My favorite 5 1.'The Florentine' which is the Old Rose garden at Morcom Amphiteatre of Roses' on the corner of Olive Street and Oakland Ave. in Oakland, California. Walk down the long staircase and look at the dates of introduction on the signs, inside the oval stone-walled area. If the dates are between 1804 through the late 1900's you're in the right place.. I love this park because in summer I enjoy walking on the outer paths where it is green and leafy with a few acres of tall trees..In early spring the Banksiae are in bloom among the trees, and also the wild roses we got from Miriam Wilkins estate. There is a gigantic rose that has been there for more than a decade, that I think must be R. brunonii and a couple R. moschata planted by the Noisettes. There are c. 2 dozen different cultivars of Pernetiana roses, and Tea and Chinas. a huge Catos Cluster' which on Manettii has grown to be more than 18 feet tall. It's a great place to ramble.. There are two modern rose gardens, too and a reflecting pool. Because by city law, the roses cannot be sprayed with anything, I go there to get cuttings from some of the healthier roses for our area... with my permission slip on hand. 2. Vintage gardens home garden. My idea of heaven, especially the south side of the house garden where two 25'+ tall 'Long John Silver' rosebushes bloom showing huge silvery white powder puff like roses, past those are many of the once blooming roses including 'The Garland' which are planted in a lush grassy area planted with other bushes, purple clematis, foxglove, increasing the beauty to a crescendo. 3. San Jose Heritage Rose garden. I do wish it had a shaded area with seats, and a drinking fountain and closer bathroom facilities for the aged, and the infirm. I've gotten heat exhaustion there more than once. 4.Lovely Luanne has a beautiful rose garden. Her yearly "whiffing event" is coming up soon. We've been neighbors for several years, in Oakland, and now in Richmond, California.. It takes a beautiful heart to grow beautiful roses...which she does.. 5. The Berkeley Botanical Garden' in California. I love their R. odorata and apothecary roses, and R. arvensis all planted near the Chinese Medicinal garden where R. rugosa and R. chinensis spontaneaa (sp?) are growing. Their R. odorata is covered with hundreds of large saucer like golden-yellow blossoms and blooms between March and April depending on how warm or cold its' been. It was more than 30 feet tall the last time I ooohed and ahhheed over it. I've been a tiny bit miffed at the folks who run that garden for their planting vivid red Florabundas ("for color") in their Old Rose Garden as I think it misleads the public. Theres' not a single Gallica in the Old Rose Garden and many of them, with the Hybrid Chinas would bloom well up on the hills where at least some frost and winter chill comes in winter. Lux.

Juliet, the Huntington has fewer Old Roses than it used to, having now more emphasis on Austin roses. I think even most of the older moderns have gone, now. And you DON'T want to see the Teas. The Cactus garden and the new Conservatory will probably be very nice, and the new Chinese garden is supposed to be spectacular. The Galleries, of course, are wonderful. I practically grew up in them, thanks to my grandmother, and I could still spend a lot of time there. (And they're air-conditioned, too!) For Old Roses in the area, I would suggest instead the Descanso Gardens International Rosarium. It's beautifully laid out and maintained. August is not a great season for Southern California rose gardens, but if anything is in bloom, it will be there. Jeri

I wish all of my grandchildren could be close. My only other granddaughter lives in Galveston, Tx. That's where my son and family live. That's about a 3 hr. drive from our house. Maybe a little further. Between dh and I we have six children. He has 2 boys and a girl and I have 2 girls and a boy. In all we have 9 grandchildren. My two older grandsons are grown. One just graduated college and is coaching high school football. The other is in his first yr. of college. I go to a lot of football games. *G* It's so nice to be retired and have more time to spend with the grandkids. I love every minute of it. ;) Dramall! That's cute! How did they come about that name? I am MeeMaw to mine. *G* Dh is GrandPa. It's so nice that your Dessie and Cameron live so close and can grow up together. They will enjoy one another so much. Dancey

We had German and Austrian friends who said that Hillerman’s novels, and others set in the SW, are very popular so German-speakers really like to visit. Lars, I like your recollection that OKC could seem so exotic. Of course, I also read the Little House books, and rather than visit a place, I wanted to visit that time. Still do. To soar over the virgin prairie, or journey through it, to watch life in the Big Woods, to peer in the windows of The Long Winter. Another is Pillars of the Earth. I want to time-travel as an observer of medieval Europe.