Kitty, thanks for the pic from Heirloom's FB page with the supposed new shipping method. If you look closely, it's quite clear that there is a gallon pot inside of that cardboard thing around it. Which isn't what Windowsill got. Very disappointing, but very encouraging that they made it right. Although I agree with Carol that I would much prefer to have the rose now.

DD, I agree that African Blue Basil and Mystic Spires are two top faves of my bees. I have 4 Mystic Spires and at least that many of African Blue. Agastache Blue Boa is another one of their faves. Major LOL on Tracy Lehr trying to get you on the local news shoveling sandbags... I would have said "no" too! The rain was supposed to start big around 7 pm and last until ~midnight, but nothing much yet :-D

Edit to add: DD, that's about the right size for my frogs, but mine are more brown. It's amazing how loud they are for being so small!

Susan -- I like tracking the radar map -- and that was showing the big rain hitting about 8:58 and lasting until about 1:00 a.m. It's not always accurate -- last few days have been like tariffs -- all over the place. But I'm now hearing the rain pick up, so maybe... ?

I just spent waaaayyyy too long looking for this photo of a little frog on my little red bell pepper! But here it is for your viewing pleasure.

And, also, we were talking about recipes and nigella lawson a while back -- here's the watermelon salad I made:

Okay enough. Going to go listen to the rain.

DD, I know, right? It's like every day this week has had enough sprinkles or wind at exactly the wrong time to derail my garden plans :-D

Ugh snow tomorrow and Friday. Wind gusts up to 60 kph/37mph. I will fall over in that wind. I want spring!!!

Peachy - oh, I guess I must be wrong. I thought that bees wouldn't be bothered with pollenless plants. What me wrong? lol What me wrong, again? Yup. :) :)

Diane - I love having food for pollinating insects. Really makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. :) I hope my penstemon works out well. Spitting rain is pretty useless. That's a shame. Oh! I had no idea there was a city called Vancouver in Washington. lol That's strange that Vancouver would be a name for 2 cities in the PNW. I guess that explorer got around. :) Yes, do take a picture of your coat. :) :) What are you talking about?!! Your succulents are HUGE!! They look incredible!! Man, do you ever have a green thumb. Yeah, B.C. is soooo beautiful especially around Jasper. I adore that close up of Coral Charm and Sarah is such a beauty!!! Do they get prettier than her...I don't think so.

Kitty - really? Chris' jam won a blue ribbon!! I wish you could shoot me a jar so I could taste it. Thimbleberry jam sounds like something that would be made by fairies dresses in Bellflower clothing. :) Good that you're getting some moisture for your garden/grass. Tomorrow should be a wonderful Spring day for you. :) Diane just let me know that there are 2 Vancouvers. lol So I don't know if there are JBs in Washington's Vancouver. You do? I didn't remember that you have JBs. I'm glad that Chris likes Anastasia. That makes everything easier. Wow...Maebelle blooms are to die for!! My goodness!! I'm glad you made cuttings...crown gall...gah...who needs that. I hope you get a refund.

Sheila - I couldn't see any gall either in Kitty's rose...but I thought I must be wrong.

Sultry - I love her colors!! What a striking cat. But 13 is waaay too young for a cat to die. Snicker Pie is such a cute name!!

Trish - Honey, very much like my dog's name...Sugar. Very sweet. My heart dog is either this one or Toffee my brown standard poodle. Or maybe Jellybean. I don't know. :)

Deborah - I walk in a sinusoidal curve most of the time and when Sugar was on the bridge equipment (at Agility), as I moved away from it she almost jumped off to follow me. And the instructor had just said that if you move away from the bridge your dog will try to follow you. lol She gets it now to not follow me as I flail about. lol You are a savior of the frogs. Bats are getting nose fungus too. I laughed when you said "not that I'm fondling frogs." lol :) :) Oh, I hope they all come up...your garden will be even more glorious!!! Good luck with potential flooding. My goodness you would have been on the news! lol, I would have said no too because I'd be dressed in my crappy clothes...which are most of my clothes. Don and I really need to get our act together and go get a tetanus shot. It's probably been 30 years!! There's no excuse. You're right...I just googled and crown gall CAN be spread through cuttings (tools too). Those Hot Pants are really colorful...I love them!! Those are the most beautiful carnations I've ever seen. I've only seen really ruffly ones. The western red bud is the one that's blooming purple, right? That's gorgeous!!! Everything looks amazing. Sigh...we still have snow and are getting more. Anyway. Your cutting has really taken off...excellent! What rose is it? Sweet Pea is adorable!!! Awwwww!!! I would paint it...but I don't really go for subdued. But subdued works too. :) :) Her face is precious. That frog is really, really green. I've never seen a frog in real life. I hope it gets better.

Peachy - gee, I hope the storms aren't too bad.

Deborah - awww...what a cute frog. It's so nice that you provide an environment that they can thrive in. That salad looks really healthy!! What kind of dressing did you put on it?

