The Historic District

Last week I went to New Orleans and saw the Garden District for the first time. Talk about winter treats! For those of you who enjoy old houses (ha, ha) I heartily recommend a visit to New Orleans. Camellias everywhere and fragrance of Sweet Olive in the air.

James just did a google image search, that area looks fantastic, all that opulence in a dozen blocks or so. How many of those old homes are open to the public? I see a self guided walking tour map, looks like it could be a full day worth of walking and stopping.
Secondly, did you get any ideas to incorporate into your landscape?

Ok folks, Ron’s got a dilemma. On the weekend I had a close look at the gardens and noticed my roses are starting to bud. Now the first of Feb is way to soon for this. My question to the gardener types, can I, should I prone back the Rose now? And should I move a couple that need moving?
Personally I think it is too early for any of these kind of thoughts.

Ron, it's okay to just call us "gardeners."

Leave the roses to their own devices. Sometimes you'll see budding or the early emergence of foliage in the garden (daffodils are notorious for this) during the winter. Don't worry. In cold weather, plants stall until temperatures rise again. Wait until the roses start to show new growth in the spring and then you can cut off any winter dieback. You're right, it's too early to do anything now.

Gothichome wrote:Ok folks, Ron’s got a dilemma. On the weekend I had a close look at the gardens and noticed my roses are starting to bud. Now the first of Feb is way to soon for this. My question to the gardener types, can I, should I prone back the Rose now? And should I move a couple that need moving?
Personally I think it is too early for any of these kind of thoughts.

Let things be. Sometimes plants in a sheltered, sunny area get some ideas after a couple of warm days. You will do more harm pruning or moving them right now, as far as I know.

James, Willa, I am a plant and hope type gardener. This is earliest I have ever seen the roses come to life buy at least a month. Thanks both for your input, I will let them be.

Gothichome wrote: I am a plant and hope type of gardener.

I know of no other kind. I am willing to pamper a newly-installed plant or take measures to give it winter protection but, beyond that, if a plant is finicky or prone to pests and diseases, it doesn't belong in my garden. With all the contaminants and pollutants we are exposed to in day-to-day life, I don't need to add to the mix by using pesticides, which are also devastating to wildlife.

When I have my radio on, I can't go 15 minutes without hearing the phrase "climate change." I don't think anyone knows for sure what's happening with the climate (they keep saying that the computer models were in error) but it's my guess that we're in for some quirky weather, which will have unpredictable results on our garden plants. The weeds, of course, will flourish.

My daffodils--or buttercups, or jonquils, or whatever you want to call them--are getting ready to bloom, and I've seen redbud buds. It's been in the 60s all week; we've had 5 inches of rain in the last two days and the flooding has caused road and school closures all over East Tennessee. Today, it's 36 degrees and has been snowing on and off all morning. Right now it's showering frozen pellets. Not exactly hail, but more than snow or sleet.

I just looked it up, and this type of snow is called "graupel." I knew there was a word for it.

Well, this isn't actually happening in MY garden, but maybe in someone else's ?