BIRMINGHAM ROSE SOCIETY FEBRUARY
GARDEN FACES AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY AFFILIATE
Editor: Glenda Boudreaux ambghbmsn.com (205) 3377100
2011
OUR NEXT MEETING Monday, February 28th 6:30 p.m. Hodges Room Birmingham Botanical Gardens Join us for the February meeting of the Birmingham Rose Society. Our guest speaker will be Phillip Oliver of Florence, Alabama. Phillip is a writer and photographer whose work can be seen in publications such as "The Alabama Gardner". He also hosts the popular online blog "Dirt Therapy". He will be speaking to us on the evolution of his garden, which boasts many varieties of old garden roses. Hostesses are Nora Coffee, Brenda Bodine, and Fran Brandon.
MEMBERSHIP FEES By Gloria Purnell, Membership
Membership dues are still being received. Individual $15.00 and Couple $25.00. Bring check to February meeting or send to Gloria Purnell, 5704 10th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35222. Directories are being mailed to individuals who have not received one at the meeting.
CONSULTING ROSARIAN REPORT By Gloria Purnell, Consulting Rosarian and Horticulture Judge
Soil – the HEART and SOUL of Roses With the clean slate of a new year and the flip of the calendar on January 1st, most of us made resolutions – lose weight, exercise more, be a kinder and gentler person. Did you make such resolutions? Have you kept them? Broken them? Now that January has come and gone and the wintry days of February are bearing down on us, let’s think of some resolutions that would benefit our rose gardens. First, RESOLVE to learn more about growing roses and develop our love for having the best roses possible. Second, RESOLVE to deal with the home of our roses – the soil. The soil is the soul and lifeblood of our roses and must be as near perfect as possible. This means that we should test the soil for pH factor, adjust chemicals for breakdown, and be willing to correct any problems by proper nutrition; drainage and amending the soil. The soil is the HEART and SOUL of life for roses and all our gardens. A famous English rosarian and clergyman, Dean Reynolds Hole, wrote in 1860 that “it takes a lot of digging and dunging to produce good roses”. That is certainly true today as the soil must be pliable, aerated, fed and watered to allow root growth and sustainability. The “digging” is emphasized by digging good holes for our expensive plants. The “dunging” takes many forms. Manures have for years been used for fertilizer. Some of our own rosarians use chicken manure, horse, or cow manure, and when we can’t get the real stuff, we resort to “Black Cow” from the home improvement stores. Many of us compost in our yards and containers to have good amendments to our soil. Thankfully, we don’t have to rely on our own organics as there are many excellent ready-mixed products on the market. One great advantage is that this eliminates the need to apply all the organics separately. We cannot talk about soil and roses, and even the food supply that is grown in our country, without mentioning chemical fertilizers. Their importance is monumental and there is quite a huge selection. Lastly, as we RESOLVE to be a better and more informed rosarian, I remember reading an article by Ted Mills, the creator of Mills Magic, and he said we should never refer to soil as “dirt”. He reminds us that soil is the HEART and SOUL of growing roses, and we should dig and dung it so it will reward us with show-quality roses.
THE ANNUAL PRUNING OF THE DUNN ROSE GARDEN By Bob Eskew, Master Consulting Rosarian
The annual pruning will be Saturday, March 5th, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. Bring your pruning tools and lets have a fun outing.