Carol, finally when it's later than heck, I rise up and try to write something. This whole Vancouver thing is a kick. I was born in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland Oregon. I am sure they don't have JBs there. We don't have them, and most of the arid West doesn't have them. We almost got an infestation in Boise because of some plants imported into the state. Being a big agricultural state, the ag dept is very protective of the farming industry, and they cracked down on plant imports. Anyway, I've told this before. My parents both worked in the Kaiser Shipyards during WWll. They lived in Portland, and the shipyards were in Vancouver. The Kaiser Permanente Hospitals were started in Vancouver for the shipyard workers, and Kaiser later expanded into a huge HMO, very big in California. So, a few months after the war ended, Nov 1945, little Diane appeared in the Kaiser Hospital. And Kitty's friend lives in Vancouver, Washington. Portland was the first place where I lived. My dad was finishing up a long slog in university classes, but my mom had already gotten her degree from Oregon State U, so we stayed on in Oregon until he finished up his education and passed some board exams. Then we came back to Idaho. I'll leave it there. Our weather turned rotten today, and I couldn't do any work outside, which was good because I just crashed and rested. But our rain never showed up, just wind. I hope your weather improves cause your wind sounds way worse than ours. I shouldn't complain. Those succulents pics are from last summer. They are all scrawny and dried out now. And the peonies are just starting to poke up. My garden still looks ghastly. Looking at Deborah's beautiful photos turns me greener than one of her plants. I think we need a tea party in her garden. I did take a photo of my coat. I'll show it later, since I'm sure you're dying of curiosity-ha. Diane

Now, to continue a little bit. Trish, I remember you reading that book, recommending it to me, and I read it, but I can't remember much about it, so I'll buy it again and read it. I reread books constantly because I'm such a voracious reader, it seems wasteful not to read a good book 2 or 3 times. Currently, I'm plowing through The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larsson, a favorite author for me. This book is about the short time period before the start of the US Civil War. Very detailed non fiction with lots of bibliography. You should try one of his soooo interesting books. I recommend "In the Garden with the Beasts" or "The Devil in the White City".

Sultry, thank you about Peanutbutter. And I love your little character, Snicker Pie. What a charming face with all those whiskers and fun colors. She looks like she had so much personality. I think we like kitties with yummy names. I'm looking at a Snicker's Bar right now that my sweet granddaughter bought me.

I will finish up tomorrow. Deborah, I have lots to say to you--ha. Also, did you read my comment to you about the bean soup? Diane

Remember this pic? Those are habaneros, about a fourth of what I grew in habs last summer, plus lots of other peppers. That's my daughter and son in law crying their eyes out (not really).

We need something pretty. Here's Evelyn looking demure.

I'll respond...just checked and my 2nd message didn't show. So I shouldn't post one and then another right after. I'll copy it and see if it shows up. I'm off to bed. :)

Deborah - I walk in a sinusoidal curve most of the time and when Sugar was on the bridge equipment (at Agility), as I moved away from it she almost jumped off to follow me. And the instructor had just said that if you move away from the bridge your dog will try to follow you. lol She gets it now to not follow me as I flail about. lol You are a savior of the frogs. Bats are getting nose fungus too. I laughed when you said "not that I'm fondling frogs." lol :) :) Oh, I hope they all come up...your garden will be even more glorious!!! Good luck with potential flooding. My goodness you would have been on the news! lol, I would have said no too because I'd be dressed in my crappy clothes...which are most of my clothes. Don and I really need to get our act together and go get a tetanus shot. It's probably been 30 years!! There's no excuse. You're right...I just googled and crown gall CAN be spread through cuttings (tools too). Those Hot Pants are really colorful...I love them!! Those are the most beautiful carnations I've ever seen. I've only seen really ruffly ones. The western red bud is the one that's blooming purple, right? That's gorgeous!!! Everything looks amazing. Sigh...we still have snow and are getting more. Anyway. Your cutting has really taken off...excellent! What rose is it? Sweet Pea is adorable!!! Awwwww!!! I would paint it...but I don't really go for subdued. But subdued works too. :) :) Her face is precious. That frog is really, really green. I've never seen a frog in real life. I hope it gets better.

Peachy - gee, I hope the storms aren't too bad.

Deborah - awww...what a cute frog. It's so nice that you provide an environment that they can thrive in. That salad looks really healthy!! What kind of dressing did you put on it?

Love reading all your posts! Over whelmed… soooo many.,. shall try to read more later…..

Sultry,

Darling Snicker Pie! What a beutiful heritage she has…. calico, torte-nice combo! A real Sweetie!

Diane, Love your habaneros,, LOL! You know too hot for me! Pretty Sara B & Coral Charm Peonies! You family & my family moved to Oregon for dad’s Music PHD from Oregon U. Then mybfamily moved back to WA. Years later ”My new family moved to Pirtland for 10 years. Love the Portland climate-fabulous for roses! I hope you have some warm calm weather? Time to take a hunk out of pruning! After you recover from Colette. Goid you trimmed her way down! You din’t need giants! Are your daffs blooming yet? My daffs maybe about 2-4 inches-LOL! Hapoy to see them growing!

Carol,

Oh, I haven’t checked if Vancouver has JBs. I didnt have them when I lived in Portland, next door to Vancouver. Now I wonder if it’s Crown Gall. Hope they replace. Thimbleberry Jam! Yum! Wish I couod send you some! Hoes your weatger today? Warming up?

Sheila, I updated my pist-may be healthy Mabella, afterall. But now I’m teying to grow cuttings. Hope they grow!

DD, You can just cut out Crown Gall. Usually it will grow well, afterwards. it may have been bare root swelling at beginning joints.? Now not sure what it is?

DD, Soooo excited your rooted cutting are growing! What rose is it? How long are roots? How long have you grown it and under what type of light or shade did you start it? Lovely watermelon salad. Do you have sweet pepoers or habaneros? I love colorful sweet peppers & banana oepoers.

Susan, Windowsill,

That facebook photo from HR does look like potted roses wrapped in bags w/ cardboard pots, too. Interesting! Not what you received, Windowsill? Hmmm.

Windowsill, Lovely Bolero & amazing Darcy! Darcy blooms first & all the time for me! She’s a fabulous rose! Penny is darling in her chair, all shruched in it! Sweeeeeet!!!!!

Today is 58F! Hip Hip Hooray! Ra, Ra, SiscBoom Bah! LOL! Sooooo excited for warmer weather! Potting my new Victorian Secret today! Keeping it simple today! Enjoying walking Anastasia! Guess I must water my poppues as no rain & no snow in a week. Glad, I’m tored of being wet! Love that SUN!

