Here is another erstwhile poster, now more lurker. I do hope to be on GW more regularly again. Through family circumstances I have for a long time not been able to do much in the garden, but this year I was able to do a lot, and even buy three new roses! I lost my favourites to rust: Heritage, Belle Story, Nahéma and even R. virginiana plena. Another great rose, Fighting Temeraire, just up and died a few years ago :-(. I cannot get it any more.

Rick, I waited replying here till I could show you a rose you mentioned here, The Reeve.

It stayed with me through neglect and overgrowth of the perennials around it. I now freed it from its neighbours, and treated it to compost and some fertilizer. It has come back nicely, this is its first flower this year. There are five or six other survivors too. Funny thing is that I never have black spot, only rust.

The new ones are Queen of Denmark, The Lark Ascending, and Bolero.

Anyway, I was happy to find this thread, and also sad to see that people I used to know here are not posting any more, like Ingrid, and Lisa with her beautiful kitty.

I hope to be here again on and off.

Welcome back, gdinieontarioz5. I'm glad to see people's experience with roses that grow in very different conditions than mine. It sometimes amazes me to see some roses that appear to have no boundaries where they will thrive and others that seem to require the most exacting specific conditions to even survive.

I also like to hear what problems everyone has to fight. For example, I've never had a rose with rust here but fight blackspot all the time.

Ten years ago I was novice rose grower, looking for a way to grow a flourishing rose garden, in zone 4 and dappled shade. I read too many books and spend hours deciding what to do and found a lot of help and encouragement. After a silly disgreement on a non-gardening matter, I signed off. At the time my handle was true-blue.

In a way, it was ok. After all looking at roses that I couldn't grow, because of the shade or hardiness wasn't too helpful.

All I had to do was to wait for the roses to grow and they have now, after 10 odd years.

Gardening and rose gardening is especially fraught these day with climate change. Roses flower twenty days earlier and snow coverage is spotty and extreme weather is a norm. In some ways, the shade trees which make the roses flower less, protect them from being battered to death by violent thuder storms.

If I have the energy I might post about growing roses in cold zones and shade.

Bob, how great to "see" you! I'd wondered why you had fallen off the face of the earth and am delighted you've resurfaced. I hope all is good at your house and you'll not be such a stranger here! Welcome "home"! Kim

I've also been a long time lurker, very occaisional poster.

For me Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValleyhas been the person who always answered my questions, and stuck with it when I had 26 follow up questions as a newbie. I have taken much of her advice and I can't say I've ever been disappointed by a single rose she suggested.

I was hoping to post pics of my once horrible area along my back driveway she gave me so much advice on, but I lost one climber over the winter, so it's not photo worthy this year.

Paul Barden does post rose pics on Instagram, and very occasionally sells bands of his own roses. I managed to get Carolyn Supringer and Angry Juno from him last year.

Vap is who recommended Viking Queen to me and she is great!

@roseseek, hi Kim. Glad to be back. I occasionaly come back once a year around this time. Everything is a bit slower at the homestead. This year, I left the garden at its own device, and it bloomed much more better than the other years. Maybe it was the slow release fertilzer, which I normally never use :).

Btw, did you ever manage to find the oringial Francis Dubreuil Rose? ;)

No, Bob, I doubt that exists these days. Good for you to have discovered the timed release fertilizer! Now, you know! LOL!

Yeah, much easier to spread and use than manure. So good to talk you again. 🙏🙏🙏

Thanks, sir, and you, too!

Another former poster was Father Jerome, a resident of a monastery in southern California. How I enjoyed his posts! His responsibilites at the monastery became greater with some changes there (including a move to a new location), and he no longer had time to post.

I think Steve/Rosebud had some disputes with others in the rose world (not us) that led him in a different direction. He was a wonderful man. He and several other rose people came to my house for dinner one year when the ARS held its annual event in San Jose. Cindi was there as well.

I also met John CA many years ago when I was passing along some roses. He came to my house along with his family. At the time he was involved with tomato breeding.

There have been many amazing people on this forum over the years!

Oh, and I just remembered Girl Group Girl who also went by the name of GGG, back from the days of Spike, which is the 1990's to those of you who were not here back then. She was restoring an old 1920's house somewhere in the southeast USA and was planting a garden of period-appropriate roses to adorn it. She was a stitch! I so enjoyed her posts. If you are still out there GGG, I wish you well!

I emailed John and let him know we missed him here.

I missed Father Jerome too. His garden was so beautiful!

There was a poster named Michael/Mike, he was also a rose pro, I heard he is on the other rose forum now.

