Wow, what a perfect HT bloom! Reminds me of Koko Loco but with lighter edges.

Yes, Sue, almost a twin as far as the bloom is concerned. Stephen Rulo is a grandiflora, so it should look like a taller version of the Koko Loco floribunda. Good thing I didn't plant them near each other.

Here are a few of the roses in bloom this afternoon, starting with this spray of Tuscan Sun, showing hues of apricot and peach.



And Scentimental, looking like a big piece of peppermint candy.



Opening night is a real beauty, rising tall in the back of the border, and enjoying a little afternoon shade.



Nearby is this Purple Tiger.



I'm pretty sure this is Gold Medal.



And right beside it is Midas Touch.



A little farther down the garden path is Champagne Cocktail. It's behaving a bit differently than last year: more solid rather than stippled coloration.



Royal Wedding is just around the corner.



And across the path stands Sixteen Candles.



Next to it is Rio Samba - a bit faded in the August sun.



English Garden can be found by the iron gate.



And up in the rock garden lies Moore's Striped Rugosa.



There are two others that I brought inside to photograph. Here's Gemini.



And finally, Blush Flower Circus.

Beautiful photos! I love what your Champagne Cocktail is doing this year. I've never seen one turn so dark.

Wow, beautiful blooms, I love the deep rich color on Opening Night!

Thanks Zuzu. The funniest thing happened this afternoon. We had a torrential thunderstorm after I finished photographing the roses. Afterwards I went back outside just before going off to join some friends for dinner, and lo and behold the Champagne Cocktail had transformed into a semi-faded, stippled version of its earlier self, just two hours after I photographed it. Amazing - something to do with the rain, I guess.

Sue, Opening Night has become my favorite red. Zuzu turned me onto it two seasons ago, and I'm so glad she did. To tell the truth, it wasn't that great of a performer in its first year (2009), but improved in 2010. Last fall I moved it to the back of the border, and since then it has been a stellar performer with long lived blooms at the end of tall, upright canes. I only wish it were easier to get to - I have to wade through other plants to reach it.

Zuzu, here is the lavender rose from across the street, so far, hardly any noticeable fragrance so I am still undecided as to it's ID.



and Summer Song is flushing again, I just love this color!


I have a new lily blooming but lost the tag, it's huge and quite tall and just gorgeous!


and love these rich colors in the veggie bed.



I toured a daylily nursery yesterday located on the coast with my Mom and it was drizzly and cool all day so the blooms don't all open as well but it tends to intensify the colors. I am adding a few highlights here, the newer things are getting some exotic looks, these aren't your common ditch lilies! Names are on the images.










and a few seedlings in the greenhouse:


and happy sunflowers

The lavender rose is nice, Sue. Without fragrance, it can't be Fragrant Lavender Simplicity. It can't be Love Potion or Heirloom either because both of them have a strong fragrance. What was your first guess? I've forgotten.

I suspect Skiekitty might be able to identify it. She's a mauve maven.

Some of those daylilies are amazing. Pumpkin Bandit and New Paradigm look like happy giant pansies.

First guess was Blueberry Hill but I don't think that's it either.

zuzu said:She's a mauve maven.

Love that!

Definitely not Heirloom, Blueberry Hill, Angel Face, Sterling Silver, Stainless Steel, BlueGirl, Melodee Parfume, Singin' the Blues, Memorial Day, Blue Heaven, Shocking Blue, Intrigue, .. maybe and according to HMF, Blue River (my first guess) has a strong fragrance. dammit. One wonderful thing about mauve roses that they all smell SOOOOOOOOO wonderful...

I'll keep my eyeballs open. And it's a HT, not a patio/miniature, right? Most of the miniatures in blue don't have a scent (dunno why.. probably because most of them have Kordes as a parent). I'm betting dollars to donuts that I was looking at ordering that one, but didn't because of the fact that it didn't have a scent.

Maybe it's the Colwyn Rose? HMF doesn't state anything about a scent.. but then again, it's info is a bit patchy.

The thing is, that neighbor of Zuzu's got it at some local place, do you remember where she was picking them up Zuzu? Could even be HD or something so it can't be too uncommon. Anyways, she planted her roses all in plastic pots, adding a layer of rocks at the bottom to keep it from tipping over (super heavy!) and then she used her garden soil. When I got it, it looked pretty sorry, it's better now since I started watering it. I want to repot it with fresh soil until I decide where to plant it, maybe that will improve any fragrance. Maybe it's too stressed to give off much scent, I can't remember ever coming across a lavender rose that was not scented. It's not a miniature, not even sure yet if it a HT.

I've noticed that a ton of my roses haven't been too smelly this year.. not even Heirloom or Intrigue, due to the heat / drought stress. Watering helps, but it's just not enough. This has been a super bad year for my roses.. I've lost a few even though I'm watering at least twice a week (the soil about 2-3" down is cool & moist, but doesn't help when the sun is beating the snot outta them from the tops up). Mainly newer roses... lost Veldfire again for the 2nd time in a row

I might have guessed Neptune, but that's fragrant.

Too pink to be Neptune, and Neptune's not as rippled IMO. It's purdy though...

I know what it is. It's Lady X. That's one that's available at the local big box stores and has only a mild fragrance.

That's the reason why I didn't recognize it. Every time I've ordered it, it never came in. I do have it now, but she hasn't blossomed. My shipment from RU has not been happy. I think they're just too small to deal with my horrid weather here. But I thought that Lady X had a strong fragrance?

Yeah, that sure looks like the one based on all the HMF imges, love making an ID, thanks Zuzu!

It had to be the one, Sue, because Daphne bought roses based on their names, and that's a name that would have appealed to her.

Because she was so mysterious and sexy?

The HMF comments say she is nearly thornless, as is mine and that she scorches easily in the heat, can get very tall and is a rust magnet. We'll see how she does.