☀😊😇☀️☀️☀️🥀🥀☀️☀️🥀🥀🌼😊😇

I have tons of bulbs sprouting outside & peonies now! Fun to see lots of daffodil & tulip sprouts all over!

Peachy-Berrypie,

Chris asked if I could make Minced Meat Pie? (MM) I can make almost any pie or tart! My grandmother worked in a bakery & pies were our family soecialty. I looked up an Old Fashioned M M pie recipe of 1798 & Mary Berries Mince Meat Pies. Love the Mary Berry MM tarts w/ Marxipan topings!

MM pie for next Thanksg. or Christmas!

Now I’m thinking berry summer tarts & pies!

Quick note (no snide remarks, please!): Diane - you inspired me & I made a 15 bean soup 2 days ago!! Carol - I saw your 2nd post, and also the re-post. I shan’t share the name, but the 2nd word rhymes with bifudus. I’ll post the recipe, Carol. Susan - about 2.2” for us - below what they predicted, but sandbags worked. You?

Kitty/Carol/Deborah -- I feel a little bad about making a fuss about my Heirloom order since I don't want people worrying about their future orders. No, my rose wasn't wrapped in that cardboard collar shown in the Facebook photo. It was just in a thin bag (like the ones you get in the produce section at the grocery store), zip-tied at the top, and placed in the cardboard shipping box. So, the rootball fell apart and the roots were just hanging out in loose soil by the time I got it. The soil was dry, and it was significantly less soil overall than a normal gallon from Heirloom.

Maybe the way mine was packed was a mistake. I think the setup shown in the Facebook photos looks quite good. I fully support more sustainable practices. If Heirloom can reuse their plastic growing pots and figure out biodegradable/recyclable packaging for shipping that works, I'm fully supportive.

I think a better way to test a new shipping practice would have been to select 25+ longtime customers in different regions; offer to send each a complimentary rose selected from a curated list; send them that rose in the new packaging (perhaps added on to an existing order); and then ask them for feedback/photos to see how the new packaging worked. Maybe that would have been too costly and labor-intensive, but it's just an idea.

Deborah -- I want some of that watermelon salad! It looks so good. I love salty + sweet, and I'm a big fan of watermelon.

rosecanadian I did a little research because I didnt know this ;

"bees also forage for nectar, which is taken back to the hive for honey production and used as a food source for the adult bees. The bees will have a great supply of nectar from the pollen free sunflower blooms."

Diane - Oh, you were born in Vancouver, Washington. :) I get some roses from Vancouver, B.C. and they're trying really hard to keep the JBs out of their stock. Hopefully, they can. Yes, you should complain, just because there's someone (there always is) who has it worse, doesn't mean you're not under stress. :) Oh, I see...the pics of your succulents are from last summer. Your peonies are waking up!!! Yes!! Peonies are such glorious bloomers!! I'm waiting to see your compost coat. :) :) We have 3 more days of snow coming. Blech. Oooh....what a divine pic of Evelyn!!! SWOON!!! I don't have a rose picture that beautiful, but I'll see what I can find.

Here's a soft-light picture of my garden from a few years ago.

Kitty - Interesting that you and Diane once lived in the same city (at different times). I'm glad that your daffodils are growing...new spring growth is so uplifting. Remember that if it was Crown Gall you need to sterilize your pruners and that the new canes will have the infection too. Nope, not warming up here. Getting colder with more snow and wind. Blech. Next Wed. is when the roses can go out again. Hey, I'm so glad that you're weather is so warm!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! :) :) Bring on the sun!! Do you have a pie crust recipe you'd be willing to share? Look at the crust on that pie!! Did you make that?

Deborah - I'm happy that the sand bags worked...what a relief!

Windowsill - You're right, that's exactly what they should have done. They really goofed with your order.

Peachy - yeah, I was thinking, later, that nectar may have been a factor. :)

Yes, Peachie, nectar is the thing when it comes to lavender and penstemon. I let my basil go to seed and they love the basil flowers. A top favorite with wasps and bees of all kinds.

We have about a week of lousy weather coming up. For me it's the wind that stops everything. That's a lovely photo of your roses. You do such great things with potted roses, and I mean that. What's the schedule for receiving Morden Sunrise? As I said, things look dreadful here. I don't think I'm going to have the snapdragon turn out I had last year. Diane, as usual I'll be back.

Whiskey barrel of basil 2024.

Basil gone to seed and flowering. The bees love this, and down low, there is still lots of usable basil.

I was addressing Carol in the second paragraph above. What a mess of a post. Diane

I gardened for several hours today….. posting many photos…… I tried saving it all.-it said saved. Later I see it’s gone! I see it didn’t post! Dissappeared? I had it all saved! Grrrrrrrrrr! 🤪😊🥀😇Trying again…….

TODAY…..

was 58F! Gorgeous sunny! Fun day to garden! I cleaned a bed….. put outside all my indoor roses to sun tan! Loving it! The In-Out Game-Carol!!!!!!!

Watered a ton of pots & my poppies. Showered rose leaves! I potted Victorian Secret rose! Pruned 8 roses!

INDOOR SEEDS SPROUTING IN 1 week:

Tomato seeds

Black Hollyhock seeds

Scabiosa seeds

Carrot Seeds

Lisianthus almost sprouted.

Lettuce & poppy seeds planted later.

Carol, DD, & Sheila, My Mabella looks healthy to me! I cut her canes, unneeded! 🤪😊😇🥀 LOL! So now I have to re-propogate her-HA! on me! Thanks for you ideas on rose Crown gall-if I had it-you cannot save a rose-toss it-soil & all! Big lessons learned. After research I realize my rose was healthy! Ha, HA, HA , HA, HA, HA ON ME! !!!!!!!!!! 🤪🤪😇🤪🤪😊😊😇

Sorry Kitty Yesterday I had a lot of photos and text and it also all disappeared. Its really annoying. Sounds like you had a productive day in the garden!