Wonderful to hear from everyone and hear some welcome names from the past. I was lurking on these forums as early as maybe 2003 in the Spike days, and recognize most of the names posted. I also miss Olga who had common sense recommendations for OGRs and cold weather roses, Celeste with fabulous posts of hardy roses in zone 4, and Digger Dave. I still smile when I see Digger's posts on HMF and rely on his insights about roses to this day. I wonder if Digger Dee that posts occasionally here is any relation? I think the couple that grew roses in Wyoming were Dave and Dee.

Thanks for the lovely comments Rick & Kentucky Rose & Moses. I'm back to posting as I can on GW after about 4 years off and on with my RRD dramas. Thanks to everyone too for helping me get perspective in the aftermath. Rick, I regret that the RRD situation cropped up as I was preparing to send you and Jon some cuttings of relatively rare roses that I had, particularly some Barden, old Austin, and OGRs. I did get some cuttings sent to Mindy at Hummingbird and she still may have the parent plants she grew from them. Nowadays I only have what is commercially available or gifted from generous GW friends.

Great thread Brandon!

Cynthia

Does anyone know if Campanula (Suzie) still posts? The last time I saw her was on the perennial forum, a good while ago.

Look on the perennial forum for Rosaprimula. She is still a regular there!

@gdinieontarioz5 That's good to know. I don't frequent the perennial forums, but I was thinking that she had changed her user name. Thanks!

Didn't Campanula post here, further up on this thread? Under Rosa Primula, the name she's been using since she left (after a difference of opinion with others over the merits or otherwise of Gloire de Dijon became a little overheated, if I remember correctly!) :-D and later returned again, incognito until we all guessed who it was! Hard to mistake her gentle tones and delicate English turns of phrase... She did post on this forum (Antique and/or regular Roses) under the new name, a while ago. I miss her too, along with many other old names that I don't think have been mentioned here, yet...

Remember Fog Rose, Mendocino Rose, and a lady called Janet (IIRC...?) from somewhere in Florida? Sherri Ocala...? It's good to see Marlorena (from Norfolk, England) posting again, if only occasionally. Probably many more. Daisy in Crete, and Nik the Greek are a great loss, both having had serious health issues, I believe. We had such a great international community of rose lovers, and characters! - which was so interesting and enjoyable to me.. That lovely lady with the stunning place in Italy, whose name I've forgotten... I miss Christopher (Aqua Eyes) of course, and Jeri when she posted more often on general topics - both so knowledgeable.. Oh, and Virginia, of course - she was a great loss to the Antique Roses forum, I thought. Many of these departures due entirely to Houzz's nonsense. That, along with the virtual merging of the two Rose forums and other changes have reduced the ARF to a shadow of its former, vibrant self, sadly. I know too, many people have had to stop gardening and/or growing old roses for health, climate change and other reasons.

I mostly only lurk these days since I haven't been able to garden for many years now due to ill health, and have by now forgotten most of what I used to know, so I hesitate to offer comment, other than (slightly envious) admiration of others' achievements! But I still love old roses, and hope that, if I can possibly get myself back to England, and somewhere with a garden, my health may improve somewhat and I might just manage to grow a few again! Even one would be good! :-) In any case, much love to all. <3 <3

O, Comtesse, I wish you the best! I hope so much that you can get back to England and back to gardening. I love your posts! sincerely Eileen

Oh, goodness, thank you Eileen! That's so very kind of you... I do continue to have some quite challenging (and possibly not obvious) cognitive/ neurodiversity issues, so it's lovely to know my efforts have been enjoyed by some at least! Actually, being a part of this Forum was one of the ways I was able to build/rebuild my ability to form coherent thoughts, in actual words and sentences! Always a handy skill.. And it kept me in touch with the wider world (and fellow human beings) at a time when my physical and social worlds were contracting dramatically. So, another reason to be grateful for this forum, the magic of old roses, and all the lovely people who've come and gone here over the years.

I wish you all the best too, though I actually worry when I read your posts about the physical struggles you have to put yourself through, in such difficult conditions, to create and maintain that little piece of paradise over there in Italy... I hope very much you sometimes have the chance to sit back and enjoy all the beauty you've created - to stop and smell the roses, literally... <3

Incidentally, I tried to work out the Latin for that, once, since I was dreaming of inscribing it over an outdoor clock (or on a sundial perhaps) in some future rose garden...something like:

Tempus Est Ut Rosis Olfacies - it's time to smell the roses, or

Memento Morare Et Olfacies Rosas - remember to stop and smell the roses...

