No snow here. Just a cold rain. I'm learning to watch certain roses to let me know when the rose season is over. Especially Rosa Rugosa. When it's foliage turns orange, then bright yellow then drops off, that's a pretty good hint. I do my winter garden different then most folks. Several yrs ago I visited Germany in Jan & Feb. Almost every lot and space had roses. I talked with a BUNCH off folks about their winter care of their roses. I liked what they did. Come early Dec, they take off the last blooms down to the first set of foliage. Then they strip all the foliage off each bush. If they have long wind whipped canes they put a long stake by that bush and tie them to the stake. I tried that method a couple of years ago and really like the overall effect. A little bit of work?? yeah, but come spring worth it. Even in a mild winter (last year), everything shut down for at least 90 days or more. No fungal problems at all come spring. No foliage for winter carry over at all. Plus, another good reason to keep my garden under 100 bushs. My garden is a place of enjoyment. NOT problems that tend to bother me.

Be patient with this one - especially if you have transplanted it recently. In my experience, most mopheads take a year or two to settle into their routine, though ES was faster initially. You may have seen all the panic posts last year about "ES not blooming" - give it some time and it will bloom for you - mine are starting their second cycle this year but probably won't go wild until fall....

We had 5 inches of snow this week. No more (in ground) gardening for me. I just need to mulch my rose bushes now that the ground has frozen. In a few more weeks, I'll begin wintersowing in milk jugs. Once I get all set for Yule/Christmas, I can start reviewing what seeds I need and can swap, and making some plans for next year. I already know what practices I'll try to improve on next year. In January, I'll send some soil for testing (only $10 in Jan!) What is anyone else up to?

These decks can also walk you down memory lane . . . as I was looking at mine not to long ago (given to me by my painter) I came across the color "whispering wind". It immediately brought me back to the Indian Maiden days with my daughter. In our Shoshoni tribe, my name was "Whispering Wind" and she was "Gentle Breeze". I wanted to use that color for that reason alone except it really didn't work into my color scheme.