Listed by preference, 1. "Auguste Renoir" very nice rich shade of medium pink, very fragrant, of old rose. 2. for bloom form and fragrance, "Liv Tyler" (actress who played Arwen,in Lord of the Rings) syn. "Comtesse de Province", I treasure every single bloom. An uncommon shade of peach-pink bright but not oversaturated. Nice fragrance, of sun ripened peaches. Stingy bloomer but each rose is very pretty. 3. . Yves Piaget. It is too hot in Oakland California to grow peonies, so I console myself with the blooms of Y.P. 4. "Rouge Royale" I much prefer this rose over our "Mr. Lincoln" for a fragrant red, as it is much more productive of bloom. with reservations, even in Calfornia, doesn't open well, 3. "Betty White" Meilland, released by Star roses, I feel this should be on Romantica list. LIke a shrub rose on steroids. 6 months after being planted she is a tall giantess,with towerlike columns of 2 canes with 14-16 blooms on each,and a good number of blooms elsewhere for something that has such big blooms, huge glossy leaves, gigantic blooms, nearly baseball sized, of creamy white and pale pink. very fragrant of old rose and rose cologne. Here it only opens well when we have 4-5 days of 80 degrees plus weather, otherwise the buds rot in the morning sea mist. Haven't done a petal count yet. 5. Toulouse Latrec, fully 1/3rd of the blooms of our plant have vegetal centers, which makes me wonder why Meilland put it on the market, I've seen this trait appear in several T-L"s for sale. "Polka" is nice in arrangements but requires immediate deadheading to bloom well. Thank you Meilland for a modern alternative to H.T.s. Luxrosa

I was seriously considering Bolero but read it was subject to rust. That did it for me. I tried several of the Romantica series about ten years ago, but eventually took most of them out. Either they didn't have the health I wanted or they looked very modern in my old-fashioned garden. In my personal vocabulary, 'modern' is only a compliment when it is followed by the word 'medicine'. I do still have two. 'Pierre de Ronsard', also called 'Eden', is tried and true in my garden, and it is one of the three roses my DH Tom particularly admires, and so it safe from the shovel here. It is described as a climber, but I prefer to grow it as a large shrub. He also admires the gallica 'Tuscany Superb' which he encountered in several gardens in England, but which is not a great rose in our climate. As long as it stays alive, I'll keep it for him. The other one is the Austin rose 'Leander', which he greatly admired in Mendocino Rose's garden one year. We now have two, one climbing in the front of the house, and the other climbing on the back fence. The second Romantica I currently grow is new to my garden, the climber 'Polka'. I heard good things of both this rose and 'Colette'. Since I found 'Polka' first, that is the one I planted. Last year it slept. This ought to be its creeping year. Rosefolly

I have grown Michelangelo (the rose, not the artist - smile) a couple of times. For me in zone 5, it was a stingy little knee high bush that occasionally bloomed, but mostly wasn't winter hardy for me. The BS resistance was about average as I recall and I'm not a reliable judge of rose scents. I doubt my feedback would translate to much in Texas, except that we share the prairie influence in climates. Cynthia

Jo, I adore Annie’s! I wish I could shop there in person, instead of mail order, but maybe it’s a good thing I can’t. I have loads to plant, more than the energy to do so. I don’t know what I was thinking. It sounds so easy to plop them in, but I always run into some delay. There are roots, someone is coming to install the drip system, I don’t have enough compost, or I’m struck with fatigue for a week a week or two straight. All I can do then, is water them and wait for it to pass. There’s too much lag time. I order when I’m feeling well, and by the time they arrive, I might not be. I’ll never learn, but I do like having my own little nursery to shop from, when I’m up to planting things. It’s needing to use gopher cages that adds so much work to everything. The white flowers with the sweet peas are the wild Petunia axillaris. I bought one from Annie’s years ago, and it has seeded around. It smells wonderful at night. The ones in full sun will soon suffer, so I usually pull them out when the sweet peas are spent. The ones that have sown themselves in shade look nice all summer. It’s perennial here, but since it self sows, I pull some and leave some. It doesn’t mound like a regular Petunia. Petunia axillaris will climb and weave 3-4 feet. It’s not a major pain reseeder, just a few here and there. I’ve only had it for 3-4 years, though. I’m beginning to learn that what I think is a “polite” reseeding plant the first year or two, can become much more aggressive when there are more of them flinging their seeds about. I thinking about that Cerinthe, right now. I’m not always good about removing the extras. Mr. Moses, thank you! Cafe Olé is doing well, and I have a pair of buds on one of the Little Gray Pearls, as well. I know I should pinch them of, but I’d like to see them first. I haven’t ordered the ornamental oregano, because a local nursery has promised they would have it in soon. It might have been better to order it though, I am such a homebody that I seldom leave. It’s far more economical to buy it locally. The containers look rather naked without any companion plants. I did toss a few seeds from a geranium, ‘Bill Wallis’ in with Cafe Olé, and I see a plant coming up. I’m excited to hear that you’re about to start warming up! It is funny that the minis are so hardy! I wasn’t aware of that. Of course, I never even look at winter hardiness when selecting plants, only heat tolerance. It’s a whole different ballgame, isn’t it? I still wish there was someone who would come take some pictures of your roses and post them for you. You’ve always been such a wonderful help, not just to me, but to many. I’ll bet your roses are lovely. You are wonderful with words, though and we can almost see them from your descriptions. Lisa