I hesitated about writing this post because I'm so bummed about what Melissa and Bart are enduring in this endless hot and dry summer. But then I thought, surely I deserve to feel some hope after losing all my roses three years ago, living without a single one until recently and then losing dozens of young roses again. Now the squirrel population seems to be considerably decreased, as far as I can tell, and my latest batch of own-root roses is putting on new growth, and even the one rose that they ate all the leaves off is slowly putting out tiny leaves again. As I mentioned on another thread I took the advice of someone to put used kitty litter down the squirrel holes that were nearby and since then I'm seeing significantly fewer squirrels in the rose area.

This morning I had the gardener cut down an ugly juniper that is in that area which will free up more space for roses and had him trim back a large Ficus Benjamina to allow more light to reach them. I feel that I've reached a new level of hope and happiness and wanted to share that with all of you. I can't thank you enough for the love and support you've given me over these past months of uncertainty and experimentation.