Carol,

The “Rosie In-Out Game! “ Fun! Lol! 58F today-Roses went from kitchen to Kitchen porch-sun tanning time! (they go inside tonight at 31F. )

Kitchen-Living room -12 Roses Sun-Tanning! Dormant Clematis & Fig tree on porch, too.-Starting to grow!

Roses on steps & outside tulips in pots-porch.

Watered Potted Peony Poppies & pruned a few roses.

8 Potted Peonies w/ eyes sprouting-I watered. potted Fruit trees beside them.

SO MUCH FUN! Getting ready for soring! Nice calm dry sunny weather in last few days!

Sultry,

I’m sorry you lost your photo posts, too! Wow! The work of ours gone! Did you repost? Love your photos: critters, plants and darling pets! ————————-

UPDATED MY 2 POSTS ABOVE….. rose gall….& gardening photos…..

I’ll finish chatting later!

Carol,

Awesome rosie garden photo! Very happy healthy roses beautiful blooming roses! Boo on the snow! In a week you can enjoy rosie spring putside & the In-Out Game! Woohoo!

Kitty -- so sorry your posts disappeared! And I'm sorry you have to propagate a new rose. But I'm glad to see even YOU have to start over, sometimes -- gives hope for someone like me! What a lot of work to have to take the pots in and out. You are quite dedicated. I think if I was gardening in a more challenging zone I would not have all the things I do -- I don't have the time or the inclination to go back and forth. My rose approach is very "tough love." And that applies to cuttings also -- I don't have grow lights or a special set-up. I cut of the end, dip it in rooting hormone, stick it in a pot, and stick it where it is bright but not in direct sun except maybe an hour or so a day. And either it roots or it doesn't. This one did! Yay!

I'm repeating two serious questions for you folks -- 1) about previous photo I posted of Twilight Zone. Does it look like leaf miners? AND 2) I got these baggies full of roots with loose dirt or peat or something from J&P for two perennials -- would you put them right in the ground, or in a pot first? I'm a bit flummoxed. I thought I was ordering a PLANT.

Here's TZ - look at the leaves.

And, inspired by Diane -- we need something pretty to look at -- so here's a photo I found somewhere. Maybe the Tantau catalogue? and I love it:

Windowsill -- I don't think you made a fuss at all! We are here to share our rose trials and tribulations and victories and joys together -- right? You were very fair and measured in your description of what happened, and you also posted that they took care of it. I'm so glad you got in touch, that they will refund you -- and I totally agree with you about how to test the whole thing in advance vs. springing it on some folks. It'd be nice if your roses grow well AND you still get to keep the refund!

Deborah, I see you used a photo of one of my plonks above--hahaha. I'm so funny. And you made 15 bean soup. It's 13 bean soup. You must have added two extra Apostles. St Pinto and St. Lima, maybe. How did your soup turn out? I wonder if your recipe is similar to mine. I make changes in everything, so I use lots of crumbled bacon, among other things......I've never had leaf miners, and don't know what they look like. Could you point out what leaves you think are affected?....It was another hard day in the garden, and my poor old bod is shot. I use those big brown paper leaf bags to hold garden debris and prunings. I was struggling to get one opened out and standing up when the blasted thing gave me a 1.5 inch paper cut. Now I can add that to my punctures and scratches. Carol started an Augusta Luise cutting the simple way you do and it is growing up. If I wanted to do a cutting, I'd do it the easiest way possible, but I don't have room for more roses started from cuttings and own root. I took a good look at own root Twig Darby today, and he is so weeny and pathetic. I need to just dig that thing up. He's had seven or eight years to get with it. So how much rain did you get in all do you think? I could use some of that. I hope all is coming along well in your garden and the weather is being good. Diane

The Saga of Weeny Abe, a folk story.

Weeny Abe arrived in my garden the spring of 2017, and he couldn't stand up straight, so he was punished and imprisoned in a makeshift jail.

"Lemme outs here, you fiend!"

Nice bloom for a jailbird.

No pics from 2018. Not sure why.

Here Abe is in 2019 and out on probation. The alyssum are guarding him closely.

Here he is in 2020.

He's actually larger then than he is currently.

Continuing the saga, accompanied by imaginary banjo.

2021

This was probably his best year.

2022

2023 and something different with a more closed bloom.

2024. I think he is currently smaller than he was three years ago. He's barely 2.5X2.5 feet, and his canes have a hard time keeping the blooms from face planting.

Strum. End of the sad ballad.

I love your Abe, Diane.

Diane -- my bean soup was not called anything fancy, and there were no saints names on the package of dry beans. But I counted the varieties listed, and there were 2 or 3 more beans listed -- more like 18 beans. But it said something that gave them wiggle room, like maybe not all of the beans would be in there? I didn't have a ham hock, so I used some bacon, onion, garlic, some spices, and threw it all in the Instant Pot for 45 minutes (no pre-soaking for this harried and hurried cook). Then I put in a sliced tomato and more spice, and cooked for another 5 minutes. It is delicious. The bacon completely disintegrated during the pressure cooking phase, but I guess that means the flavor is just distributed throughout. Oh -- I also wanted to throw in a dash of sherry, but didn't have that, so threw in a bit of port for the last 5 minutes. And there was a flavor packet with "smoke" in it. I tend to use a lot of oregano and cumin in just about everything I can.

