Eric has been known to bring me home things that had made their way to the trash from where he works. It's actually earned him the nickname "the Larsonist" with his co-workers. LOL This rose below is one of his "treasures." It's a hybrid tea rose and I'm suspecting it could be Mr. Lincoln which is a timeless classic for fragrant, red roses. There were two of them that made their way to my house and this one is the sole survivor which was amazing because neither of them had much in the way of roots when I planted them. It's been here for about four years and it's taken it all of that time to finally look good this year. The past several years, blackspot had plagued it and it usually lost most of it's foliage by this time of year. If you know me, I don't tolerate crappy plants in my garden and can be pretty ruthless about it. I normally give a plant three years to prove to me they deserve to be here. The fourth year - you're gone. I told Eric this was it and I was digging it out. He begged me to leave it. He hates killing plants (what a great pair we make.) So, I agreed and secretly threatened the rose's life if it didn't do something this year. I think it heard me, or it finally developed a sustaining root system, or the regular feedings of Rose Tone this year made a big difference. It's grown some substantial canes and the foliage has stayed fairly clean despite the rains and cold of June. It's had some nice roses on it which I have cut and brought inside. I'll keep feeding it monthly until August and we'll see if it is as successful next year as it was this one.
My 'Knock Out' Roses have had a wonderful year this season...they have bloomed really nicely and were covered with flowers. Right now, they are taking a little breather and forming more buds for another riot of color in a couple of weeks. I love this family of shrub rose and use them and their different colored cousins in my designs all of the time. They are very low maintenance and take just monthly feedings of rose food and deadheading. These roses never have fungal problems ever which is so great. The 'Knock Out' Roses now come in double reds, pink, double pink, yellow, pink/yellow, and white. They have a color that will suit any color scheme. I think they would reach 5 - 6' tall easily and I have been pruning my back in the spring for the past couple of seasons. Mine usually get 4 - 4.5' tall by the end of the season. 
And here's my little "red" visitor who has been becoming a regular feature in my yard. I took this photo from my front stairs one morning as I was getting ready to take Lars outside. Luckily, Lars didn't see him/her and I shoved him back inside before Lars did notice. The fox was sitting in my neighbor's front yard about 50' away from me and wasn't at all bothered by my being there. I was talking with another neighbor on the street and she said they have about 4- 5 foxes that gather in their backyard at dusk. So, I think I'm seeing multiple foxes. Just yesterday, I was on the deck talking on the phone and one of them just trotted by and glanced at me. Later last night I saw one crossing the street as I took Lars outside. They are also having a little bit of a "marking the territory" war with Lars which is starting to bug him. LOL I just hope one them doesn't trot through my yard when I'm practicing obedience/agility with Lars or playing with him. I don't want to even think what would happen.
These guys don't really bother me other than if Lars meets one face to face. I have noticed the squirrel population is down which isn't a bad thing considering they had been horrid with my containers and vegatable garden. They are kind of cool to watch trot by as I'm hanging out on the deck.
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