oh darn, Kudzu. I just read this post. May I still offer a late Birthday wish to your sister? I'm really sorry for not being 'on time'. I hope Greta had a good one and enjoyed your special treat LOL. hugs, Karen

Ria, it's later in the day, but I hope you are still celebrating -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yesterday was my DD's b.d.

Hello Everybody.... THANKS for your kind comments, everyone! There is always a warm feeling when your rosey friends appreciate your efforts...thank you. lindama....I order pretty much all of my roses (now over 200 bushes and counting!) from assorted vendors for spring planting, but since you especially liked Charlotte Brownell and Helen Hayes I will let you in on a secret....I got my Brownell (sub-zero) roses from the Christmas Tree Shoppes. (Since you live in the Boston area I know you have probably heard of the Christmas Tree Shoppes and there should be one within driving distance....I have to drive an hour & a half to get to ours, but its worth it...LOL). Now normally I would never recommend buying roses this way....because you are getting inferior grade roses that may be virused & I have heard that most of the Brownell roses are virused....but it is so hard to find these roses that I took the plunge and bought a bunch of them. So far I am extremely surprised and pleased because the Brownell roses have been very prolific with their blooms and healthy. The trick is to get to the store in March when they jump the gun and get these bareroots in way too early; otherwise they will be brown and dead by April just sitting in the hot store. I start them in pots inside, then plant them out in the spring. Not easy, but it was worth it. For brandyray....Pink Queen is one of these Brownell sub-zero roses I got at Xmas Tree Shoppes and I can't find any info. on it anywhere, but it was one of those great finds that make you grin from ear to ear. It is an amazingly gorgeous rose, perfect in form, long-lasting, and with glossy green leaves. It is a climber, but where I live it will never be huge due to winter but it blooms abundantly all summer. I LOVE it! The fragrance, alas, is slight but its beauty astounds me. Helen Hayes and Maria Stern are both Brownell roses and their colors are like sunsets...very striking. Now about Yolande....she is perhaps the most fragrant & beautiful rose in my garden and does well here in zone 4, but I'm not sure about warmer zones. Carla....I ordered my "Grace" from Pickering in Canada. Thank you....Tiffany is my "baby" and the only child left at home...My son got married last month and Grace has been out of the house for 3 years, so even though at 14 she hates that I love her to death and am proud of her she'll have to deal with it...LOL. devon...the princess was a surprise...Thank you! Leslie....I agree...the summer went too fast. I spent the first half of it helping plan my son's wedding. I am posting another picture of Charlotte Brownell for you. She looks a lot like "Peace" but so far has been a lot healthier and blooms better. hoovb....the beetles are slowly winding down so I am hoping the new buds will have a chance of opening before the killing frosts come. It is so discouraging to grow all these beautiful roses for the beetles! That's why I take oodles of photos in June, to remind me why I put up with the beetles and the cold winters! msjam2....I am sorry to say that I don't have a full bush shot of Yolande. I will tell you that she grows upright for me, not real wide, but tall. Her fragrance is to die for....perhaps one of the most fragrant roses I have ever encountered. I waited for 2 years to get my Yolande (was put on a waiting list for propagation) and she was worth it. I marvel at her blooms, each one pure perfection. Below is a shot of a cluster of her blooms, for you. redsox....(by the way, up here in NH anyone who likes the redsox is a friend indeed!)...I am glad you enjoyed the pic of Mrs. John Laing. She is one of my favorites, and is fragrant too. Florence....I am delighted about our "PomPom" rose. It is so wonderful that you love her the way that we love her. I feel happy everytime you post that she is growing for you. That is one special rose, and you are one special lady! Celeste MORE PICTURES FOR MY FRIENDS........ YOLANDE D'ARAGON..... PINK QUEEN CHARLOTTE BROWNELL MARIA STERN

SAA203: May I suggest that you choose a neutral color for the time being for your kitchen? When I say neutral, I do not mean gold. I, too, have BC floors and a lot of cool grey colors in my granite, but warm whites. I wanted a gold color, too, but decided to mute it out and wait until my backsplash was installed. Plus, my floors darkened considerably in just a few months, so I'm really glad I didn't add the gold now. You add gold to those walls and your cabinets will really start to 'yellow out'. I was shocked to see how much 'yellow' they picked up off of the walls even with Clam Island, and it's not yellow. I am going to do a bit more painting now that I am getting ready to choose window treatements and believe that with my backsplash and granite to either beige up the walls a bit since I have brown glaze on the cabinets with Parisian Taupe OR either go a touch more gold with Toasted Cashew, both by Behr....and both look good. I love the SW blonde. I got a sample the other day and it's just too gold for my kitchen. I don't have a lot of natural light and cannot afford to go any darker than the Toasted Cashew. My point: I would really wait until you have your backsplash chosen before I would commit to such a strong gold in your kitchen, unless you know that you'll just love it and that it won't compete with what you use on your backsplash. When I got my backsplash, it had a lot more rose to the stone that I imagined, so I know the SW Blonde would not have worked. Clam Island or Parisian Taupe are winners hands down and you just can't go wrong type of colors. The taupe has just a bit more pink, which I think compliments the brown/red tones in the cabinets and flooring; hence why I'm thinking I may go with this eventually in my kitchen after all of the cabinets are done. However, Clam Island is just a perfect neutral. It has enough depth to be a brown, enough gold to work with gold carpets and not overpower other colors. It's no longer in Behr's Color paint chips, but the color is in their computer at HD. I've used Clam Island in several homes as my 'base' color and I come back in and add depth or lighten. It's definitely not a beige or tan or offwhite. It's a lovely base color. I mixed it half and half on some of my ceilings, too. Here is Clam Island in different rooms so you can see how it goes with so many colors. (I think it does.) Ignore the green tint on the cabinets...we've redone them. Notice the colors in the tile and mosaic...they have the tones of the Clam Island that I used on the walls in my kitchen. Here's another view of Clam Island in my kitchen ...you can barely see the floors...I'll find one more photo