As to Twig Abe Darby -- he does set a gorgeous flower. But I hear you re the bush. I got one 4 years ago now -- grafted -- and it's done hardly anything. None of the blooms stand up -- they all face plant. So I dug him up and put him in a pot and severely pruned him to try to stimulate new growth. This is his last chance. I also apparently have an own-root AD that I got from a nice person on this forum who thought she was sending me an Evelyn cutting. Turns out it's Abe. And he started out vigorously, but now has stalled and those blooms face plant, too. The pot is kind of in an out of the way place, so he gets another year as well. But since I keep finding roses I want, I think Abe's days are numbered. I've said many times that I'm not as good with watering, don't spray (except dormant spray), and leave sometimes for weeks at a time. So...if the roses are too finicky, they just can't stay, no matter how pretty. If I had YOUR Abe, however, I think I'd keep him. I know he doesn't measure up to all your other beauties, but he'd probably fit in just fine around my place! p.s. your descriptions and captions always crack me up.

On the TZ rose above, look at the two leaves with white squiggles.

Carol -- will have to look for my cookbook tomorrow, hopefully for the watermelon salad. There was a lot of lime juice, feta cheese, kalamata olives, red onions, parsley... Your potted garden is just lovely. I think I have a couple of the same pots, but mine are not filled with pretty roses! I think I have potatoes in one right now. Yes -- the dogs will follow us and can injure themselves if we don't train them for safety right off the bat! Good your trainer (and you) are on top of that! Is Sugar just loving it all?

Diane - Really? Wasps love basil too? I found this (and was surprised): When their eggs hatch, the young wasps devour their defenseless host. Instead of eating insects and spiders, adult wasps - both social and solitary - only feed on sugars. In the wild, sugars come from flower nectar and honeydew produced by aphids. Wasp larvae also produce a sugary liquid that the adults consume.

I didn't know that wasps eat sugars. I thought they ate bits of meat they found. lol How could I have not known this at my age. lol Yes, we have a week of lousy weather too. Fie on this!! Spring is coming, we must hold on. :) Thanks, Diane. :) :) :) Hmmm...Morden Sunrise plants...not sure. Probably sometime in April. Wow...your basil is incredible!!

Kitty - So nice that you got to garden today and had such great weather. So good for the soul. Ugh about losing your post. VERY frustrating...I know. Ahh yes...the indoor/outdoor game. I know it well. lol I would never try growing Tomato plants from seed. Not worth my time. I buy my tomato plants at about 1 and half foot. Otherwise, I wouldn't get any ripened tomatoes. All of your seeds are doing well. :) :) Oh, darn (and also, YAY, lol) that your rose was healthy all along. You just gave her a haircut. She'll bounce back. :) :) Your suntanning roses look great...look at all of those green leaves!! Well done!! Thanks about my roses and garden!! :) :) Well, the time for the roses to go out has been pushed back by another day. But, the time IS coming. I can see those warmer temperatures in the forecast. YAY!!

Sultry - you lost a post too. It's like Russian Roulette...will it happen to me or not...pull the trigger.

Deborah - it's hard to tell...it's either Leaf Miner damage or bird poop. :) I'm being serious. :) :) If it's not bird poop...it's Leaf Miner. I would pick them off and dispose in a tied up plastic bag. I'm like you...I would do the easiest thing and put them in the ground. If they don't make it...well...it wasn't meant to be. :) That's a beautiful bloom on TZ. :) :) The color is so fresh! And that's an incredible bouquet of roses you found a pic of. My goodness!!

Diane - Bad bag...gave you a really big paper cut!! Baaaaad. Who would think that a paper bag could do that. But then I cut my hand on a wine glass I was washing (had no nicks on it at all), so I believe you. lol If Twig Darby isn't filling you with joy, then yes...you need to deep-six it. What will you replace it with? You have so many choices!!! You are priceless!!! I adored your folk story. lol Your wee Twig Darby is bigger than my best roses. lol But nowhere near what your other roses are like. SUCH beautiful blooms!! Oh my heavens!! The banjo was such a nice touch. lol :) :)

Deborah - I had an Abe many years ago...every bloom was a face plant. I got rid of him that fall. Thanks about the recipe. :) :) I love red onions. I'd do without the olives, though. :) Thanks about my roses. :) :) Yes, Sugar is loving Agility. She thinks that there should be a treat after every obstacle. We just started doing 2 jumps in a row and she doesn't want to go over the other without a treat. But she does. :)

Carol, that's interesting that your Abe from the past was a face planter. Was your Abe an own root rose? I totally agree with you about growing tomatoes from seed. For a number of years a long time ago, I grew various tomatoes from seed, and then one day, I said to myself, this is ridiculous when so many places are selling so many varieties of tomato plants for so little money. Same for cucumber seeds or plants. I went for the plants there, too. I've never regretted it. And in your case, with such a short growing season, your goal is to get those blasted maters, not fiddle with liddle plants all summer. I grow my tomatoes in a raised bed and it works well. I got the best plants in years at a farmers' market last year. I grow cukes on rose trellises to minimize space used. I did enjoy growing flowers from seed under lights in the house for transplant to outside. I'm past that now. But it was fun for a while. I had a BLT for dinner tonight. And the store tomato was quite good for a change......Still not sure what to do with the Twig. Maybe I need something to gripe about, though leaf bags do have a certain evil quality that I hate. Thanks about the silly folk story. I try not to veer off into political issues--gah!!!!! Thanks about the banjo. I've got a good story about banjos, but I'd better tell it at another time. I'm sorry about the evil wine glass, but sometimes objects seem to possessed by an evil spirit. I'm just blabbling. Oh, I think you were thinking of yellow jackets as the meat eaters. They are those hovering pests that want your sandwich and Coke. I detest them and we have them at the end of summer. I've been stung many a time by those pests. One got down the back of my shirt and stung me all down my back. They hang around certain plants like sunflowers, too. Well, now it's your turn to blab more. I hope you get your good weather back very soon. Diane

Old Man Winter is refusing to leave . While it's been too cold outside for doing much , I've been online seed shopping again and bought nothing ! It seems odd after being such a seed maniac , going cold turkey without even much withdrawal. The fact there's still an overflowing accumulation to be reckoned with soon has some bearing.

