last month the roses were absolutely insane!!! The man who lived in the house before me (landlady's widow) planted them many years ago: one white just touched with pale pink, two deep pink (Bulgarian I think), both fragrant vintage varieties...the smell is heavenly. I gave them a bit of rose fertilizer last year and have been pruning them for several seasons' now (they were neglected for seven years before I moved in); this summer they grew so abundantly they were weighing down the rose canes! Good thing we had so much rain or they would have withered...

As it was, there were so many, I dried a number of petals for potpourri, and also, I tried to make rosewater... which seemed successful at first, but then it all went moldy in the jar...what did I do wrong I wonder?

Now, the lavender is growing beautifully, as are the hollyhocks, black and pale yellow...the phlox are getting there, and the daylilies going bananas as always; need to thin them this fall!

the stupid lawncare guys hired by my landlord have destroyed more flowers than I care to mention; and pulled out all my sweet woodruff, catnip, thyme and oregano...I refuse to buy any more plants so those guys can tear them up...now I grow my herbs in pots on the back porch...

My friends have vegetable gardens and I hope to get some freebies there...

Also, I have a huge quince tree in my yard that is bearing fruit..small fuzzy yellow things that will be big and ripe by fall. I will offer them to a friend who brews mead and see if she can come up with a good recipe. I also like to put them in a bowl in the kitchen; they keep for weeks and impart a rich, mellow aroma to the air...

peg