Well, some of us already have tons of flowers. Some of us are under snow. Bleh.

So, since I'm whining about the snow, how about a Singin' the Blues?


(I don't know why, but this got twisted again.. it's supposed to be upright & it's actually to the right again...)

HOw lovely!

Ok, I'm having a problem. A total first-world problem. My sister gave me a gift certificate for David Austin, and between that and coupons, I can get 4 roses. I've chosen to buy 3 Lady of Shallots to replace the Pat Austins that just never did well in my garden. So that leaves me with one.....oh, how can I choose just one?! I've considered Harlow Carr to replace the Bishops castle that ALSO did not do well, or maybe add another Shakespeare....or maybe something completely different. AND, to top it off, they now have Own-root for a few varieties. So, not only do I have to choose variety, but also whether or not I think Own-Root might do better in my zone 5 garden. Oh, the agony!!

Any suggestions?

Katie - One of each? What are you looking for? Color? Size? Fragrance? Me personally, if I got to pick just 1 rose, I'd get Arthur de Sansal. http://www.davidaustinroses.co...

A Portland rose! - And great color too.

I really have no specifics. I will find a place for it anywhere. Only preference is that it's red or pink or white. Arthur looks EDIBLE!! I bet it smells equally as delicious! What do you think about own root? Some DAs have done fantastic (heritage, geoff hamilton, abe darby, crown princess M), and others have failed to thrive. The own root roses I've had so far are incredibly small. I dont know if that's a characteristic of own root, or if it just takes a REALLY long time for them to establish themselves.

Katie - IME, I prefer own root due to the my environment (much like yours.. COLD). The few own roots that I've had survive *have* taken forever to take off, but once they do, they take off! I have a couple of own-roots from RosesUnlimited that are WAAAAAAAAY bigger than any of my grafted roses, plus I know that I'll never have a Dr. Huey take over! I only have 2 DA roses.. Molineux from RosesUnlimited & Othello from a local nursery (grafted). Both are wonderful roses. I'm surprised that your Pat Austin didn't do well.. that's one on my list that if I can get it cheap, I will. But my own roots usually take 2-3 years to get going. My Camaeiux has been in the ground for 3 years now and this year (year 3) I'm expecting it to finally get nice sized. Same with my Golden Princess.. I got that as a teeny little sprig & it *should* get to be 2-3 feet this year. My Orange Velvet is a monster.. has the thickest canes of all my roses and I got that as a teensy little bitty thing back in '09.

That gives me hope for my own root roses. For two years now my Peggy M has been a twig...and I was just about ready to give up on her. Maybe this year she'll grow! Definitely try Pat Austin if you can...she's one of my faves. Hopefully in your garden, she'll do much better! It's definitely worth a try, in my opinion.

Are you feeding them heavily? I go through a LOT of MiracleGro on mine...

My Peggy Martin is still tiny after 2 years also. I bought 2 from Chamblee, planted one in my yard, one in a client's yard. Hers is enormous because she has in ground sprinklers and waters constantly. Mine relies on rainfall for the most part. I forget to feed anything in that part of the yard, too.
Toni, why don't you order Austins from Austin roses? If you order early in the spring, they always run a deal where if you buy 3, you get one free, or maybe it's buy 4, get one. With shipping costs, they come to about $20 apiece. Both own root and grafted do great here. The only one that is struggling is Summer Song from Palatine. Mine doesn't even look like the same rose that Sue grows.
I wish Arthur Sansal were available here . Maybe in a few years....it's a beauty, for sure!

Tradescant trio and with a little spider


Cinco de Mayo


Jacob's Robe


Shot taken in evening light

Spring on my back patio.

Rita - WOW. Is that an azalea?

Yes, the first of my Azaleas just starting to bloom. I have lots of Azaleas. Up on top on the pictures are my Lavaglut roses but no buds yet.

This mornings daffodil blooms.



Then there are daffs around and in front of the front yard pond.


And I have daffs in back of a stand of pink flowering tulips.


Another way I use daffs in the garden is to mix them with a stand of tulips. Especially red ones as I love the red and yellow color combo. And here in this section I have tied it all together wuth a stand of daffodils all by themselves up on the topmost section.

Rita - one word: wow

I think that should sum it all up. *sigh* (although, in my opinion, the thumb looks more like broccoli than a green thumb's up)

Thank you Toni. And the green thumb broccoli is ok by me because I have a large veggie garden and grow broccoli too.

Rita you are an amazing gardener!

Toni, I always wondered what that was; I never thought of a green thumb.

porkpal said:Rita you are an amazing gardener! .

Thank you!

Tulips are simply stunning this spring-

Went shopping yesterday. With this last storm, lots of places don't have their roses yet, so pickings were pretty slim. I did pick up a beautiful Pope John Paul for a penny! (well, technically, $15.01 as I had a Groupon for that nursery worth $30 that I paid $15 for, and after the Groupon it cost a penny, so I got a beautiful Weeks 3gal rose for $15.01.) I also picked up some roses from 2 different HDs.. a Westerland, a BlueGirl, 2 Fragrant Lavenders, and a (surprise??? ) Deja Blu! I could NOT believe I found a Deja Blu at Home Depot! The stores here had also received a massive order of Fragrant Delight and omg do they smell WONDERFUL. But I already have that one, so I didn't get another one (kinda kicking myself). Also got 2 more little lilacs & some pansies & petunias. Guess I should get off the computer & start working outside, huh.