Thank you both for your input, today I have managed to convince myself that I don't need these and should not spend the money on them, I just need to remember to plan ahead for next spring. Having said that it sounds like I am a picture of self control and composure, BUT.... I did just get home from the local greenhouse... who was having a sale.... and who happened to have a few Austins left over from spring... so ......I ended up buying one... Jubilee Celebration! I can't tell if I'm more excited or ashamed, but man, the strong fragrance coming from these roses is making me feel a lot better about my impulse buy. I had never heard of this rose before today, and almost left without it, but that fragrance kept drawing me back... that combined with the number of buds on the plant and an "excellent" rating on HMF did me in. After reading about it on this forum, lots of people had great things to say about it, the term prolific was tossed around a little, which always makes me hopeful, but as always there were some people who didn't have luck with it, so we will see how it does for me. farmerduck, your comparison to the "new car smell" helped me quite a bit to put this in perspective, as I have always thought people who buy new cars are a little silly for spending that much extra money on something they could get for a substantial amount less only a few months later (hope I don't offend anyone, my boyfriend is one of those silly people) So thank you for that, you are absolutely correct. Also, I will definitely be checking out Chamblees, I have mainly been looking at heirloom and roses unlimited, after hearing so much about them on this forum. Heirloom has a great selection and a great reputation (well, the new Heirloom does), but all they have right now are bands, if Chamblees has a one gallon available of Jude or Abe, I may end up getting one (we'll see). Kate, I am slightly confused by your question, why would planting grafted roses in a container this late in the season be a problem? I understand that planting bare root grafted roses at this time would be all out rose murder, but what are the risks associated with planting established grafted plants? I most likely will put this new rose into one of the new large containers I mentioned getting yesterday, are there some risks that I should be aware of when doing that? I will keep it shaded for the next little while, and make sure to water it frequently until it makes itself at home, but is there anything else I should worry about? I am a newbie so I have no doubt that I may have missed something, but I assumed I would be safe, especially because so far for me June has been surprisingly cool and rainy, and seems to be staying that way at least for another week. Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to ensure that these plants stay healthy. Thanks again for any and all advice! Jessica

Especially since the subject of worm poop had already come up, I would have had no problem saying "If you let me take those scraps home, my worms can make more castings with it."

I gave both of my kids a grad party when they graduated from HS. Both were essentially the same. Sunday afternoon around 2 pm. Lots (LOTS) of munchies - chips, dips, veggies, cookies, brownies, cheese, that sort of thing. No activities were planned. I invited my close friends, and they invited their friends. I served wine for the adults, cokes for the kids. Everyone sat around munching & schmoozing and a good time was had by all. Simple. For gifts, I recommend things that have to do with the college they will be going to (for those who are going). T-shirt, sweat shirt, rug for dorm room, blanket, etc, with college logo. If they are going away to another city, books with information on that city. Mostly my kids got checks for gifts, but a few people gave them what I just named above and they liked those gifts a lot.

That's a wonderful suggestion. I'll have to ask my son if there is a specific one near to her heart. She went to school in California, Philippines, India & Boston & also worked in Seattle & Beijing so I'll have to ask him what he thinks. I'm sure there's something.