Hi everybody! I enjoy, so much reading your posts on the bulbs, other yard work etc. I too, have wonderful memories of the flower gardens of my past. I am unable to do it now...I have to face that fact, this year.But I am now looking for someone to pay,to clean out from winter, put fresh soil and mulch flower beds. EMMA....I always think of you when it comes to rose pruning.I recall your tale of cutting your Mother's rose bush so close she thought you had killed it, but it came out with a bang! I think I will do these four big pink antique roses that way this year. They are straggly (Is that a word?) Probably misspelled. The gardeners (lawn people) cut then back in December last year...causing a lot of dead growth this year...they look really bad.Too tall in places...too bare in others...I am gonna risk it and cut about 8 inches from ground. Hope they bloom again! They are really beautiful,when in bloom, and last all summer. These roses were brought from Ireland 1800's small cluster of roses ...like five to seven, to each stem, a delicate pink, bluish centers...some of the roses are so thick petals they are like a carnation. I don't know if these pink ones are "Seven Sisters" or not.I have a big beautiful red 'Seven SIster"s on the other side of my apartment.It is very different from these pink ones in the size of leaves, limbs, and blooms.The thorns are sheer torture, though to work with. They are easy to root.I have stuck limbs into my flower bed,and rooted for folks. The antique roses are not free of diseases either like some of the new ones.I really have to spray these. If this gorgeous sunshine holds all week, maybe...just maybe will do it. Have a nice day....Stella