Abe isn't perfect but some of your photos sure come close Diane . Banjo music - that was really funny. Violin music is for Eden ; prolific leaves are the best feature next to thorns. It's curtains for Eden if it doesn't flower this year after 3 totally bloomless years.

Doug and Amara have planned a day out visiting friends . i have the house to myself. This calls for some sweeping romantic music and mopping the floors.

What is this thing called floor mopping you speak of, Peachie? It's cold here, too, but sunny, and I was hoping for the needed rain they kept predicting falsely. Are you sure you don't want a few hollyhock seeds from someone? Cosmos? I hope your Eden blooms for you. I've never grown it, but Elaine did for years. It was very slow to take off for her, too, but it did well once it got started, but then had some problems. It was like a soap opera, I guess, with violins and banjos. Sadly, Elaine has left it all behind in a move, and it does break my heart. Diane

Unreal Eden in Elaine's garden.

Diane - No, it was a grafted one. It was my first Austin which started my love/hate of them. High five about buying tomatoes as plants. That's a good idea to get tomato plants from a Farmers' Market. Mmmmm, BLT (skip the lettuce,lol). Yum! Yes, get rid of Twig Darby and get a rose that you used to have no space for, but dearly want. Gah...political news!!! Yellow jackets are different than wasps? I just googled and Yellow jackets are a type of wasp. Ouch!! I think you should have a mad hate on about yellowjackets after that! I'll blab/complain about the weather. It's -4C/25F outside. I'm on strike from walking today. I'm mad about this weather. Same temperature tomorrow, but then it gradually starts to warm up.

Peachy - Yeah, here too...go away Old Man Winter. You didn't buy any more seeds. It does seem odd. :) :) I guess you have more than enough already. :) Oh my...you have more patience than I do. Three years without a bloom!! It's a climber, so maybe this will be the year. Otherwise cue the violins. Enjoy your time to yourself...mopping doesn't sound quite right. :)

I am so sorry Elaine moved. I hope a gardener moves in.

Diane - I can't imagine leaving all of that behind. Her Eden is jaw dropping!!!

This year I found Firefly Farm & M. had seeds for $3.50 &$4.00 shipping. Very economical.

Black Beauty Peony Poppies

I’m still waiting for Bakers Creek Merlot lettuce & Purple Poppies seeds.

OK, Houzz is done bouncing…… I can finish posting.

It was a sunny calm 68F today & now! I had morning biz, & then Anastasia & I went out & had lunch together-drive through KFCs, & to the lake for a walk. I put outside on porch roses this morning, and had to water the outdoor poppies, & all small potted roses, again-about 24 small pots. And I spray watered ranunculus & all seeds sprouting in house . I realize I may have to water inside & outside small potted plants amost daily. it has been dry a whole week now. (fortunately , the medium pots stay moist for a few days-no need to water.)

The leaves on some roses look very light & flimsy. They need the real sun to harden them off. Lovely to see them all sun tanning in the mild spring sun.

68F day/40-54F at night next 3 days.

Tonight & next few nights- no frosts. All potted roses stay outside.

Dreary cold weather today, went out to look at my front garden, lo & behold my Bolero had bloomed! It's been raining these past couple of days so perhaps it bloomed yesterday.

Sheilal, thank you. I think it would take a whole gardening crew to keep that giant garden up, not to mention the huge lawn. And thanks about my challenging boy, Abe Darby. How is your garden coming along. You're back home. aren't you?

Soozie, oh, so lovely is Bolero, and what a nice surprise to find.

Well, the entire four days of weather predictions has flipped again, as usual Now it's totally gray and cloudy and looking like rain. And I'm happy if we get it. I think AI does the weather predictions I watch, and the computer's name is HAL2000.

Carol, yes, try a farmer's market for veggie plants, if possible. Yellowjackets around here are thick bodied and brightly colored yellow and black. They look very different from our wasps, which are much better pollinators, I think. Yes, I had a BT sandwich. Lettuce is OK, but I like that tomato taste to come through without the competing lettuce.

Beautiful looking Poppy on the packets. I think I'll sow some more purple poppy seed before it rains. I did that last year, and had to thin seedlings at least three times. Diane

Blurry Ballerina

With poppy

with Rosemoor Clematis

Soozie – What a dreamy photo of Bolero.

Deborah – When I was growing up, my mom used to order a lot of bare-root perennials from catalogs, and she just planted them directly in her garden beds. I seem to remember that some companies would guarantee against losses and send her replacements when they didn’t make it through their first year, though we’re talking about 1990s here. I’m afraid I’m no expert on the subject, though. Your rooted cutting looks awesome! Is that from one of your grocery store rose finds? And the red bud is so pretty. I was surprised and delighted the first time I saw red bud blooming in southern CA; I only knew about Eastern red bud.

Diane – Your Abe may be small, but those blooms are gorgeous! And your basil makes me want to assemble a big platter of caprese salad. I can't wait for hauls like this from the farmers market this summer. (A tomato makes my heart stir almost as much as a rose bloom!)

Carol – That soft-light photo of your garden is so pretty. I imagine just wanting to sit there, surrounded by those roses. I'm guessing that must be your happy place!

Not much happening here. Still very humid. sultry's Gumbo soup some days!

I planted a Yellow Pear tomato this year. It grew huge and yet I've not had a single tomato. Birds and, dare I say it, possibly rats.

