Garden Faces October 2013

Garden Faces October 2013

Birmingham Rose Society An American Rose Society Affiliate

President’s Message We had a smaller than usual attendance at our last rose society meeting due to the change in date which was caused by the Antiques in the Gardens show. I hope that a number of you were able to attend Antiques in the Gardens.

Virna and I were there Saturday morning and were very impressed with the quality of the merchandise that was offered.

I bought a painting from an artist out of Huntsville, Alabama and Virna had been looking for a bar for our dining room and found just exactly what she was looking for. It’s a beautiful rosewood cabinet which opens from the middle. We brought it home Sunday and she is absolutely thrilled with it.

Our next meeting will be at the usual time, Monday night, October 28. This meeting will be our members rose show and I would encourage everyone to bring in a single bloom hybrid tea, floribunda and single bloom mini-flora and miniature rose. If you have your own vases, it would probably be best to bring them in those vases though we may have some vases available. If you have never exhibited, this is the perfect opportunity to gain experience. Cut your stems as long as possible, bring them in water and we will show you how to groom them and present them for judging.

Hopefully we will have lots of blooms to display.

This time of the year is also when I spend time reevaluating my rose beds, determining which roses have been productive and which roses should go. As a rule of thumb, I give a rose 3 years in my garden before making that decision. This year I have decided to remove 4 floribundas and 3 hybrid teas that have not done well for the past several years. I also am developing a new bed that will be exclusively for miniature roses though I will use this bed to relocate miniatures that are currently in the garden to a better sunnier location. I started construction of the bed about a month ago when I rounded up an area in front of some existing miniatures and mini-floras where I have some perennials that were being invaded by Bermuda and centipede grass. After I killed everything in that area, I dug it up by hand and then added about half cubic yard of sand to this area, which I have mixed into the existing soil. I have just placed an order with K&M Roses out of Mississippi for 10 mini-floras and they should be arriving any day now. I absolutely love the mini-floras and am going to use those to plug the existing holes in the garden. The beauty of mini-floras is that planting them this fall they should be productive and ready for the rose show this coming May, whereas a floribunda or hybrid tea would take at least 2 years to develop before it is show ready. The mini-floras also make a beautiful cut flower arrangement and they are so perfect in shape that when I bring them to the office, the patients have trouble believing that they are real flowers. The ones that I have ordered include Abby’s Angel, Ambience, Charismatic Cooper, Double Take, Seattle Sunrise, Ghost Zapper, Whirl Away and Tammy Clemens.

I look forward to a great members rose show.

Harold Settle, M.D. President, Birmingham Rose Society

Consulting Rosarian Report

September and October are our driest months, so make sure that your roses are getting enough water. It is important to continue your spray program until winter arrives and the roses go dormant. This will help to keep your bushes healthy. You do not want your rose bushes to enter cold weather in a weakened condition with blackspot or other diseases and no leaves.

Remember to wash your sprayer with warm soapy water before you store it until Spring.

Also prepare a safe, dry place to store spray material – out of the reach of children. This may be a good time to sharpen and lubricate your rose tools. Check the pH of your soil and add any needed adjustments before you place mulch for winter protection.

We enjoyed a wonderful film last month on “found” Old Garden Roses. They are often found in old cemeteries. OGR are hardy and can grow in poor conditions with little care.

Like all roses they do need 5 hours of sunshine a day and 1 inch of water a week. A few of the very fragrant OGR are Souv. De St. Anne, a semi double, light pink Bourbon rose and Nastarana, a semi-double Noisette rose with clusters of white blooms. A favorite of many rosarians is Mutabilis, a single China rose of yellow blend. This is often called the butterfly rose. You might enjoy adding an earth kind Old Garden Rose to your garden.

Martha Eskew American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian

October Meeting 10/28/2013 6:30 p.m.

THIS MONTH: - In-House Rose Show Bring your single stem blooms of Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, Miniature & Miniflora roses to display. A winner will be chosen from each category.

American Rose Society Consulting Rosarians and Horticultural Judges will be on hand to answer your questions and offer tips and suggestions on showing roses.

This is always a fun event and the room is FULL of roses.

If you have no roses to bring, come and enjoy the blooms!

Horizon Roses 2013 is a compilation of comments by the nation's top rose exhibitors on the exhibition potential of the newest hybrid teas, floribundas, miniflora and miniature roses. For most exhibitors, it has long been considered the indispensable guide to buying new show roses.

The ARS has an updated website!

Check it out ARS.org

www.RoseShow.com to order

Advice from a rose: “Remember your beauty stems from within�

Meeting Minutes Rose Society Meeting Minutes

George Ann Hamilton – Recording Secretary

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Birmingham Rose Society September 23, 2013 6:30 P.M. Harold Settle, President, called the meeting to order. We had twenty members in attendance. Jennifer and Robbin Phillips were thanked for providing the refreshments for the evening. The minutes from the August meeting were approved as printed in the September 2013 Garden Faces. Harold Settle gave the Treasurer's Report for Hyacinth Prince; the plant sale last month netted $278.00. The checking account balance as of September 23rd is $3,705.74.

Our CD balance is unchanged at $5,073.01.

The program for the evening was a documentary entitled "Cemetery Rose". The film was about thirty minutes long and popcorn was served. Filming was done in Sacramento, California. The cemetery was rescued along with the few roses that remained. Today due to the rose rescue, 500 Heritage roses are in the cemetery. Another term often used besides rose rescue is rose rustling. Without the dedication of the men and women who take charge of rescuing these old cemetery roses, they would be lost forever, never to be seen again. The first public parks were cemeteries. The documentary was excellent.

Gloria Purnell reported that Ann Jones is recovering nicely and Carl is doing fine. Harold Settle grows the rose named Alabama, a red hybrid tea, in his garden. He brought the Sport of Alabama for the members to see. This bloom was pink on the inside and white on the outside and grew on the Alabama rose.

The October meeting will be held on Monday October 28, 2013. We will have an in-house rose show, so remember to bring your blooms. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

Treasurer’s Report September 2013 Still Time to GO! DSD Fall District Show 10/25-10/27 Hosted by the Greater Palm Beach RS Hilton Palm Beach Hotel West Palm Beach, FL

BRS by the numbers: 67 BRS Members 373 Fans on Facebook 123 followers on Twitter 3060 visitors to website since Jan ‘13

Contact: Debbie Coolidge 561-684-2421 geoffcoolidge@bellsouth.net DeepSouthDistrict.org

How can we reach more?

Great friends and Great Roses at our September Meeting

Garden Faces Deadlines: Submission Deadline: 10th of each month Publication Date : 15th of each month Editor: Chris VanCleave Phone: 205-585-9687 E-mail: Editor@BirminghamRose.org

Birmingham Rose Society 219 Chadwick Lane Helena, AL 35080

Grow Roses. Show Roses. Share Roses.

Birmingham Rose Society American Rose Society Affiliate While the advice and information in this newsletter is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the editor accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The Birmingham Rose Society makes no warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the material contained herein.