North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

Doreen,
   I'd like to see the article as it originally ran, thanks.  I don't care 
about the photos. I wrote a couple of articles on old roses last year for a 
local freebie paper, as I'd aided and abetted a local nurseryman in his 
quest for old roses to sell, and they weren't selling very well.  I felt 
guilty, so this was a way to help him out.  Plus, so few people succeed with 
roses here, I'd like to make a few gardeners happy too.
   I've spent about $100 on roses, maybe a little more.  Mostly I've gotten 
cuttings from other people, taken them to the nursery, and gotten plants a 
year or two later.  Our big problem here I think is the hot droughty 
weather.  (I read that roses are becoming less popular in England as the 
climate changes to hotter and drier there.  Roses really do want their inch 
of water a week.)  I know a gardener in town with a garden hose who has 
lovely roses.  Mine spend their time after the spring flush waiting for the 
fall rains.  That's all I really wanted anyway, as the Jap beetles are so 
bad, but some releaf and try to bloom too late.  With La Nina back in the 
picture, we are probably shit out of luck for the whole garden year.   We 
are going into it with low water table and a spring drought.  It's now 22 
years since the beginning of the drought in the 80's, and there's supposed 
to be a 22 yr drought cycle.
   But back to roses.  The Kordes 'Illusion' is probably my best rose, and 
the extremely tacky 'Westerland' looks like it will be as good.  You can get 
the yellow sport, 'Autumn Sunset' I think is the name, Ashdown Roses has it. 
'Westerland' will probably blend ok with my apricot tea-noisettes, and my 
husband pointed out that it blends VERY WELL with bright orange marking 
tape.  Unfortunately it is next to the equally bright 'Nur Mahal', which 
also has finally gotten growing well so I don't dare move either one with 
drought coming.  On the Gardenweb antique rose group, Jim in NY swears by 
Kordesii roses for his climate, kinda Z4-5 I think.  I have been extremely 
impressed by the two I have, they never lose a leaf to anything.
   I take it you have settled down for good this time?  The hotshot 
troubleshooter husband found something staid to do?  I have to say I often 
think of you when I encounter our president Alfred E. Newman in video, 
audio, or print.  I tend to avoid such encounters because the voice and face 
are so grating.  Sort of like a friend who cannot endure the voice of Neil 
Diamond, to her it is like fingernails on a blackboard.  I came across an 
article by Molly Ivins about Nixon becoming rather psychotic.  Do you think 
there is a pattern here with the Republicans?  One paranoid, one Alzheimers, 
one disassociated schizophrenic semi-retard.  Was Bush Sr resistant to the 
disease, or was it the medication he was on that kept him under control? 
Seriously though, I was very surprised that the Democrats actually took both 
houses, I thought there were ways to prevent that sort of thing these days. 
Actually it worried me a bit, I only hope they don't do something stupid, 
like the Labor party on a roll in England.  I prefer government gridlock, 
the less they accomplish, the better off we all are.     Donna