(at least, that's what Google Translate tells me they mean..)

Just an idea that appealed to me, anyway.

(What? - Too pretentious? - Moi ??) :-D :-D

Comtessedelacouche, I love your idea about have the garden inscription in Latin!

Heya Comptesse...I would never flounce over a flowery dispute (not even the miffy GdD). I was actually banned from the infamous Hot Topics. True, I sulked for a while and Houzz wouldn't let me back until I opened a sock puppet account (I did do 'bellflower' for a bit but got rumbled).

Mind, in the intervening period of having NO-ONE to chat garden stuff with, I nagged and bullied the offspring so much they eventually caved, one by one until all 3 are now gardeners of one stripe or another...so there's that to be said for feeling hard done by and ignored.

My roses have been my undoing tho'. Loving enormous ramblers and wild monster species meant eventually dealing with what actually turned into a vicious wildwood, salvageable only with some brutal chainsaw action. I took to teeny tiny alpines quicksmart but bored myself almost to death. There are still a few roses left (which are either too terrifyingly massive to attempt removal or cunningly situated at the extreme ends of my plot so passing on the thorny attack risks to unsuspecting pedestrians and council workers - since roses seem to know no boundaries...a bit like toddlers or teenagers...with weaponry..

Soz to hear of your health issues.CdlC..i really hope you make it back to a more temperate and possibly forgiving climate for a bit of gentle pottering.

Comtesse, are you perchance a fellow fan of the old but evergreen "Fawlty Towers"? I love that show; too bad only a few episodes are findable on Internet,but I often re-watch them.

Anyway, thanks for thinking of me. Actually I worry myself, too, I keep on telling myself to slow down,but it's hard to do when you are an obsessive-compulsive type like myself,and the ever-increasing problems caused by climate change work against me; I'm still not done with fixing all the damages caused by extreme weather back in the autumn. For example, the loss of the fountain that was my source of water has made building some new rain-harvesting roof structures urgent,and they are hard to build! I've got the first one almost done, but now the weather will be getting too hot for me to get much more done until autumn O, well, I always get depressed with the arrival of summer. But the garden inscription idea is a good one-a reminder to not let things get so intense that we forget to actually APPRECIATE life!

Good to have you back Camps (rosaprimula) and Comtesse! We've missed your input and appreciate your humor and insights on gardening in all its forms. Thanks for being tenacious enough to manage your health and environments and tech barriers to join us again.

Cynthia

Almost no one remembers me, which is kind of sad. I do lurk once in a while but I'm sure that folks would agree with me that it has changed here a great deal. Hi everyone. I've decided to post once in a while.

Mendocino Rose, I am so glad to see you posting here once again!

Mendocino Rose, welcome back! It's been several years since I've seen you post or comment. I may have missed a post somewhere, but gosh, I know it's been eight or nine years since I've seen you around. Again, welcome back.

Mendocino Rose, visiting your garden twice in the early-to-mid 2000s was two of my all-time greatest rose experiences. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I was friends with Susan Byers, if that jogs your memory. You are one of the most knowledgeable, kind, and gracious rose people I've ever met. Thanks for allowing me to see your garden, and enjoy your hospitality all those years ago :-D

Of course I still remember you Susan, and I am still growing Susan's Rose.

I'm glad to be posting Rosefolly.

Hi Fig. I guess I became really frustrated with Houzz in the beginning. I know it's been a long time, but here I am.

I remember you, Mendocino!

I also remember you, Rosaprimula when you posted under your other name.

Me too! I happily remember you both.

Mendocino, how nice that you remember me. I look back with great fondness on my many northern Calif. rose road trips from the 2000s. Unfortunately, I lost my "Susan's Rose" more than 10 years ago. I worked hard to try to figure out its I.D., but was never successful. Very cool that you still have it. I wonder if they still grow it at the SJHRG? It was labeled "Ramat Gan (not)". IIRC, the real Ramat Gan was an Israeli rose.

Susan, I don't remember if it was labeled. It is certainly tall! I have it planted next to Memorial Day, also very tall. I haven't been to San Jose for while.

Mendocino, it was actually labeled at the SJHRG as "Ramat Gan (not)", because they got it as that rose, but it wasn't. Yeah, I think it's been close to 15 years since I've been to the SJHRG :-(

It's been a long time since I last visited gardenweb, but I'm so glad that I came here today and happened upon this thread. I'm very touched that I haven't been completely forgotten, and it is so great to see some dearly remembered names.