Diane, that's so sad for Elaine. Will she be closer to you? Did I ever tell you that I grew Ballerina in a previous garden 30+ years ago? Nothing like yours though!

This morning:

South Africa

Raspberry Cupcake

Trish, no you didn't tell me that, but you know, my Ballerina is starting her 21st year here, so she's no youngster, either. What did you think of your plant? Your beautiful South Africa reminds me some of Bernstein-Rose, a Tantau. How big are the blooms? Did you see my post to you mentioning that I'd read Driving Over Lemons on your recommendation? I didn't remember it until you mentioned it. I need to buy another copy. This is turning out to be such a miserable day with icy breeze and snow sprinkles. I just got outside with all my gardening junk, and realized how bad it was. I got the dead tops of Sarah Bernhardt removed and went back inside. Too windy to apply Plant Tone. What a boring topic. That's terrible about those varmints eating your tomatoes. Is there any way to protect them? Even the deer here don't do anywhere near that kind of damage. You might try the tomato plant in a big pot, and then net it, pinning down the netting with landscape pins. You could use bamboo stakes to keep the net up. I can deter quail from tomatoes and cuke plants with a fence of bamboo stakes placed closely together. Rats are something else. I didn't realize you had a rat problem. Lots of people in California have roof rats. You must have a kitty, preferably a large one. I know. That wouldn't work out with Rosie, and I would want the kitty to have a peaceful home.

Thanks, Windowsill, about Abe. I suppose I'll just keep him, because the rose I would replace him with would be a lot bigger and probably pop out of his former slot. Oh, the pic of the veggies has got me so hungry. It's going to be a long while before we have home grown or farmer's market veggies. What a nice variety of tomatoes. Diane

Yeah windowsill_gardener tomatoes are right up there with roses , and even better you can eat a tomato.

Soozie Q, your ethereal Bolero looks much like a sister to Earth Angel.

Diane it's sad indeed Elaine had to leave her garden of Eden.. It's those kind of photos that keep me hoping my Eden will bloom someday. I acquiesced to my neighbor's giant flag shading out the roses for the past 3 years . At this point she has no intention of ever taking it down to give me a few short summer months of rose blooms. As soon my pots and raised bed are prepared , I'm packing up the front garden and moving around the corner to the back yard for the new rose haven. It should make Eden and the others happy to see the sun.

Trish -- Your South Africa is beautiful. I love its rich color. I hope the animals leave you some of those yellow pear tomatoes! How's your pond going? Did you get your fish yet?

Diane -- All I can say about Ballerina is WOW.

My Perfume Factory is giving me its first bloom in a while. I do love this rose and its abililty to tolerate being indoors so well.

windowsill, I love SA's colour too. It's even more golden in reality. And I love the way the petals fold in. Perfume Factory is gorgeous. I'm not usually a fan of hot pinks, but that is lovely. The other hot pink I like the look of is James L. Austin. Maybe one day. Not a chance on the YP toms. The only ones on it that I ever see are small and green. The plant is part caged with chicken wire, but even the enclosed section doesn't ever get a ripe tomato. I got the fish the same day I filled the pond. Normally, I let the water stand for a few days before adding the fish, but they seem to be ok, thank goodness The first day, they patrolled the area in a bunch, but now I have to stand and watch for a while before I see some. The waterlilies are taking off now they've been potted up, so they're getting a little more cover.

Diane, yes, I did see your post about the book. Sorry I forgot to comment. I had people over yesterday, and I seem to have spent days preparing - mainly cleaning! Good in a way, as it doesn't get done too often! My Ballerina didn't get enough sun, but it was still lovely, though way smaller and less floriferous than yours. I had its lookalike, Carabella, too, an Australian (Sydney) bred rose. I must have had a thing for that apple blossom look. Still do.

Peachie, I'm glad your roses will be getting more sun. That should make a big difference.

Trish

Just had to share this beautiful flowering tree in my neighborhood. I wish you could all see it in person & breathe in the delicate fragrance. These types of spring

flowers, like cherry blossoms, last for such a short fleeting time. You sigh at it's beauty & you sigh at it's demise but the lingering image stays in your heart for a long, long time.

Thank you for sharing that, Soozie. You are quite a ways ahead of us here, but we do have several crabapple trees in our small yard--two red crabapples and one crab that produces white blooms and no berries (crabapples as ornamental trees son't produce an actual apple). Our small, intensely red and pink crab produced a lot of tiny red seedlings years ago, not the sucker seedlings grafted trees usually produce. I found a really lovely red seedling and transplanted it to a hidden spot where I knew I could find the seedling the next spring. Then the next spring, I transplanted the seedling to the tree's permanent home where it still grows as a lovely red crabapple tree, sort of like its red parent, but being a natural hybrid, there are differences, too, between the parent tree and its' offspring. I like both trees very much, but the smaller parent mass produces red berries that are quit messy, though deer and robins eat them. You should see the sidewalk. We sweep the berries up for weeks. The natural hybrid tree is our only ornamental crab that isn't grafted. We had two ornamental pear trees that were just awful and removed them. The roses appreciated that. Diane

Little Red Crabapple, the parent

Less Red Crabapple the natural hybrid child. It's a wonderful tree, but didn't cost a cent. It does need a little shaping this year. The birds love it, including a hawk, unfortunately.

I was a little zombie today…. after park & planting the Black Beauty poppies I fell asleep this afternoon. Houzz posts working for me now! Much to catch up!

Carol,

Thanks! Happy we both are doing the In-Out Game! LOL! Soon you will be able to move your roses outside, too! My roses staying outside tonight. I am starting tomatoes, lettuce & carrots from seeds because most of tgese seeds were free gifts from seed companies. I bought some Merlot lettuce but it is still coming in the mail. Normally I would not do tomatoes from seeds, but decided not to waste the free seeds. I really hope Mabella roots-WOW!! A mistaken haircut!

