Hello everyone,

Well, I decided that this is it. We were surveying the
back forties today and I was overwhelmed by the
amount of work is waiting for me as soon as the
sun makes a pass over Portland.

Since a wonderful rosarian friend was generous above
measure and sent me some cuttings of :

Bengale D'Automne
Anna de Diesbach
Henry IV
Mme Jules Gravereaux
Marjory Palmer

and I remember from days gone by that I had a
nasty time with Henry and Anna getting them to
take root, I decided I needed the liquid hormone
to give them a push, so with the idea of just getting
some other little things at The Portland Nursery
we embarked in this innocent journey. There has
never been a problem there, because their choice
of roses has always been towards the modern HT
and a few Austins.

We meandered through, got some of Monty's Joy
Juice - last night ordered another 40 lb. of Mill's
Magic and with my Alaskan Fish Emulsion and
the Alfalfa mixed with the iron chelate and so forth
I am sure they will look like roses on steroids by
the time we are there, but I digress - some real
great new food we have not seen there before,
and in one of those "I only want to look at what
is out already " which at TPN is the kiss of death
because they have the most glorious plants in the
planet, I went out actually to get some ideas of
what I want to plant inside the window boxes.

I nearly fainted. The normal amount of rose
space has now turned out to be 8 times what it
was last year. Every Austin in creation is there.
Some old beauties (all of theirs we already have)
and while I was still recovering from the shock
I nearly stumbled over one of the biggest,
hunkiest roses I have ever come across in my years
of gardening. And then I really nearly fainted.
Cyril Fletcher! It wasn't in bloom at the Huntington
and neither at The Gardens of the Rose the last time
I was there. But I was fascinated by the description:
"a modern HT with the look of an ogr, intense
fragrance, it has silk like petals" (this description
from then in England) " The petals seem to be made
of tissue paper - and there may be its single flaw"
(this one from Arena's now)

Or as our friend Phil would say " A Kimberly and
Clark floribunda" So I have posted a link to the
photo of the baby (!) and I don't know about you
my fellow rosarians, but in all of my years of
growing roses I have never encounter anything
this size in a 3-gallon pot before. You judge and
the link is below.

So, with the order coming some time soon from
Pickerings and the hopes of striking roots with
the above mentioned cuttings, we are officially
out of place. So much so, that we have decided
to literally tear the Roman stone patio and make it
a passage way to the arbor so there is more space
to put in potted roses inside those bathtubs from
Leonard's. A friend, after hearing me talk about
plans to remove the patio sent me this applying
it to rose growing:

"There is a fine line between [this] hobby and
mental illness."--Dave Barry

Amen.

Allegra

www.bluesky.com/allegra/cyrilfletcher.jpg