I only have one rose now, Wild Edric; all the others that were newly planted have been eaten by the ground squirrels and the last-five I purchased that were still in pots are also now almost gone. Wild Edric is a gaunt but still thriving six feet tall which earlier in the year had a total of fifty buds. There are a lot fewer now but I can still see a few colorful blooms and buds through my living room window. I'm mostly house-bound now as I'm really weak, but still enjoy life and am so grateful for many blessings. I'm sending lots of love to all of you who still remember me and to the newer members who are carrying on the wonderful tradition of growing roses, and especially the older roses that quite a few of us still love best.

Wild Edric

Newest crop of baby ground squirrels which are awfully cute:

Ingrid! How lovely to hear from you again! Glad that you still have Wild Edric (and your Chinese porcelain). And that you can even call the young ground squirrels ’cute’!

Oh, Ingrid, so great to hear from you! I'm glad you are still kicking. You were right about climate change obviously.

I am loving my Teas and all my roses.

Of course, La France. I wish the best for you and Cecil.

Ingrid, it is so good to see you posting. I have missed hearing from you. It sounds like those ground squrrels have won this one . Thank you for the many years of great advice and encouragement.

Sheila, seeing your beautiful La France almost brought me to tears. Thank you! It's amazing how strong our love for particular roses can be. How lovely of you to remember my husband, who is still at my side and the greatest comfort of my life.

I remember every one of the people mentioned here, and to see Comtesse de la Couch and Mendocino Rose posting here and now is overwhelming. It made me so happy! I cannot think of a more wonderful group of people and to have been a part of it all for many years has been the greatest privilege.

Ingrid and Mendocino and everyone - so wonderful to see you posting! Even with only one rose or no roses, we miss your perspectives and positive reactions to adversity. Ingrid, you've had your share of all of the above, and here's to a long and healthy bloom from Wild Edric and baby ground squirrels that find something else to eat a long way away from you.

Cynthia

Well said, Cynthia; I'm glad to hear from both . Ingrid, I wish you and your DH the best.. I also hope that at least once in a while you'll keep posting. I myself just sort of ignore those sticklers that insist that everything must be rigorously "on topic", lol. I love reading Melissa's posts, for example,and they are by no means only/always about roses! The thing is that Cynthia is so right-your perspectives are important. I, for one, would be very interested to know if you have other plants still growing in your garden, and for a very real reason-I have to make some mega changes in my own overly-large "garden" to render it sustainable. For one thing, I want to gradually move all the roses into one specific,relatively accessible "zone"of the garden,eliminating those that aren't doing well,and fill in the empty spots with undemanding plants and TREES. Since I know that your climate is very harsh, dry and hot,it would be a big help to hear your opinions about this sort of thing. Mendocino, I don't remember your garden situation as well as I do that of Ingrid, but the same goes for you. Best wishes to all!

bart, I truly wish I could be of help, but the plantings on my property, which adhere strictly to the rule of survival of the fittest, are very uninspiring. The only recent plants are all oleanders, because that is the only thing the ground squirrels will not touch. I do also have the smaller variety of crape myrtle, which the critters will eat, but all the trees have survived so far. The remainder of the plantings are mature and much too large I imagine to be of interest to you, nor do I know their names, except for the pepper trees, as they were here when we bought the house. We did also plant four Italian cypresses which are still doing well without regular watering. Oh, also an unknown variety of ceanothus, which does not get watered and doesn't look great for a majority of the time. There is also a ficus benjamina which in our zone grows into a very big tree. There is nothing here to inspire anyone, although I'm impressed that on our hilly, sloping property there are still plants that are surviving. Considering the grim future in terms of global warming what is here today may soon also be gone.

Ingrid, I was happy to see your name here. I've had a lot of thoughts about drought tolerant plants. There are actually some beautiful things that ask for nothing, like the Chaste Tree. I've been working on a bed in the front of the house with these kinds of plants. I believe there is always a way. It's just pretty hard to have the English Rose Gardens that we dream of.

I used to think that only a garden filled with roses could make me happy, but now the rich pink/purple blooms of one rose seen through my living room window can elicit almost the same emotion. One learns and adjusts, and I suspect that is one of the important things we're meant to understand.

Ill jump in and say hello all, I used to post a lot but havent posted too much lately. Still growing roses and still pulling weeds. Its fun to see that some are still left from the old days.

I'm glad to hear that Ingrid. I'm doing my best to adjust as my garden and I age.

Welcome back Al and thanks for chiming in!

Cynthia

I haven’t posted for ages, but I remember most all of you, and the great advice you have given over the many years.