Wirosarian -- I agree with everything you said. If those of us who do not exhibit choose to discount everything rose show aficionados have to say about growing good roses, then we're doing ourselves a great disservice. Of the volumes in my gardening library, Robert B. Martin's "Showing Good Roses" is among the most valued. It's 496 pages is packed with info that's extremely helpful to exhibitors and nonexhibitors alike. The book is poorly edited, and the lack of an index sometimes drives me to distraction, but I find myself referring to it time and again. I ordered mine years ago from Rosemania. I think they still carry it.

Claire, so nice to see the snowdrops! I love watching the seasons change, but we haven’t gotten anywhere close to seeing bulbs sprouting yet. Deanna, it is the dog, not necessarily my own motivation that gets me out into the woods and fields regardless of the weather. But once I am out there I really enjoy it. Most days we do three walks as he is fairly high energy, so we are out for more than an hour most days. He has learned to pause when my cell phone camera or my pruners are in use. I don’t usually have my real camera with me. Today our breaks will be quite short with temperatures in the single digits into the teens and 40 mph winds. The dog is too small to retain much body heat, even with a jacket when the wind chills are like this, and in the woods where we typically go when it is breezy, it will be too dangerous with such strong winds bringing down branches.

I thought someone started an April thread, I don't see it? I wanted to say that it is 20F on my back porch this morning. Does anyone else find that shocking? It's still dark out, but I'm afraid to go out and look at what the garden has to look like. Anyone else having temperatures that low this morning? I just went out and checked again, to make sure I was seeing it right. Still 20F. I looked at the forecast and right now it's supposed to be 26F. I just checked out 2 more different forecasts. One that is embedded in the top of my search engine is reporting that it is 27F in my town right now. But the National Weather Service reports it at 23F so at least they are close, but what does that say about my property? Am I in some microclimate? I planned on working outside early and digging a bed out and some other things. Is the ground going to be frozen? I'm thinking I might get a later start than I planned. I'm feeling bad that I didn't cover anything or bring in my winter sown containers which would have been easy, but I haven't thought it was going to get more than a couple of degrees lower than freezing.

I love creeping phlox and envy my neighbors who have swaths of it draping over walls! I have neither decent phlox nor a wall to drape it over lol. So today I did something I've never done in my gardening life. I went to the garden center and bought some annuals before Mother's Day. I don't usually do this because it's just way too early here. But the last few years one can go first thing in the morning the day after Mother's Day and there is nothing left. I don't know if it's a supply issue or the supposed new hordes of gardeners since the pandemic, or a combination of both. So by the time I usually go, early June, there's definitely nothing left. So I bought a few annuals for my pots, and then got home and tried to figure out how to keep them. This was my solution: The frame contributes nothing lol. It was an old cold frame I dragged out, hoping to start my dahlia tubers early, only to find out after dragging a window from the very back of the garage that the window is too small to cover the frame. So the frame is there till I find another window or decide to move the frame back. But my setup is a plastic bin upside down. Right now I have it propped up on bricks, because the sun IS warm, although the wind is horrifically cold - worked outside in my winter coat and a hat today! Tonight I'll go remove the bricks (or pop them under and inside the bin for some radiant heat. I have a smaller bin all ready to go over that flat of impatiens, with two containers of water for radiant heat as well. I think it's probably overkill - it's supposed to be about 40 degrees tonight - but these babies were in a very warm green house so I don't want them going into shock lol. So hopefully I'll get them through next week and the danger of frost! Also, here's a pic of my Quail daffodils. Love these late little bloomers! :) Dee