Late May 2008 The bush growing steadily.
Mid June 2008 The first bud!
	Mid-Late June 2008 Four days later, the bud opened up.
	Mid-Late June 2008 Fully open!
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008
	Late June 2008 Playing with crops - but I love the patterns in this blossom.
	August 2008 The only problem with Neptune's vigorous growth is that I now have to stand on a stool to smell the roses! Neptune's one of the ones I want to smell the most, since it's on par with French Perfume. All of the flowers in bloom are near the top of my head. I took this photo while standing on a stepstool, as it was the only way to get anything but the underside of the flower. The front roses are all growing like mad. They obviously like what Julie and I did when we planted them. Catalina and Neptune are over my head. Mardi Gras is at least up to my chin. Only Julia Child is staying short (like a good floribunda) but she's spreading out and going strong. I guess I'll have to prune them short at some point, but I really hate that idea. Well, I'll definitely prune them when they hit the eaves (and I do think it's when more than if at this point), but I don't like cutting them back too much.
	November 2008 A couple of night blooms.
	November 2008 Playing with self-portraits with roses.
	November 2008 This is what you have to do with Neptune - you have to SMELL it! It has such a strong and wonderful fragrance. The only problem here was that my nose was a good deal lower than the flower, so I'm standing on tip-toes to do this and bending the stalk a bit. This has become one of my favorite pictures of myself. I think it perfectly captures how I feel about roses and is a decent picture of me in general.