Wow, Neal! You really are making up for lost time in a big way. This is very exciting!

Thankfully only one spot in this yard is somewhat rocky, where some backhoe work was done a few years ago leaving the subsoil on top and the rich topsoil deeply buried. And that is the area where I've been digging out forsythia bushes and already have rose holes dug

The big challenge will be getting them planted without damaging many other plants- I'm bad about crowding things a bit

zuzu said:I also love the writing on "Downton Abbey." You're justifiably proud of your sister, cliftoncat. I hope it was one of the episodes where Mary gets taken down a peg or two.

I simply love Downton Abby. I started watching it on Netflix and am now only starting season 3. So I have a lot to catch up yet. I was sad to read that this year is the last season and that it is ending.

Thanks, everyone! I'll let my sister know how enthusiastic you all are; she'll be delighted.

Enjoying seeing some lovely new data base photos as I watch it snow outside. I particularly like these:

I love all the photos of Blossomtime- what a photogenic beauty! The photo above shows the dark pink reverse so nicely.
@MissMimie

I just imported those from an old thread. MissMimie left the site in a huff a long time ago after deleting most of her posts. I don't know why.

Ah, I went to check what zone she was in and wondered why it didn't take me to a member page. Glad you imported those gorgeous photos! That has me thinking I should keep an eye out for photos in old threads that deserve to be imported.

For once, I happen to have a rose that's being talked about: Enchanted Evening.
I had tried many lavender/mauve roses in the past and they all seemed to fry in the summer heat here as well as getting horrible rust and powdery mildew and/or the color being a washed out gray.

This one, however, is completely unphased by our summer heat and humidity and bloomed like crazy all of last summer. I was shocked that it did so well. The color is exactly like in Neals post up above. GREAT fragrance, blooms last several days, minimal thorns, and holds up well when cut for a vase. It's sort of the perfect lavender florabunda...IMO. My particular plant bloomed in clusters as well as single stem flowers.

My Palatine order is due to arrive today! Had it in my mind I'd specified shipment at the end of this month, but this is going to work out well- the extended forecast shows no cold temps on the way and I'm happy to give them some extra time to settle in.

Isn't it great when an order arrives earlier than expected and the weather is cooperating ? It's like when we were kids and you got to open a Christmas gift BEFORE Christmas !

My four new roses are waiting for the soil to dry out. It's totally saturated and the forecast is for rain for the next ten days.

It may be easy to plant when the soil is wet, but not this wet ...

Wet must be a nice change after all the drought.

Planted my peas in my garden today. It is so mild but most years it is cold in mid March when the garden peas are planted.

I made big progress on the spring rose pruning. That is one of my big spring jobs each season.

So a good day in the garden.

porkpal said:Wet must be a nice change after all the drought.

You are right, PP. They have declared this year a "wet" year for my part of California. Since other parts of the state are still in drought conditions, there will still be a water grab, but the forest are looking healthier.

The stuffed box from Palatine arrived just as I was digging some holes. I'm always amazed at how tightly they pack the box and bind the plants together without any damage. I got on a roll and got all 12 planted I'm feeling it already though- haven't done that much digging in a while. The weather was perfect today- it was in the 70s and I actually had to put on shorts and short sleeves.

My post disappeared. I probably posted it in some other, totally unrelated forum. Anyway, what I said was this:

Wow, you planted 12 roses on the day that they arrived? That's a genuine marvel, Neal. I'm proud of you and I'm sure everyone else is too.

It also amazes me the way they pack the roses! I have learnt to soak them before I take off the binding! Happy planting Neal!

Please remember, Everyone, that you don't want to leave Palatine roses soaking for too long. Multiflora doesn't appreciate soaking. Hortico used to advise people who bought their multiflora-grafted roses to soak them for no more than 20-30 minutes, and in a muddy mixture of garden soil and water rather than in plain water.

Didn't know that Zuzu. Multiflora isn't used very often over here. Normally Canina or Inermis and they don't mind a good soaking.

Dr. Huey, De la Grifferaie, and Manetti don't mind soaking either. Multiflora's more temperamental, but fortuniana is the touchiest of all. It can never be soaked and it can't even be shipped bare-root. The roses grafted onto R. fortuniana are grown in containers for the trade and have to be shipped in those containers.