And finally, three of my registered mini's, although certainly not at their best:

AUTUMN MAGIC, WINTER MAGIC and MICHEL CHOLET:


It's been down to freezing or near-freezing every night for the past two or three weeks now, with highs in the 50's, which is taking its toll on the roses. But yesterday it just jumped up to 82, and our lows are now expected to be in the high 30's-low 40's with highs near 70 for the next week, so things are looking up!

Hope this gave everyone a little floral fix for early January -- does anyone else have any pictures to share?

Great blooms Betty! I just love rose color in winter! Love the darker edges on Fashion Flame and that last light mini is so sweet!

Just got a yogurt for lunch but grabbed a bag of salt & vinegar chips I picked up at Trader Joes yesterday.

I love all three of those last ones! I have blooms on my Michel Cholet too, what a great little rose! That reminds me, I took a little cutting of it, I need to go check and see how it's doing.

Cold here too, when it's overcast I avoid working outside, that dampness gets to my bones but today is sunny so I'll go out and do a little work, then we're taking the g.kids to the movies in a couple of hours to see "We Bought a Zoo".

I love my Winter Magic! I knew that it was from someone here.. couldn't remember who! Awesome! I have 2 copies of it (I like having only 1 or 2 of certain roses.. limited space ya know, except for my Blue Girls/Sterling Silvers/Stainless Steels) in my minibed. Love that rose!

I ate somewhat stale Cheetos last night.. gonna make some guacamole tonight to go with my Tositos w/a Hint of Lime chips.. also have a bag of walmart-brand Sour Cream & Onion chips (I buy super cheap 'cuz most of the time the cats & dogs eat most of the chips). My doing-so-well diet was totally blown out of the water this last month.. hate being sick 'cuz I have no energy to cook, let alone dishes (I hand wash 'cuz I hate my dishwasher.. so wasteful of water and takes FOREVER!!). I *did* roast up a turkey in my turkey roaster & had that w/mashed Yukon Gold taters & gravy for dinner last night.. ate of course WAAAAAAAAAAY too much, but it's turkey! Turkey's good for you!! I don't use any salt, just mostly sage rubbed in with pats of butter under the skin. Nom nom!!! Cats loved it too

Betty, they are all very pretty and I am envious of your 82 or 70 degree temps. Cold and freezing here right now. But what you said about the 50s. Roses really don't mind the 50s at all, in fact they like them. At least around here they do.

Love the rose pics also Its so cold here and windy . keep posting its 78 days till spring

I love the color of Michel Cholet! My roses always appreciate the cooler weather, but there are no photogenic blooms today.

It is mild again here after the cold deep freeze we had for a short while. Mild out yesterday and even milder today. Still, nothing happening in the garden as mild or not nothing goes on in the garden around here in January.

I catch up on my reading and watching DVDs in the winter as I don't have the time in the summer. Besides I prefer to be outside in my garden during the nicer weather. And take and post lots of pictures. But I love to reading and reading makes the winter go by much faster. So do the rented Netflix DVDs. I onlly get family cable so I have none of the fancy movie channels on TV. So I don't get the Showtime and HBO original series either and I watch them on DVD come winter as I much prefer them that way anyway.

I notice Rosa 'Evangeline' is in our database. A family friend was joking that the Evangeline Rose given to my mother (Evangeline, by her mother and then handed down to me) was a made up name. Well maybe ATP to the rescue as I see it in the DB. I don't have a picture and the bloom, it's pink and "flatter"? than most roses. It's been shaded out by a large Rose of Sharon and has done poorly for the last few years. I'd like to resurrect her. Help!

Here are some nice photos of it, Evan.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

It's shade tolerant, so that's why the Rose of Sharon didn't finish it off, I presume. It only blooms once a year, so I probably would wait to move it until after it blooms this year, but I'm in a much warmer zone than you.

Thanks Zuzu. Are Ramblers good for lattices or as bushes or? I'd prefer to not let it go au naturel. 12 to 25' is a lot of space. Any ideas?

They're good for lattices, arbors, and fences, but you could keep it pruned to a rounded bush shape if you want. Don't prune it until after it blooms, though. If you prune it before it blooms, you take the risk of cutting off the wood that's forming buds and then you'll have to wait a whole year until it blooms again.

