Finally, I'm getting back to this interesting thread. Ben, my answer will only confuse you. Because some years Ebb Tide blooms as well as Twilight Zone, plus they have reached the point where they are equally dark in shade and the same shade of purple. Because my three ETs grow in more surrounding shade, they don't fade like they did I first got them, and their color is so much darker. But they bloom at the same frequency in more shade. Neither rose is a really strong grower, but they do OK. Augusta Luise and Julia Child on either side of Twilight Zone really illustrate what strong growers the two ladies are compared to TZ. In the back yard, TZ grows well with two surrounding Munstead Wood plants that are also stronger growers. Still, if I had to choose, I would choose TZ. I've grown two of my ETs since 2006 (the first year they were sold), and my first TZ I started growing the first year it was sold, too, so I have had lots of years to compare these roses.
Wow, Carol/crow, your photos are really works of art, and the roses in the photos are breathtaking. I particularly like Bobby James on the pergola. I'm familiar with Westerland and your bloom of this rose looks so much like Abe Darby. Beautiful color..... I think you have to give Ebb Tide lots of time, plus that rose is never going to be very big. So patience is the key with ET. Twilight Zone grows taller and is supposedly a grandiflora (I don't hold with this classification; it's really just a hybrid tea), but it's a smaller HT. Augusta is also a hybrid tea and the difference in size between the two is pretty large. Augusta has a nice growth habit, though. So does TZ. ET is a little more random in its growth habit here.... I'm sorry about the fire and smoke problem. As you know, we can really have that, too, here in Idaho. Our largest fire has been burning since July and is over 200 square miles, but it's mostly in the middle of a national forest a long way from here. So smoke hasn't been bad, plus it usually comes from the west of us, not east.... I guess I shoot in JPG, but I had to ask an expert (granddaughter) about that. I had many years as a free lance designer and artist, and I think that experience helps one "stage" a photo and use the light to good effect, cause I sure don't fool with settings. Late in the day is definitely the time to take photos of purples.....I love your setting and the acres you have to plant in. I can only dream of that. We have a small yard, and it's been full for years, but I'm at the age where I don't want to take on more, anyway. As far as a planting scheme, I only planned the arrangement of about five roses, and everything else was plonked in where I could find the space. Necessity is the mother of invention when it comes to limited space, I guess. Diane
Q
Love this photo! This is the look I want on the front of our house - that Old World, English Manor house dripping with roses kind of look! Beautiful
Q