Thank you Olga and Connie. Your notes are very encouraging. :) I am looking forward to trying more Albas and Rugosas since they many of them are not worth growing here. I am fine with once bloomers--some of my favorites only bloom once. (Chestnut rose, Swamp rose, Fantin LaTour, Veilchenblau, Lady Banks) It is so hot and humid here, it's hard to imagine that the blackspot could be any worse. ??? Connie, April might be a bit optimistic for me to attend the Arlington presentation, (though I would love to), but I will absolutely be stopping at Hartwood as I cannot possibly take all my roses with me. :) I actually found your site a year or 2 ago while searching for Gothic Revival Houses (My husband and I love that style)on the Internet. You can imagine how wonderful it was when I saw that you grew and sold old-fashioned roses too! :) I am really looking forward to starting a new garden though leaving this one will be hard. Olga, I have so enjoyed your posts on Gardenweb. I am interested in the Kordes roses too--I read where Peter Beales called them "rudely healthy". ;) I was really excited when I realized that you lived in the MD/VA area! Hope we can meet some time when I am moved. Thank you both again. :)

Ian, When I brought inside the little tiny irises that someone gave me last fall I just planted them in a pot that had a tuberous begonia in it, where I had found some extra empty soil beside it. I labelled each iris and then I watered them only when I remembered to...inconsistantly like you mentioned you do. Because the iris had a little rhizome they were able to put up with my watering. I knew that I would lose them in the garden and rather than that I just planted them in the house. They are still alive, one year later. Sierra, I like your method of planting irises although it is similar to what I used to do. I wonder if that would work for Wendy. When I last planted tall bearded irises I had spread the roots, covered the rhizome roots with soil and mulched that area, leaving the rhizome on top of the soil. My flowerbeds get lots of snow cover and none of the twenty plus tall bearded irises that fall made it, except the one I had in a pot in the house. Gardening is sure trial and error. If Wendy's irises do not make it this year...there is always next year. In the small print in the 2004 Vesey's catalogue I have, behind the order form in a little box, the guarantee says..."We carefully pack and ship the bulbs to you at the proper planting time. If you're not happy with your bulbs when you receive them, we will replace them free of charge. Your total satisfaction is important to us." This guarantee does not say that they will guarantee that the bulbs/rhizomes will make it through the winter. Just that if you do not like the bulb you get in the fall, then they will guarantee that you will like it by replacing it free of charge. "If you are not completely satisfied with the condition of your bulbs and perennials when they arrive, we will gladly replace them free of charge." This quote is in the letter from the Pres. of Veseys.

Since it's always blossomed heavily for years (even though not growing very large, presumably from the shade), and what did grow was lush, whatever the variety is, I assumed it would grow big and with more vigor in the full sun. Soil is good - drains well, amended. It's been getting 1-2" rain water each week - June has been record rain here. I think it might be the "what's nearby" factor. It's on the fence line with the neighbor, who has a lawn service and I have no idea what they're treating on the other side of the fence. Their lawn goes right up to the fence - the clematis is only 2 inches away from the edge of their lawn. I'll just leave it be and see if it does anything in the next year or two. Would be a shame if it languishes there. Even though it didn't grow huge each year, it was always very lush and bountiful with blooms in it's old shady spot. I got "greedy" and wanted more than 2-3' - I wanted the "flower wall" on the fencing. I should have just left it where it's been all these years.

A load calculation is time they aren't selling a system, and once you have a good one, you don't need another. Some installers assume someone else will do it, some dislike wasting their time because it's not even close to even money they'll get your business unless they have a long history with you. These kind of calculations are often considered "unnecessary" once you say the old system worked OK. The problem is, you aren't qualified to know what OK really is. Also, a load calculation is malleable, which means that by adjusting assumptions, you can make it say whatever you want it to say. Mike and Tiger can certainly point you in the right direct for what assumptions should be made on your load calculations, but you'll need to read and understand it yourself. People will freak out and say, "Oh my God, my air conditioner is running all day" on the hottest day of the year...when that's exactly what it should do. I'm disappointed that no suggestion was made to you and/or that not even a cursory investigation was made regarding the too warm third floor. In addition to a load calculation, you need a plan for addressing the third floor issue from any installer. To make that plan, the bidder needs to know what is currentl;y installed, so anyone that bid without looking around a bid should be a red flag. The good news is you are already looking at matched systems and asking good questions. If you've been reading this forum long, you know the concerns about Lennox systems.