Diane, Lovely big basil plants! Wonderful to cook with your tomatoes! Must be delicious! Fabulous raviolli & tortellin iw/ fresh tomato & basil sauces! ! Abe has done beautifully in photos! Gecmay beca twig fot you, but looks far better than my Abe ever did. My Abe barely had a few blooms-BS was his friend & very wimpy-he went bye, bye! Ballerina and your clematis are a gorgeous pair! My fave colors. Can’t believe you had Ballerina for 21 years. Sorry it was cold for you gardening! At least you were able to clean up a peony and you were able to plant more purple poppies! You can count each day as an accomplishment even when you get a little done. Just a little each day & you’ll get there! I hope you have better weather for gardening tomorrow!

Deborah, I researched your TZ leaf miners & it appears it may be so. To be ion the safer side, remove any leaves that have insect or any damage then spray with Neem, Insecticidal soap or preventitives. TZ is soooo beautiful. Pot or plant in ground TZ? How tall is TZ? If she looks like 1 1/2 years bareroot or potted, I’d plant her. If she looks younger such as 1 year old, then I would pot her. Roots will grow in ground ior pots, well, no worries! I only pot young roses. Tough love for gardening sounds good to me, if I lived in CA! I’d prefer it easier outside gardening if I could! You have the best idea-keep it simple outside-less seeds! However, with a sometimes cool March/April in NY, I need to start spring inside & outside whenever possible to have gardens look good & flouisih by June! I’m zone 6. It is lovely to see seeds sprout and leaves sprout on roses, for me all winter & go outside as often as possible starting in March/April. A weird bouncy Houzz this afternoon-oh, well! Give it a rest & Houzz is fine this evening. Love your recipe for watermelon salad. Thank you! Yummy!

Windowsill, My fave bloom of yours is Perfume factory! Is she fragrant! She has a stunning bloom! Growing roses near your window is fabulous! They love the real sun the best. & do very well! You have more blooms than me! Myvrises are happy to get real sunshine rather than grow lamps, now. So nuch better for them!

Diane, Elaine’s Eden is amazing-huge! I am sorry she moved. Although that’s a giant rose to prune. I cut my 2 Edens way back in fall. I’m giving a giant Eden away in June, way before I ever have to prune her again. Best buy tomotoes at farmer’s markets or nurseries-I plan to get a few plants: cherry tomatoes, , sweet peppers, & cucumbers at Lowes in May I like that you grow cukes on a trellis. I hope I am successful. You do so well with them.

Trish, Lovely S. Africa & R . Cupcake. How good is Raspberry Cupcake at blooming & fragrance? So your critters like tomatoes? Can you mix up some tabasco sauce deterent recipe for them, similar to Diane’s for deer? Will a deterent recipe work?

BLTS & fresh cherry tomatoes sound so yummy! I ate a whole container of cherry tomatoes in last 3 days! I miss my cherry tomato snacks from my garden in last summers! Can’t wait until I can enjoy garden fresh tomatoes, again!

This week Bakers Creek is sending my Purple Peony Poppy & wine-colored Merlot lettuce seeds! I am hooked on colorful lettuce now! I’ll have 5 packets of mixed green & wine-colored lettuce this season. Wonder how many salads I can make? Also, my Pink O’Hara rose & 5 GRF roses are being shipped. Wow! I will have to start soaking rose roots in tubs-that’s a big project-not my favorite.

My Merlot Lettice 2024 June

Thierry Marx rose had some beautiful blooms June 2024

Did my tree pics above show up? I can see them, but I think Houzz disappeared them. What next? Diane

Kitty, you needed a rest. And I'm glad you got one. Diane

I can see your lovely trees!

Wow Diane I didn't know crabapples can be so pretty. Those trees looks like azaleas from afar.

Thanks, everyone. I wasn't sure anything had posted. Soozie, yes, some crabapples, especially the little red ones, are gorgeous in spring, and do provide some food for birds, if you can stand the berry mess. The white crab is just covered in blooms, but they only stay for a brief time, and inevitably, some wind or rain comes along, and the white blooms just drop in clouds to the ground, making a huge mess as they disintegrate. So it's red crabapples for me.

Deborah, so glad you could see the trees. I've been thinking about your Snowball and it's sad fate. Maybe you transplanted it at the wrong time of year. I'm thinking in California, early November might have been better, so the snowball could go through its dormancy cycle normally. Just a thought. I was reading more about viburnums, and my Snowball is definitely the Chinese Snowball Viburnum. It has very large blooms which are slightly greenish before becoming a pure white. They can be pruned into a lovely tree shape. Oh, yes. I'll try that. Just what an ancient person needs to do--prune a gigantic viburnum into a tree shape.

Kitty, Thierry Marx is stunning. Just gorgeous. Now to look him up on HMF. I want some new roses! I love the Merlot Lettuce. You could make a bouquet of that pretty stuff. I used to grow spring lettuces and early spinach in my raised bed until the tweetie birds discovered them, and ate the small plants totally. I don't even think it was the quail. I have some ideas on how I could protect the lettuce, but I'll just stay with tomatoes out there. Have you had trouble with birds eating your veggies? They ate my strawberries, too. I've had much better luck with the basil in a whiskey barrel on the patio. I love to use it in ciabatta, minestrone, and caprese salad, among other good stuff. This is getting too long so I'll return. Diane

I do prune the Black Lace Elderberry into a sort of tree shape. I wanted to grow plants under it, and I wanted the Elderberry to have an Asian look.

I think I'll prune this into a tree shape. hahaha.

Snowball florets on the ground. The bamboo stakes are supposed to be protecting the newly planted calendula seeds from the quail.