I just wanted to thank everyone so much for your very helpful suggestions! I was out yesterday, so I didn't have the chance to write back yet. HoovB, thank you, thank you, thank you for the tips on cool versus warm pinks... The area where the "cool-colored" miniature rose and Zephirine will go will be so pretty with the strong purples and cool pinks! I lined up some of the purples from the meadow sage and veronica I got and man! what a huge difference...I am so excited to plant that I can hardly stand it... and yes, HoovB I am absolutely crazy about both my Lincolns... You are so right in that they are both cool and "hot"! they go with anything under the sun practically...That Lincoln red and the orange of my gladiolus is so striking and just like you described it looks magnificent against yellows and golds as well. Even when I prop up the deep purples just for the heck of it, against the Lincolns, it still looks very attractive... I did check the hardiness level of all my climbers and new wish list roses and yes, they all can take zone 5... the only exception as Rita described is Royal Sunset and Sutter's Gold (zone 6 and above)...Not surprisingly they are same lineage... My zone is actually 5/6... There is actually a split in opinion about what zone Kansas is. My nursery calls it 5, garden centers call it 6. Online 70% call it zone 6. I call it zone 5 because even though we have very mild winters (any snow we get immediately melts away within 2 days or less), we will have sudden drastic, unpredictable freezes (that again last a day) in March which wreak havoc for roses. Many roses are fooled into breaking dormancy and that's where the trouble is... Rita and AthenCecilia I have to find out how long it takes for a climbing rose to climb back up when it dies to the ground... I will be investing in a lot of winter protection as well...someone from zone 5 was very happy with his Royal Sunset but did mention every year it'd die back to the ground...America is sold in Kansas, so I am assuming it does well here. I really am counting on my Garden-ville sea tea too, Henri...it has been a real miracle worker for me against winter and root trauma... Athenainwi, thanks too for your wonderful suggestion...I will need to use your method for several herbs (which are not blooming yet) and for all the new young root roses that I will be getting from Roses Unlimited...What a clever smart idea... Roseberri, Greenhaven, and Henri, wish me luck and Powerhouse to Green-ville Sea Tea...(and of course the good 'ole horse manure that I'll be dumping into my new climbing rose lot this winter, lol!) I am not looking forward to that messy endeavor, hee-hee!

Thanks Kal I love Lowes also. I have spent MORE time over at Lowes than I hany ANY OTHER place in NC (besides my home/yard). I find myself very 'alone' when it comes to gardening in this park. Others think I'm nuts for putting this kind of $ into a trailer yard that I don't even own (own the trailer but rent the lot). I have no illusions about 'moving out' & into a real home one day, (been there, done that). That is the most heard excuse that I hear. Like you said, I've tried to make this a home. I have no tolerance for laziness. My next project is to put in a small pond by the front patio. I added to the patio last fall. Thought I would never get that concrete in. A real mess. Thanls again for the feedback. Ruth

Thank you Dahr-ling! I do love that Lilac rose. Awwww...that was so thoughtful of you to think of me! Your garden is full of color and vitality. Mine is just sitting there...on hold. Everything in your garden looks healthy and so pretty! I bet with all those beautiful roses and irises blooming, your garden smells delicious. I only wish irises could have a longer blooming period. I can sit out in the garden and sniff and sniff and sniff their yummy scent for hours. I love red roses, too, and I must say. WS 2000 is AWESOME! (swooning..) I actually like red and purple together, especially with yellow gold. Very regal colors. I like deep red with bold, bright yellows, white, purples, blues, turquoise, oranges and some shades of pink, HOT Tropical colours, with Caribbean blues, but never with demure Pastels. It just depends upon the shades and the hues of red.. I do NOT like pinky-washed-out-reds. If it is going to be red, I want my roses to bloody well be a true red, a Christmas red, a juicy apple red, or a cherry red, or a deep crimson red...or it's Off with their heads! Off with their Heads!

You probably won't find either locally, maybe Cecile, but call around. Sickles in Little Silver doesn't show either on their availability list neither does Barlow's. Ashdown is an excellent vendor, if you get a person depends on when you call, but they e-mail promptly during the week, and Paul Z. the owner usually responds over the weekend if he is not travelling. Chamblees, Antique Rose Emporium, Roses Unlimited, Countryside Roses and Moore's Roses are all excellent vendors of own-root roses. Pickering and Palatine sell grafted roses on multiflora rootstock, which is excellent in NJ. You can use Google.com to search for the wes sites. Here is a link that might be useful: Search at Helpmefind.com