Kit and Chava on a Saturday. The rose behind them is a seven year old Jackson and Perkins "Test Rose". It was never released by them. It grows to ten feet with fragrant, pink flowers. Rosea is actually part of the Apple family and this bush wants to revert to a tree. I kept it because it is very hardy, never mildews or has any other problems, and we get a lot of long stem roses from it. To me it should have been a "winner".

Chava takes care of all the roses at our office. I think he said we had over 500 roses here. This is right outside my window ( I am in the office and can see these roses---American Pride with Heirloom ( the lavender rose---extremely fragrant, as are all the roses on both sides of the entrance, and some of my favorites like "Smoky," "Blue Nile," " Apricot Nectar," and "Mr. Lincoln." My office is far from the largest in our building, but I chose it not for its size, but the view.   I like to mix together "Brandy," or "Just Joey" along with "Mr. Lincoln" and either "Blue Nile" or "Heirloom" for a " pastel" or "Monet" feeling. The fragrance also fills up the room for days. Romona, who is married to Chava, cleans our office twice a week and always puts fresh flowers in the vase on the table right by the window. I am quite spoiled.

This section by our office was designed by me, planted by Chava and I, the back fence built by Chava, including a drain pipe we had to bring across the pavement. My old neighbor and friend, Bill Long, who owns Lombardo Drilling, cut the path for free for us and Chava laid in a three inch main and designed and built the water stations for 32 "Climbing White Iceberg" and 32 "Lady Luck" along the back wall with a trellis to hold them as eventually they will cover the back wall you see. In front of them are 32 "Double-Delight" and in front of this, in alternate pattern, eighteen "Blue Nile" and eighteen " Brandy."  On the far end, instead of this pattern, is the "cutting garden", for office roses, and here we have some of my favorites, "Contessa San Diego," " Arizona," "Gold Medal," "Sterling Silver (gets full sun)."

The bottom soil is junk clay, that Chava roto-tilled and we mulched, then added twenty yards of top soil ( 75% planter mix, 15% sand, and 10% redwood---my favorite formula ). I think there are eight sets of water stations on a timer. This is the best place as the exposure gets full sun all day . My side gets eight hours sun in the summer and we spray and have high maintenance because of the location---but not here. Chava’s right hand man is actually cutting the "Bottle Bush". They were almost dead, not getting any water, but now we have to cut them back all the time because they get plenty of water and fertilizer.

Chava has picked up several business maintenance jobs in the area, which is lucky for me because the majority of his clients live in Saratoga . We have a lawn in front with a picnic table under the redwood trees. The Soil and Plant Lab employees and Sigma employees also use it, with the understanding they clean up afterwards. We like to be good neighbors. I don’t let anyone pick the roses in the front or around our entrance, but if they ask, there are areas available.