May is great Linda, I didn't realize you had IHT :) That will be perfect since hopefully some of mine will have grown some by May and be ready for some soft wood cuttings. I just glanced down your list again, and there's quite a few of yours I'm interested in too (Rosendorf Sparrieshoop, Lordy Oberon, Nathalies High Hills, Duke of York, Cramoisi Superieur...to name a few) Should be a great exchange!

monarda.. ..thanks so much for that interesting link, I did enjoy reading that article from the NY Times... the part I found most enlightening was that in 1947 they had a black lady win the Miss Subways contest, - a Brooklyn College student,... because in the BBC Proms production this year which I so enjoyed and mentioned upthread, - about the best thing I've seen on t.v. all year - they had a black actress play the role of 'Miss Turnstiles'... I admit to questioning how realistic that may have been in the 1940's, and this does take place during wartime, but this has answered my question... ..in fact, they had a number of ethnic actors in this performance amongst the ensemble cast, all of whom were quite excellent and as a group almost stole the show for me.. I loved all the songs, but perhaps 'I Can Cook Too' is my favourite and actress Louise Dearman just sang and acted it to perfection... I almost learnt the words off by heart..

We had a remarkably early stat to Spring this year, even for here. It started with our actual first rain since April '21 - on Oct 15th, 2021, it rained 6 inches here in one day, and two to three times that on the nearby hills where our local water reservoirs are. Unheard of for so much rain all at once for the first rain - usually they are just sprinkles, and the heavy rain does not come until Nov. Anyway, that started all of the plants off. Unfortunately the rain stopped in Jan, and we have not had much since, but we have had sun and medium to warm temps every night, and I can only recall one night with frost the next morning. So, bulbs were starting to come up in Dec., and in Jan many of my teas and chinas were starting to bloom, and the progression has continued. Lovely, perfect weather so far -not hot at all. Want more rain of course, but the blooming flowers and sunny days with perfect temps put a smile on everyone's face. Jackie

straw, from what I can gather Lauren is a larger, taller plant than Baby Faurax and other purplish polyanthas (I've had Lavender Mist and Violet Hood) and seems to be an excellent rose in every way. As always it has to be grown in one's own conditions to make a final judgment. When I look at my Rose Book (a notebook that's falling apart now) I'm actually appalled at how many roses I bought and often quickly discarded because for quite some time I didn't really understand that roses need at least three years to show their true character. I was also wild to try as many roses as possible because there was always another rose that just might be more interesting, more beautiful or better in some nebulous way. I had serious "rose fever" for many years!