Thank you for all your lovely comments on my small garden - it warms my heart that you like it too. I posted the Pics in 2 threads so they would load faster. The weather is very warm here (90F) ... and I really enjoy the early mornings and the afternoons different places in my garden. I truly take time to smell the roses and enjoy my garden this year. The fragrances of all the roses is outstanding and all I had dreamt roses could offer ... and is healing. (True Ingrid - I have had some adversity in life) - but it has made me more sensitive and stronger - and I live well. Many times I have wished that I lived in warmer climate - and I always imagined that - California - would be close to heaven for roses - but I realize now the PROS of growing roses here (good clayish soil, good rainfall and it is very few days in a year that the temps are above 90F and the sun so strong that the roses FRY. And roses do not grow very big here (Frost and less sun intensity limits their size - it means I can grow many more roses - even if I have just smaller areas to garden - In California I would have to choose ... So my illusion of how easy it is to grow roses in California is gone ... It is hard to find anything as lush green and beautiful as here - on these wonderful summer days - where I regain my strength and get a new sense of purpose and direction - now that my garden has peaked. Also do not have as many garden design jobs lately - but some hard maintaince jobs. And creative writing is a skill I am working on. At least I make half sense in my native language ...LOL. I am so blessed to be able to grow all these roses and grow most of them well - each of them are so interesting and so different and the colours of OGRs do not clash - I have however tried to plant more dark "Red" Austins and HPs even modern shrub roses like Burgundy Ice and they slowly blend in well among the Old Garden Roses - in a year or 2 they will make more of an impact. I all ways have one of my 3 roses benches ready for friends dropping by and they are owerwhelmed by my garden too - one friend said today - but it is almost too much! I said NO - - just wait until next year - I take out some roses and plant some more perennials (later and long -flowering Hardy geraniums) and Dark Leaved Perennials and some smaller ornamental grasses. He shook his head ... And the whole neighbourhood is smitten by my roses and are working on arches and want advice to create the same effects - and I will help them - because I will be able to enjoy these roses too - in a few years. Just saw the weather forecast - we are in for so very warm summerdays - I will take picures of roses in mine and others gardens the next days. This might truly be the best season ever ... next year it might rain and the roses turn into ugly brown mush ... like we heard it did for some forum members Celeste (last year) and Thorngrower. But we all try to make the best of what we have and hope for the best weather when our garden peaks. May all of you enjoy the summer and this season too ...

Plant it out if there is no frost or freeze outside anymore and definitely bring it in when temperature drops below 40. It should bloom again if it can gather enough energy to form another scape inside... Water flowering usually drains the bulb, so if it does not bloom for you this year, don't be angry with the bulb...

So very pretty. Yes the siam tulips or curcumas do go dorment for the winter. So do the dancing ladies, but both are a nice surprise in the spring. I just have to be careful not to plant on top of them in the winter. I cut apart tomato cages to use as markers now so that doesn't happen.

and and any ideas~anyone?