I used to cut index cards in half, put the rose name on them along with the color class, and move those around. That worked back in NJ, when we were dealing with smaller beds (our entire property was 50 x 100, which was large for our town, and with 250 roses planted over 15 years, we had roses stuck wherever we could fit a bed). But here in Florida we have over an acre, and with these long beds along the driveway that can fit 2 dozen or so (one to be planted this year, and the other to be amended, planted in the fall and finished next spring), I thought that would drive me crazy. So paper and pencil it was (and a lot of erasing and muttering to myself!). Once I had the design finalized, I measured out the biggest bed, placed the roses I had on hand where I wanted them, and saved space for the others with solar lights, of all things (I have 12 left to plant now, with four more coming next week). For the dining room bed, which is at the front of the house and flanks the front walk, I selected mostly bright colors. We have two columns at the front door, and I bought two Spectra, intending to train them up trellises and eventually up the columns. The house is yellow, so the Spectra will really stand out. And the side of the garage has a red rose at each corner for balance (Lasting Love is at the corner of the dining room bed, and is going nuts with blooms right now; Toro is near the garage door all on its lonesome; Sister Jane and four grafted minifloras are in the bed on the other side of the garage door where the HVAC unit is. I wanted to move the azaleas currently along the garage under the windows to the back of the pool cage and replace then with minifloras, but the DH wasn't too thrilled with that idea. I'll revisit it next year). I'm putting a park-style bench caddy-corner in the dining room bed, too, and probably a bird bath in the center of the bed that flanks the other side of the walk. That bed also has a Spectra, as well as 8 other FLs and HTs. Those were the first roses we put in last year, and we've been playing catch-up ever since. Chicago Peace! One of my favorite roses, and one of the first roses we planted at our house in NJ. I miss it, and haven't been able to find it on Fortuniana yet. I keep hoping. I'm such a camera junkie, but haven't taken a single photo of the beds yet. Once they're finished and mulched, though, I'll take a bunch.

Fantastic photos, Mary. You are butterfly blessed!

Rusty, I wanted to make the wild rice special. otherwise it will always be just a side. The recipes is very simple, not to take away the subtle nutty taste of wild rice. It is just wild rice with chestnuts cooked in concentrated beef mushroom stock. Wild rice is not sticky. I added tapioca flour as a binder. After that I rolled the rice into balls and froze them in the freezer. The frozen rice balls is very easy to coat with a simple egg batter and deep fried. It was very interesting to bite into a crispy ball with wild rice in it. I am working on a different batter to make it even more interesting. dcarch

Awful. Avoidable. Sorry for your community's loss. Hopefully this brings awareness to drivers. Our city is in the midst of connecting/ building a 100 mile greenway loop for bicyclists (some of which will be bike lanes inshared roadways) as well as a 75+ mile trail connecting mt. biking and cyclocross trails. Trust me these can not come soon enough! Most drivers in this city do not respect cyclists or give us the necessary space. I have had numerous close calls. While we were dating, My husband was involved in a collision where someone sideswiped him and left him for dead! Thankfully he only broke his collarbone and cracked two ribs and had bruises etc. But the jerk driver didn't stop and just kept going. He/she was never caught. I often wonder if they even tried to follow up to see if they killed a person that day! In my hometown the former miss america of 2000 or some year give or take a two who married the lt. Governor actually killed a cyclist. Her interviews after the fact horrified me. The guilt she lives with daily... I cant imagine. The incident enraged the cycling community as many thought the police report was written with an anti cyclist bias and "celebrity" leniency. Still the cyclist had some blame as she wasn't wearing a helmet... We need to all be more aware. I love the "icky" reminder!