Today I got up early and foliar fed with fish emulsion, generic rose food, and I added a little bug killer to keep up with the aphids.. Then I started on Mill's Magic Mix and got the "A" bed done and it took almost a whole 25 lbs. to do just those thirty bushes and a few pots that were by that bed so I'll have to order some more I guess. Boy this can get expensive. Then I watered it in real well so the MMM can get right to work. Jim came over about 8am and we worked on the new deck until 11:45 until he had to get ready to go to work.
I have some really killer blooms out there right now. Just Joey is gorgeous and much healthier looking than ever, so I guess it is officially off the shovel prune list. Cajun Moon has two huge but beautiful blooms. Pasadena Star has several beauties that are definitely as big and bigger than a lot of hybrid tea blooms. Veterans' Honor, Brides Dream, Sunstruck, Olympiad, Sheila's Perfume and several others have their usual extremely nice blooms. Secret and Dolly Parton and Sheila's Perfume are so very fragrant they just knock your socks off.
As far as disappointments, I wish that Mavrik would get some size to it's blooms. They haven't opened yet, but the buds are not real big so I know the blooms won't be either. Lisa Maree is still growing very vigorously but the blooms are still on the small size like last year when it was a newbie. I was hoping for bigger flowers this year. Miss Elvis could use a little more size as well. Fragrant Plum is still kind of smallish and so is Cajun Moon who only has two blooms, but they are killers. Let Freedom Ring is still trying to bloom. I hope that it gives me some nice ones since I did buy the extra two from Steve Singer when he had 'em on sale thinking they would turn out very nice. Neptune, Chicago Peace, O'rilla, Stainless Steel, About Face, and Commonwealth Glory are not the rosees I had hoped for yet. Some may get the SP next spring if they don't improve. I think three years is long enough to prove themselves. The rose I bought at Wal-Mart labeled O'rilla is blooming but instead of russet it is bright medium yellow so it is either a sport or mis-labled which is probably the case. Christopher Columbus from Hortico looks to be dying. I just am not having luck with my bareroots this year for some reason. My new DayBreakers are looking good and the Chris Evert I thought was dead has come back and doing pretty well. The Soroptimist Int'l I put in the mist box has sprouted a new set of leaves, so with a little luck she just might pull through. Bee's Knee's is in the box as well but just seems to be sitting there doing about nothing. Jema is looking good and may come out fairly soon. The Mojave and Smoky replacements from Vintage are still small but at least aren't dying. They are just kind of sitting there.
For tomorrow I think I will try to finish the MMM on beds "B" and "C". I should be getting replacement bushes from Pickering and maybe by Friday I might get my stuff from Vernon Rickard at Almost Heaven Roses to pot up. Got to save enough MMM to do those with a little.
Pop Warner is still so very vigorous and has lots and lots of buds but I am still waiting on them to start opening. Moonstone looks good with lots of buds and I don't see any signs of the gall on the bush yet. Elizabeth Taylor's been very vigorous and the bush is already huge--biggest in the garden--and will have plenty of blooms very soon. I hope we can put a few on Lois' gravestone for Memorial Day since she seemed particularly fond of this rose.

Really haven't done much for the last several days. I have been feeling pretty poorly and just didn't have the energy to get out and do alot. Today I felt much better. I just wish it would stay this way for a while at least, but that is probably wishful thinking.
Today I shovel pruned the dead Marijke Koopman from Pickering. Pickering is sending me two roses of a list of four that I told them I would take instead because they don't have any more MK or Lion's Int'l that died last week to replace with. The Tahitian Sunset I bought last week I planted in the MK place.
Joyce, Melissa, and I worked to put in a new perennial bed right in front of the porch deck in the front. We also prettied up the existing new rose beds with some different edging. They look nicer, that is for sure.
I watered everything today and did some weeding. Everything really looks great. The potted plants in the mist box are recuperating nicely and I may be able to move some more out in the next few days.
Joyce wants to put in another bed for a few roses and perennials on the SE corner of the front yard to balance everything out. I will just use some of the HT's from the pot ghetto to do that with--maybe 5 or 6 if I can talk her into it.
I am really pleased with the growth of the budded maidens from Steve Singer @ Wisconsin Roses. Since I cut the tops of them last week the new buds are really starting to come to life. I will really be excited to see the Lucille Ball bushes get a good start and it looks like that is what is happening. The 2 Let Freedom Ring are doing well which surprises me as the bareroot I planted of LFR from Edmund's was so slow to get started last year. These budded maidens are taking off--must be the rootstock?? Edmund's uses Dr. Huey and of course the budded maidens from Steve are on R.multiflora rootstock.
I wish Jarrod was here to see and participate. I will have to send pictures if I can get his address next time he calls.
The J&P test garden looks good. Melissa, Care Bear, and Sunset Celebration are about to bloom and the Baby's Breath is growing well. I put the birdbath in it and we put new edging around it today as well. The test roses are growing well. The yellow that was the slowest to break dormancy is catching up quick. I am anxious to see them grow!!
I put in an order for Diana to Hortico and a couple of bushes from Vernon Rickard as well. She is a nice lady and I don't mind helping her out.
That's about it for today.

I dug out the Lion's Intl. bareroot from Pickering that didn't ever really break dormancy. Pickering is checking to see if they have any left to replace it with. I gave them four others they could send that I would accept. I replaced it in the garden with the yellow HT I found at Home Depot yesterday that had a tag calling it "Our Anniversary" or twoyel. Actually, it is in HMF listed as Dream Yellow. I don't think that the Dream series of HT's got good reviews except for the pink one, but I like this one.
I sprayed with Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster today as a foliar feed. I also lightly sprayed with Immunox later to keep fighting those pesky fungals and minor insects. I haven't had any fungal problems or real insect infestations of any concern except a few aphids here and there. I like to keep them away rather than cure them once you have them get a foothold.
I am so excited for things to start the blooming cycle as the bushes are quite loaded!!!

I went to Home Depot and Lowe's today and ended up with a potted Dream Yellow h/t from HD and a potted Tahitian Sunset from Lowe's. They were both so pretty I just couldn't resist. They both were healthy, aromatic, and loaded with buds. I also bought a Nicole floribunda for the grandkids to give to their mom-my daughter-since her name is Nicole. It rained a little bit today but not enough to make much of a difference in anything. The Lion's Int'l and Marijke Koopman are both dead, so I guess I will replace them with what I bought today. I haven't heard back from Pickering about replacing them.