Ingrid Although roses are...well..roses, swapping some decorative yet drought-tolerant shrubs and perennials for your not-so-heat-tolerant roses might salve your separation anxiety and enhance the beauty of the roses that are keepers. In the thread "Are Roses your Favorite Flower," I replied that roses reside nearest my gardening heart but then proceeded to list all the other flowering shrubs and perennials that serve to court my queens. My supporting cast of of fragrant and colorful companion plants plays a role similar to that of the white butterfly bush leaves in your 'President Carnot' arrangement. The silken rosy sheen of 'Carnot' is a thousand times richer because it is framed by the silver grey foliage of Buddleia davidii. A rose alone is like a queen without a country. Because my lot is about 75% smaller, I currently have half as many roses as I did at my last residence. Through the process of necessary reduction, I have discovered which roses are like air and water to me, which are those that truly sustain my soul when regularly encountered in the intimacy of my own garden. I have also learned which ones are lovely to visit but equally enjoyable from a greater sensual distance. It's wonderful that they're in the world, but I don't need to be with them every waking hour. I feel confident you will develop strong feelings for those roses which are your own true loves, the ones that display a developed sense of reciprocity and offer as much as you give. These will be the loyal ones, the ones that are steadfast and determined to stand shoulder to shoulder through the thick and thin of passing seasons. If you are like me, you will love a few roses of weaker constitution. You will embrace them flaws and all and tuck them into pots so that you may carefully dote and savor. I predict that rose relationships which are delicious but benign flirtations will cool, and if you are surprised by chance encounters, you will remember these roses as you do high school sweethearts. The pleasant memories will remain but the heartache of separation will be a distant memory. New relationships: if you are seeking more Buddleias, please let me know. In all my previous experiments, butterfly bushes have rooted like rabbits. I can offer B. davidii 'Black Knight,' B. davidii 'Harlequin,' and B. 'Lochinch.' Sharing your challenges: Annie's Annuals has so many plants I'd like to grow, but the poor buggers just croak in my cold, wet clay. They scoff at my amendment attempts. Some examples of hot dry climate perennials/annuals I'd like to grow but can't: Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies,' Eschscholzia californica (any please!), Agastache, Calochortus, Geum, any lavender but L. angustifolia and the odd L. stoechas (can't grow 'Night Wings' or 'Madrid Blue' to save my life), Oenothera (please forgive me all who are trying to eradicate this one), Penstemon, most sages, and Nemophila maculata 'Baby Five Spot.' I'd (almost) kill for the last one! Maybe you and I will have an opportunity to experience vicarious fulfillment as we post photos of our gardens from oh-so-opposite climates. If you successfully grow any of the above as rose companions, please do not hesitate to share. You'll hear my mixed sigh of envy and joy traveling down the I-5 corridor! With gardener's sympathy, Carol This post was edited by PortlandMysteryRose on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 6:51

I am left handed, but I can write with the right in a pinch. I actually write the best and easiest from right to left on the page - my brother is a lefty also, when we were in high school we used to write essays from right to left and almost always got high marks just for the ingenuity of it - the teacher would have to hold the paper to a mirror to read it. My Mother always said that I was right handed when I was born, but my older brother put the crayon in the left and after a while I just followed him... Suzan J

I wish I knew more! I only have 14 windows (including an original which was removed by a PO). I guess as I move along to other windows, I may find out more info. Or, not.... I did some research over the weekend. I did find out that my street was part of the first section of my neighborhood to originally be constructed. The area was original purchased for development in 1907. It was annexed by the city, officially, in 1914. There were houses here that early, but, in an 'unofficial' settlement capacity and not part of a formal city/township.

Hey, I found this company that provides new modern looking handholds in several colors. The industry definitely needed a contemporary alternative to those old "soap dish" style handholds of the past! Here is the website: Streamline Supply Co.