You should have started indoor tomatoes in Feb for zone 6, I would wait and buy plants late April ,early May. Peas, including ornamental sweet peas now. Dill now, any flowering seeds that need stratification now(cleome, morning glories, etc). Onion sets, carrots, radishes now and potatoes anytime soon. Good luck...suggestion:buy a gardening book, or check one out at your local library for zone 6. I research like crazy,,then experiment. I live in zone 6, but sometimes can get away with zone 5 plants.

This has always been one of my favorite threads. Don't let it die. Today I shredded tons of paper -- by hand with not the greatest scissors. I really need a paper shredder.

La Marne is an excellent hedge rose, but not so much a solitary focal point. I have 6 around my mailbox with white lantana growing in around them. It is exquisite! Disney in Orlando using LaMarne as hedges EVERYWHERE! The even do this in their prized hybrid gardens in between the hybrid tea showcases are spaces hedged full of LaMarnes. This is an indispensable rose if used in a particular fashion that it is good for. It requires almost nonexistent care and is ALWAYS in bloom in southern climates. Take a look at Credenza. I had it recommended on here before from Pnut ( I haven't seen them post lately), and found it to be an excellent show case rose. It is considered a shrub rose. However, it has gorgeous blood red roses that cluster bloom continually and the bush is large and round and carefree.

Bebble, yes, I do have all three roses, in three different areas of my yard. I think you'll find that Natchitoches Noisette and La Marne aren't really all that similar. One is as soft and romantic as the other is crisp and cheerful, but I wouldn't let that stop me from using them together if that's what I wanted to do. But rather than looking for companion roses that closely resemble one or the other, I'd look for roses that maybe blend, color wise, but add different notes where bloom form and "attitude" are concerned. That way no one rose would stand out as not belonging to the group. A friend surprised me with cuttings from several roses collected during a visit with a rose growing Georgia relative last summer and Mevrouw Nathalie Nypels happened to be among them. I guess you could say it chose me rather than the other way around, just as La Marne has chosen you. She's a nice, healthy rose and I needed a shorty for the front of a bed that already had a fairly eclectic mix of roses, so she didn't have any difficulty finding a permanent home.