Will my experience in TN and NC do? Fragrant Cloud is still my favorite HT. Once established it is a robust plant with great bloom production. The petals have heavy substance and the fragrance is incredible. Must be sprayed for BS in the South. I've grown it both grafted and ownroot. Just Joey - I have two ownroot in my garden. I've had it grafted also. Its winter tender, spindly and not all that productive. It does have the most incredibly beautiful fragrant blooms. I have it still because it was my mother's favorite rose. I'm about to pull both out and buy Martha (a sport of ZD) as a replacement tribute to my mother. Cherry Parfait - a sprawling, very productive bush that just pumps out blooms even in heat and drought. It is really more of a shrub than a grandiflora in habit. I love all the color variations in the blooms. No fragrance. Must be sprayed for BS in the south, although it has decent resistance. Peace - I have (finally) a good ownroot clone. Although its currently unhappy because I moved it. The bush is sort of awkward, but its hard to argue with the blooms. There is a reason this rose is so well known, and it is the beauty of the bloom. It is a robust bush once established, but requires very regular protection against BS.

Peter: It is a whole other world taking pics like that during the day. My friend is trying to figure that out although he gets some great cloud formations before and after the storms. Nice work. I hope to see more pics by you. Jojo: I have heard the monsoons can be quite dramatic! I have even seen the storm drains dug all around the outskirts of peoples home but never saw them fill up. I can only imagine that. I have seen lightning from a distance and been very frustrated chasing them because the roads there a long and straight with no way to turn down another for miles to catch up to it..lol Been there done that. Have you ever seen lightning drop from the clouds over the prairies or horizon? It must be majestic! It is nice to meet Peter. It is always nice to see new faces. I would never come there without visiting some very nice people here if the offer is there. Going there to see people I know would be so nice. We would have to visit the Indian Reservations though, Saguaro Cactus Preserve, and look for turquoise jewelry..lol I have danced with the Navaho tribes once before! I hope many others come here with nice pictures. I would of loved to have sene the hail storm ones that some here have experienced! Mike

Those are pretty. I love sky/cloud patterns and colors. I want to get some photos in the woods with the sun's rays shining thru the dimness of the tree shade. I'm not entirely sure the sun will ever shine here again. I may be waiting a long, long time for those sun ray photos;~)

Thanks everyone! I've always enjoyed photographing clouds, but more so this past Summer when we were going though our second consecutive year of drought(D4 Exceptional - U.S. Drought Monitor), and clouds were scarce most of the time. Thanks again. Kt