Not plants, but I've entered livestock and hope to enter poultry in the future. My show gander got into a tiff and got feathers pulled out of his neck, so now I can't show him this summer. I hadn't considered entering plants. Our fair is too early for most of what I grow, but I might have apricots that I could enter. It would be fun.

I used to grow Autumn Damask and liked it. It did well for about 8-10 years then declined, possibly due to our lack of winter chill, though there are other possible factors. I tend to think it is the other factors that were at fault, given that Jeri says she can grow it in southern California. You will not have to worry about lack of winter chill, though. Even your milder winters are much colder than mine. In your climate I would expect the main spring/early summer bloom, to be followed by a repeat in fall. Here it cycled in and out of bloom several time over the summer, but according to what I've read, that is a product of my climate. I never grew it when I lived in your part of the world years ago, so I can't say from personal experience. Fragrant and pretty as it is, be prepared for a plant that looks a bit shaggy and uncouth, fine for a back yard or a wild border, but not a well-groomed plant for a sophisticated border. It is well worth growing, but best paced where its strengths, not its weaknesses, are revealed. Are you familiar with the old rose exhibition garden in Ohio? It is called the Garden of Roses of Legend and Romance, and it is affiliated with Ohio State University. It would be a great advantage to you to see these roses growing in conditions similar to your own before making your selections. They hold an Open Garden in June, and I believe they generally sell roses at that event. Rosefolly Here is a link that might be useful: Garden of Roses of Legend and Romance

I grew this plant several years ago under a large water oak tree. I really liked this plant - it did bloom a lot and didn't require any care. However, when we had the water oak removed, I transplanted the indigo to another bed that had no tree root competition. It started to spread so rapidly that I sadly decided to get rid of it. If I had a contained planting area surrounded by cement (or some other substantial barrier) I would probably grow this again because I liked it so much; but my experience was that without the tree root competition it was what I would consider invasive. In doing research, I found that there are several types of indigo, and some reported to spread more than others. Also, I seem to remember that some sources thought that the different kinds were often confused in commerce.

Old white roses...not as many as I wish. Aimee Vibert, as you know, which is probably even more of a gamble than KPV. I have White Pet and Marie Pavie, which are reliable must-haves, small and worth squeezing in somewhere, especially since they're both shade tolerant. White Pet has those adorable pink buds, and Marie is so graceful. A couple years ago I decided to focus on smaller roses to give myself room for more variety. So no MAC for now. One large (maybe old) white I grow and highly recommend is Darlow's Enigma. I will probably try to find room for Alba Semi Plena. I know a very old specimen growing in z6 and I really admire its simple elegance. I tried and discarded the portland Blanc de Vibert. It was grafted on multiflora and as odd as it sounds, I think this made it overly vigorous. The growth was ungainly and overwhelmed the lovely but hopelessly infrequent blooms, Portland blooms are short stemmed so if the foliage is too prominent the blooms get lost. I'd like to give it a try own root. Mme Pierre Oger is not completely white but might appeal to you. It's been incredibly hardy and vigorous for me. Delicate translucent white petals tinged with pink. I couple of my favorite "old style" whites are Fair Bianca and Francine Austin.