. It would sit on 8" concrete blocks (in ground) with the hole side up foradditional drainage. Inside bottom filled with river rocks then another lining of burlap to contain the soil and the plant and finally mulch on top, of course. It would have to be big enough to allow 3'x3' space for the roots to grow in the soil area. Again, the aestetic is the probelm (aside form all the hard work and digging). I think it wold look descent but odd. To build a retaining wall for the space under the front window of the house would not look right eiterh at the height I need it to be. I think the real solution is to pay for a backhoe to come in here and excavate the clay and then have new soil put in - way too expensive for me right now. I do have one narrow strip on the west side of the front yard that I am lining with concrete blocks to build up that soil area. I plan on very tall trellises lining that hill (all my land is hilly) and covering them with rose and jasmine vines as a privacy fence. The probelm is the area is part shade - never sunny and that is not goo for any of the plants I like. I bought the Charles Darrow Hybrid Musk for that location as it is reported by others to grow and bloom very well in shade. I also have some varieties of Jasmine that might do in that spot. I am also thinking of Camelias and Sky Pencil Holly. My Hollies are about 1ft tall now. It will be years before they grow big enough.

Thank you everyone! All of you have been an inspiration. Marlorena, you are so kind. I have a particular fondness for English gardens, not just roses, but the gardens in general, such beauty! Vaporvac, I do have many fragrant roses, unfortunately my sense of smell isn’t very strong, so I can rarely detect the fragrances in the air, I have to be close to them to enjoy the fragrance, but I definitely would rather they be fragrant. When I bring bouquets in the house occasionally I will pick up the fragrances, but not always. I love climbers, you must have a beautiful yard. altorama, I sure enjoyed the pictures you posted on the Climbing Roses thread, you have some beauties! I am very excited to see what Lavender Lassie does, I’ve certainly admired the pictures. flowersandmusic, thank you, I imagine your roses are beautiful! I’ve always enjoyed having lots of color in my beds, even though a lot of times pink dominates, but I do have varying shades of it. My biggest problem at times is planting a rose in the front row, when it should have been in the back, HMF isn’t always the best source for determining how tall a rose will get, I get it wrong occasionally. There are so many people in this area who don’t think they could grow roses, but all I know is there are some varieties and classes that work, and some that don’t, just like anywhere else. Every year is different, some better than others, but always worth the effort, I wouldn’t want to be without my roses!