People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening, by Robin Chotzinoff is one of my favorite garden memoirs. Last night, for the third time, I read the rose rustling story with a huge smile on my face. I believe it influenced me to dive into old garden roses when I read it ten years ago. Since I've previously discussed the book, I will instead, in accordance with Carol's suggestions for this month, tell you about my first garden mentor. I searched all day for the photograph of my Grandma Nita with her six-foot-tall tomato plants, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Instead, I offer these. The Red Dirt Rose (my Mom) found them for me today. As we pulled the faded images from an old envelope, and I saw the dear face of my grandmother for the first time in many years, I cried. Edith Juanita, my paternal grandmother, was...

Carol from May Dreams Gardens and I decided to write dual posts. I thought it would be fun to get to know Carol better, so come in out of the heat, put down your grub hoe, grab a green tea, and sit with us for a spell. Why green tea? It's Carol's favorite drink: venti, straight up, shaken not stirred. She drinks it everyday unless her Starbucks is closed, or they run out like they did last week. Can you imagine a Starbucks running out of green tea? If you're wondering why the cup on the right is half full, I got thirsty before Carol arrived. Who is the mysterious Carol? Although she's been described as the rock star of blogging, I think of her more as our cruise director. With Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and Garden Bloggers' Book Club, she has transformed our little cyber family by uniting all...

And here is what I bought. I'm crazy to plant anything in this heat. We're at 100° now with a projected high of 102° tomorrow. My excuse is this coupon for $2.00 off each perennial. The new coleus will coordinate with some others already planted around Mary. The ones to the right of her grew so well that the vignette is off balance. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, things will look more simpatico. I got another variegated tapioca, Manihot esculenta ''Variegata' just because I like the one I planted in the garden, and I wanted to see it daily on my deck. Don't you think coral bells are charming? I bought three Heuchera 'Mahogany' earlier in the season for the front garden. I can't write enough good things about their heat resistance. We'll see how they perform after freezing this winter. Will they rot? The foliage of the perennial...

I think I know why, but figuring it out took most of the summer. Once I did, the solution was so simple that I owe her my most humble apologies. 'Belinda's Dream' is one of the classiest and best roses I have. Due to her parentage, a cross between the elegant Hybrid Tea, 'Tiffany' and 'Jersey Beauty,' a light yellow Wichurana Rambler, her silvery pink blooms are borne on strong, upright stems. Gazing upon her classic, Hybrid Tea-like beauty, you expect to see spindly canes beneath her, but instead her blooms emerge from a bushy shrub. Belinda is disease resistant (including blackspot,) blooms prolifically, and she even smells good. She was the first rose to receive the Earthkind rose designation. What else could you ask of her? Wouldn't you be alarmed if she suddenly started to falter? I watched her struggle this season and the last one, and I was...