Thank you Olga and Connie. Your notes are very encouraging. :) I am looking forward to trying more Albas and Rugosas since they many of them are not worth growing here. I am fine with once bloomers--some of my favorites only bloom once. (Chestnut rose, Swamp rose, Fantin LaTour, Veilchenblau, Lady Banks) It is so hot and humid here, it's hard to imagine that the blackspot could be any worse. ??? Connie, April might be a bit optimistic for me to attend the Arlington presentation, (though I would love to), but I will absolutely be stopping at Hartwood as I cannot possibly take all my roses with me. :) I actually found your site a year or 2 ago while searching for Gothic Revival Houses (My husband and I love that style)on the Internet. You can imagine how wonderful it was when I saw that you grew and sold old-fashioned roses too! :) I am really looking forward to starting a new garden though leaving this one will be hard. Olga, I have so enjoyed your posts on Gardenweb. I am interested in the Kordes roses too--I read where Peter Beales called them "rudely healthy". ;) I was really excited when I realized that you lived in the MD/VA area! Hope we can meet some time when I am moved. Thank you both again. :)

Technically bogs have an acid pH, so what you have is a different type of wetland, a marsh, even though it is commonly referred to as "boggy". This would not matter except that true bog plants like pitcher plant (Sarracenia) and cranberry (Vaccinium) need acid (low pH) to grow well. You will want to look up suggestions of plants you get here (including mine since my soil is more acid than yours) since some plants require a certain pH and some are quite flexible. As others have suggested, watch that you don't plant invasives since you have a stream that flows through which would carry seeds. (Iris pseudoacorus is on the invasive list in many states.) Some suggestions of east coast natives that are happy in wet soils: Shrubs: Winterberry holly (Ilex vertcillata) is not evergreen and has bright red berries in fall and winter. Need at least one male for several females. Clethra has late summer pink or white flowers and nice yellow fall foliage Swamp rose (Rosa palustris) has single pink flowers in early summer Pussy willow, some of which are native and some of which aren't, but are not usually on the invasive list, I don't think. Button bush has white round balls of flowers (think Sputnik) that the butterflies like in summer Red-twigged dogwood has selections with variegated foliage or plain green, and bright red winter twigs as long as the old wood is cut out every couple of years. Herbaceous plants: Clematis virginiana won't grow in standing water during the growing season, but is a native white-flowered clematis that grows on our stream floodplain where it is occasionally flooded for short periods and never gets really dry, and so might work well near the edge of your wetland. It will grow well up into shrubs or trees with low branches, so I would plant it just outside of the 10 year width of one of your large shrubs. It has summer flowers and pretty fuzzy white seed heads. Irises such as blue flag and Louisiana are good suggestions as is Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis. Another Lobelia that will do well in damp areas ( though not in standing water like cardinal flower) is great blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilatica. Marsh marigold is a very early bright yellow bloomer (with the daffodils around here) that will be happy in slow moving water a couple inches deep or even average garden soil, though the plant will go dormant in dry summers. In general, since you will view this area from a bit of a distance I would plan on planting most of these plants in groups. Many can be started from seeds or cuttings once you have one plant. You may need to dig or cut back cattails until other plants are able to get large enough to compete.

Hello everyone!!! Hi Greg!!! I have always enjoyed taking pics...I would love to take a class sometime...but I just love looking at things from a different angle!!! I really miss the old cameras...35mm where I could manually work the camera..I do love the digital cameras..but I feel that I had more control from the old timers!!! "trying not to show my age!!!" LOL... Jim..I would love to see pics of those icicles...I find them quite fascinating...I especially love the ice covered tree too! There is a pic when I sign onto the photobucket page...there is an ice covered tree that look like yours..check it out!!! It;s a beauty...but yours was more massive than this one... ncpalm...I wish that it will be 2 months...more like 3 for us...The sabals are very hardy!!! But I'm not going to take a chance on the weight on the fronds...My hubby helps alot...when he needs help tying up the boat during hurricanes...I don't complain...because I know that he will help and paybacks are great!!! LOL... Take care everyone...Happy New Year!!! Laura in VB

If any one wants autumn clematis, let me know. I don't want to dig some up if no one wants it. You need to know it is aggressive. Here is a link that might be useful: Autumn Clematis