Thanks so much. That gives lots of options. With all the broken branches this year I have plans for some lattices, ... So after flowering move to full sun an prune.

We'll be looking forward to some nice photos of it when it blooms, Evan. We don't have any yet.

Got another 1-2" of snow.. supposed to be in the 40s for a couple of days so it'll melt (my back yard is still under about 6" of snow from the last storm). Took down Christmas but couldn't get the lights off the roof off. That's OK, wasn't planning on taking them down until April anyways. In my minibed most of the roses there are still 100% buried in snow.. great insulation. Supposed to get more snow on Wednesday. Looking forward to it.. free water! I just wish my water bill would go down.. haven't done any outside watering since October & my bill's STILL in the $70s! We conserve as much as possible - I handwash dishes rather than waste 86+ minutes in the dishwasher, I have a HE washer & use only cold water, 1 shower (conserve water - shower w/a friend! ).. *sigh*

Toni, at least you really seem to like the snow. I agree that it is great insulation though. Too bad about your water bill.

Toni, dishwashers use much less water than handwashing. I know it doesn't feel like it, but dishwashers use 1/6 the water of handwashing. Here's an article:

http://www.treehugger.com/kitc...

A friend of mine changed all of her toilets to have #1 and #2 buttons instead of regular handles for flushing. The #1 buttons use just a little bit of water and the #2 buttons flush completely.

Also, are you sure you don't have a leak somewhere?

It's all relative, isn't it? My water bill is almost $200 even for the minimum amount, so I'd have to pay that even if I used no water at all, and in summer it climbs above $400. This year looks like it's going to be a drought year here, so it'll probably climb even higher. We usually have a good rainy season that starts around Halloween, but this year we've had only one or two days of rain since April or May. I really resent watering my garden in December and January.

SSgardener - Quite sure, had the water company out a few years ago to do a double check to make sure that the squishy part of my yard was not from my lines. It was the neighbor's extreme overwatering that made it squishy. And from what my neighbors say, I actually have one of the lowest waterbills... probably 'cuz I don't have grass. And it's just me & my husband, so we're talking 2 plates, 2 glasses, 1 fork/1 spoon, & whatever pots/pans I use. And also considering I don't put the pots/pans into the dishwasher (hand wash them).. handwash. The article you posted didn't show any hard facts:

We recently covered a tip on dishwasher efficiency, but may have left you still feeling guilty or at least wondering about whether you should be pampering yourself with this labor-saving appliance. Now, thanks to a scientific study at the University of Bonn in Germany, you can have your cake and eat it too-relaxed in the knowledge that the cleaning up with your trusted machine will be a piece of cake and the eco-friendly thing to do...The Bonn study proves that the dishwasher uses only half the energy and one-sixth of the water, less soap too. Even the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also rated the cleanliness achieved, again in favor of the washing machine (sorry grandma). There have been studies before, but this is one of the few that stands (wo)man against machine and it sets itself apart by including a thorough analysis of the effect of half-loads and the whole demand range from your cake plate to the grimiest pots. Surf to research under household technology at U. Bonn's site for more. :: U. Bonn Household Technology

No way to actually look at the Bonn study to see how many dishes, type of food on dishes, what kind of soap, etc etc etc. Not to mention the electricity bill generated w/the dishwasher (I'm saving probably around $10/$15/month on handwashing.. haven't used my dishwasher in 2 months & my electric bill is about $15/$17 cheaper than normal), plus all the other waste like what to do with the dishwasher when it's time to replace it, having to replace it every 5 years, etc etc etc. To me, just much much faster to wash by hand, plus gives DH & I 10 minutes w/o distractions (TV/PS3/intertubez).

zuzu said:It's all relative, isn't it? My water bill is almost $200 even for the minimum amount, so I'd have to pay that even if I used no water at all, and in summer it climbs above $400. This year looks like it's going to be a drought year here, so it'll probably climb even higher. We usually have a good rainy season that starts around Halloween, but this year we've had only one or two days of rain since April or May. I really resent watering my garden in December and January.

OUCH. OUch ouCH OuCh oUcH

yikes.

why on EARTH is it so damned expensive??? Reason why mine's so damned expensive is 'cuz we just got a brand-new state of the art RO purifier for our co-op, which raised our sewage price up from like $26/month to $45/month. But look at it this way: could be like this in Houston http://yfrog.com/kehdketj