Hot here for the past few days. Today should be the last really hot one for a while. Means getting out to work in the garden early, 7a or earlier, and finishing by 10. The summer roses are looking really nice. Teas are in the midst of their second flush, as are most of my cluster-flowered Noisettes. Climbers are particularly nice this year, with a continued bloom on the roses on my Arcade (Parade, Pink Perpetue, White Cap, Rhode Island Red, etc.) Polyanthas are doing their thing, too, with tons of flowers on Marie Pavie, Cecile Brunner, La Marne, Perle d'Or, Gartendirektor Otto Linne, and others. Blackspot came early and stayed. I got caught unaware and most of my bs susceptible roses are looking pretty shabby. I'm on the spray now for the past few weeks, and most of them are starting to refoliate. We won't talk about the weeds.

Hi, Carrie & Shore - we don't actually have a house yet, but we're working on it - saw a couple of good ones yesterday, but still want to do more looking. Carrie, I thought SC was nice for the brief 3 1/2 months I was there - but a better opportunity arose in AL, so off we went! I like AL too, though, so far - I'm pretty easy where I go, as long as I have a place to garden :). Shore, I'm not going anywhere for Christmas - my DD, whom we haven't seen since last Christmas, is flying over from "across the pond" on Christmas Eve - what a nice gift!

I am happy to find this thread, I and my family will do a Solstice in remembrance of our daughter who God rose from this life Christmas eve 2003. She was 9 and taught us about God. She went into a coma on the 21st, this will be a great tribute to her. Thank you for the post. Remembrance- Daisies she picked these one day for Virgin Mary to pray for her protection and she received protection. Life: Lily Bulb, I have a picture of her with the tree of life cross on her fore head and a white lily over her chest. I am unsure what the lily mean, but it is there and it was not taken in the winter picture, nor did I own a white lily, nor is the cross a man made cross, this is a very ornated cross with detail in it of light. Sorry I don't spell great. Nature, Dogwood tree, Legend has it that this tree grew as a large strong tree and was used for the cross that Jesus died for our sins on. He then altered the tree to grow has a small twisted tree, with a flower in the shape of a cross, with four rust spots, with red in the middle to resemble the nails in his flesh. A thorning center as a reminder of the mockery of him being king. Faith, Burgandy Gaillardia and fairy snow ballon flower. I really would love to plant seeds of Ashley Nicole Scott Day Lily seed because the red and white is in one flower and maybe a baby would have the the color, but I am sure I will not be able to get them this quick. The colors are important to me because they are colors of a little Girl Saint that showed up to me in a night of terrible term oil and announced "Do not be afraid, God sent me, I am St. Philamena and I will protect her though the night and Arch Angel Micheal will be over seeing your child also, though out the night. God sent her, St. Philamena, to let me know he is real and we have an afterlife, some are here a short time some here for a long time. All are gifts from him. I was pretty much on the fence, if God was real, up to this point. This was a conversion in faith for me. Any one have a flower that blooms red and white on the same flower and would send to me seeds, expec. a lily, I will gladly pay for postage. This is my experience in a very short form, of many blessings God gave me, my husband and children. This is a happy season for us, we know where she is, miss her but know with out a dought she is in a much better world than we are. This will be great activity for the whole family, I know some will pick out plants other with listen to the history of the my plantings. Merry Chrismas to All Tammy

Happy New Year to all my gardening friends. PEACE on earth, including Gardenweb. May the New Year bring love, happiness, forgiveness, joy, Wisdom, and Beauty beyond what you hope for in your gardens. Here's to New Beginnings. Cheryl