I want that porch and all that goes with it. Oh, if only I had a knack for roses. Thank you for the eye candy. You have to be proud. Sigh.

Reginaz your gardens are amazing! Yours was one of the first gardens I saw when I came on the CG forum, and I have been in love with them ever since.

I am SO SORRY to hear about your roses. I have two roses that I think may have the dreadful Downy Mildew. I asked on the rose forum but they couldn't be positive since I didn't have a pic. Next spring I may have to toss them out. ;-( This will be my first time throwing away a rose, though I am sure every gardener has faced that same problem at least once.
Thank you so much for posting again!
CMK

I just clicked on the link, I remember this garden, too! Look at those Sweet Williams, I love them. Your garden looks like a museum garden. Double sigh.

regina,

your garden gets prettier with every passing season :-) Some of your color combinations are my absolute favs -- the irises with the poppies come to mind. but i'm also a real suck er for lavenders and terra cottas too -- blues do best here in my garden heat (and strangely the critters seem to leave most of those plants alone too).

your garden gives me such inspiration :-)

OH MY, in my wildest dreams mine will never look that beautiful. Is that the payoff for puting up with your cold winters?

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

What a long time until spring.

Gorgeous gardens! I mean this in the nicest way that there is something of an old-fashioned appeal to the gardens...timeless and welcoming.

Cameron

What a wonderful secret garden you have! It's to die for.

I looked at the 4 albums that didn't require a password. What a beautiful place you have!

Sue

Wow, what a rosy paradise!! The poppies are gorgeous too.

I didn't realize I could open the albums: reginaz, every photo took my breath away.

A garden full of old world charm, it reminds me of my Gramps garden at the beach. Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Annette

And some parts of my garden are starting to look like a jungle! Then I want a jungle too! Add my gushing to the list -- really beautiful beautiful gardens and grounds! I gotta make more flower beds around here and get way more roses and learn how to grow them, and it would sure help if I had some of your talent.

Outstanding, Reginaz!

ThinMan

Your gardens are indeed beautiful. I know I could never keep up with work and all your gardens so at this point you'll have to keep posting your pictures so I can dream of a yard like that. So relaxing to sit back and tour your gardens.

Utterly romantic! I love all those roses. Given that you are basically in the same zone/area as I am, I'm amazed at what you achieved, I guess japanese beetles, blackspot, and deer don't exist in your paradise.

What a lovely cottage garden, thanks so much for sharing and inspiring!

Thanks again for all the nice things you said. This garden is a constant challenge for me. I could write a book about all the problems I've had to deal with. But as anyone with a garden knows, there obstacles to overcome. Woven through it are the ups and downs of everyday life . There have been many rewards and surprises along the way.
schoolhouse: The sweet william is the easiest thing to grow from seed, just make sure you get the "old fashioned" sweet william.
thinman: It's easy to grow roses if you grow the right ones for your climate. I grow mostly old ramblers, species roses and a few hybrid musks. I just dig a square 2feet x 2feet x 2feet deep. Then I improve the soil what ever way I can, homemade compost, peatmoss, top soil, whatever I have. I used to make my own soil but that's getting harder to do because my horse died this spring. I buy own-root roses from mail order.
gottagarden: I do have Japanese beetles, black spot and deer. This year the JB's were bad but worse last year. I use Milky Spores, knock then into coffee can in the evening and this year I did use the traps. Also, there are roses that bloom in early June and others in late June. The JB's do their worst damage here the middle of July. There are some here eariler but it's usually when the roses are almost finished. The black spot I just ignore. There are always flowers and shrubs in bloom to distract me from that. I have a deer fence around the perimeter of my yard. We have a herd of about 10 that is here morning and evening.

reginaz,

I love old roses -- which ones are you growing in these pix?

joyce

Your gardens are beautiful and very artful! I'm another fan of the "jungle" look. I'm sorry to hear about your Rose Rosette problem -- I've had some losses in the past. There are many challenges to garden here as well, so it's comforting to hear from others who have to deal with obstacles and still pull together something magical.

Joyce- In the first picture is American Pillar in the background and Dorothy Perkins in the foreground. In the second picture Excelsa in the foreground and Minnehaha in the background. In the third picture it is Robin Hood, a hybrid musk in the background. All the others are ramblers. From what I've read, some ramblers such as Dorothy Perkins need a "cold period". I don't know if the others roses I mentioned would do well in Fla. There is someone on the forum that grow some ramblers in Alabama. Other people on the rose forum talk about growing roses in Fla. grafted onto Fortuneana stock. There are many ramblers suitable for the south, I grow ones more suited for the north. I hope this has been helpful. Regina

My goodness, how lovely! Your gardens are an inspiration and an aspiration for me!

Very very nice photos. I love the porch and the fullness of your garden.

Mihai

I love your garden! I just have to know, what kinds of poppies do you use?

I grow all kinds of poppies from seed, both annual and perennial. Here are some of the annual ones I grow:
papaver paeoniflorum
papaver somniferum "Lauren's Grape"
papaver rhoeas "Angels' Choir" or Shirley Poppies. These are the ones in the picture. It's fun to try new and different ones each year. Regina

It's like you peeked into my mind's dictionary, found the page where I define "Heaven", and modeled your garden after it.

I think this post should be brought to the top every so often throughout the coming cold winter just so we can dream of next season.

drool.

Regina - I never tire of looking at your beautiful garden. Will it be on tour this June? Thanks again for sharing it with us. Janen

The roses are stunning. I'm looking for a good climbing rose.

Wow. Beautiful.

Breathtaking!

Love your roses and arbors. Love all the foundation trees and shrubs too. They give your flowers just a wonderful backdrop.

It is heavenly.
Thank you for allowing us to view your site. What an amazing vista.

Annie

I missed your pictures earlier, Regina. I must say that I'm I very glad they resurfaced because it is always such a pleasure to see pictures from your garden. I'm so sorry about the rose disease. It seems I am hearing more and more about it. I hope this is the last of it for you.

MeMo

Thanks again everyone. Right now I'm almost finished with my quilt that I started in January of 2008. I am also washing my flats to start my seeds in March. I won't being doing a tour this year because I just had one 2 years ago. As far as the RRR disease, I just take one out and put in another! Not in the same place though. I also have to repair all the fences that are being pulled down by my roses.

wow - absolutely stunning - if that is considered a jungle - I must be a jungle gal - I could wander around there forever and always find something new. That is exactly the look I strive for. I can't do the roses like you have but I do have the clematis that I have in every single garden - I am up to 23 clematis now. They are my rose substitute. Thank you so much for sharing your garden with us ......

Lynne