April and May have been busy months for the rose society, and just think the rose growing season is just getting started. I would like to thank all of the people who have donated their time or participated in one of our programs this year; we have had good programs and good turn outs at most of our meetings. I am very encouraged by your assistance and attendance so far this year.
Last Sunday about 30 of our members toured the rose garden of Nick and Carol Tumbas located in Bloomington, IN. Unfortunately the garden was not yet in full bloom, but the picnic and hospitality were fantastic. Thanks Nick and Carol for being such great hosts. Their garden should be in full bloom in the next ten days. Please give Carol a phone call; I’m sure she would love to give you a personal guided tour.
The next major event of the season is the rose show at Glendale Mall on June 10th. We always try to set the date for the show to coincide with the peak of the spring bloom. The cooler weather lately has delayed the bloom a little, so I am hoping everyone will have roses to bring to the show this year. If you would like to bring some roses to the show, but you are not quite sure what to do, please call anyone of the following seasoned exhibitors and they will be happy to help you in any way they can: Bill Carlson, Barbara Stauch, Renee Lafollette, John Hefner, Linda Kimmel, or me. Always remember that the rose show is for the general public. They come to see beautiful roses, and I know that every member of our rose society is capable of growing beautiful roses.
I remember about nine or ten years ago, when I attended my first rose show. I was a green rookie and a little apprehensive, but I quickly learned upon arriving in the prep area that there was no reason to be afraid. Everyone was helpful and thought it was great that I came to the show. I didn’t know enough to enter the novice classes, and put all of my entries in the regular exhibition classes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had won the best grandiflora spray class. I also won several red and yellow ribbons on roses that I entered in other classes. I was very excited about what had happened that day, and I have been going to rose shows ever since. I am not a great exhibitor, but I do like to support our rose society and bring roses to our rose show.
Our next meeting will be at the Nature Center at Holiday Park on June 14th. Our guest speaker will be Hillary Cox. Hilary will speak to us about growing roses naturally. Her program fits in nicely with the recent introduction of several shrub type roses that require very little maintenance. Her approach to growing roses is quite a contrast to those of us who use quite a few chemicals in caring for our roses. As a person with a physical disability, Hillary will give us some advice on how our senior members and those of us who have physical handicaps can care for their roses. I think this will be one of our better programs this year, so I hope to see you all at the meeting.
Mark Nolen, President