Message from Janice Schmidt, President of the HRS:
Dear Fellow Rosarians:
Throughout the month of August, the foliage starts to lose its freshness, the occasional leaf starts to show a change in colour, and the birds start talking to each other about their migration, making autumn one of the most delicious times of the year.
“No spring nor summer’s beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one Autumnal face.” John Donne (English poet)
So, this is the perfect time to think about creating new flower beds in order to plant more perennials, shrubs, bulbs, and of course, roses. Roses can be planted in the spring or in the fall.
You still have time. In fact, in Canada, you can plant anytime between mid-August and six weeks before the first killing frost, which means well into October. Therefore, if you choose to plant early in the fall, it will give the rose bush the opportunity to develop feeder roots before it goes dormant and the frost arrives. This means it will grow and bloom that much quicker when it comes out of dormancy in the spring.
There is nothing more spectacular than a rose in bloom. Our Meeting in the fall is a time to share the last rose bloom of the summer. So, bring in as many sprays or single blooms as possible to share the beauty with the Membership.
Upcoming Events:
September 15, 2015 | Micro-Climates in Your Garden | Speaker: Lexi Dearborn
Learn to evaluate your garden so you can grow some plants that might not survive in another part of your property. Perhaps a Japanese Maple might do well in the right spot or some tender perennial that you saw in a Zone 6 garden centre. This evening is also our Awards Night when the trophies for our annual Rose Show will be presented.
November 17, 2015 | Flowering Shrubs | Speaker: Catherine Waffle, Master Gardener
Catherine Waffle will speak about flowering shrubs. Tonight the Huronia Rose Society will also hold its Annual General Meeting where we will elect the Board of Directors for 2016. If you you are interested in volunteering, contact Janice Schmidt.
Millennium Memorial Garden
The garden has looked beautiful this summer, thanks to our regular volunteers who weekly cut off the dead/dying blooms and clean up fallen petals. To my knowledge, there have been only two Members who make the commitment regularly, Jeanne Leong and Irene Slessor, for which we owe a big “Thank You.” If any other Member has been helping deadhead, unknown to the Board, we thank you very much. Cherin Harris-Tuck has been a great help in watering the rose garden and Lorraine Gray has assisted in pruning in spring and late summer. Without these few dedicated Members our Rose Garden would not be the wonderful asset to the waterfront that it is. We would be very grateful for more Barrie Members to step up and help next year. Jeanne reports that “Everything looks great, and special thanks to our Secretary, Edna Caldwell, for her time and energy spent watering, spraying, fertilizing and pruning the many shrub roses at the Rose Garden this season.”
Garden Visit
The HRS thanks Trudy and Frank Seyforth for inviting us to visit their beautiful rose garden in July in Penetanguishene. With the rose garden were many perennials, shrubs and vegetables. Dining, socializing, and smelling the roses during a warm summer night is the perfect way to end a hot summer day for a rosarian.
Fundraising
At our Sept. meeting there will be a chance to win a Canadian rose book, titled “Roses for Canadian Gardens” by Robert Osborne, nurseryman from Corn Hill Nursery, New Brunswick. His personal stories of growing these hardy roses accompanied by beautiful photographs makes this an excellent resource that is easy to read but filled with information about the roses that will do well in our cold climate.
Membership Fee Increase
We recently celebrated our 35th anniversary. Over the years, we have continued to enjoy and share information on the growing and showing of roses. Today, the costs of running our society have been increasing. In order to continue to provide the Membership with knowledgeable informative speakers and a place to meet, we need to increase the annual fee.
Starting in 2016, a single Membership will be $15, and a family $20.00. We thank you in advance for your continued support and understanding as we share a common pursuit, simply our love of the rose. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the increase in fees please do not hesitate to contact me, Janice Schmidt, at jan52.tim62@rogers.com. To renew your membership, please complete the 2016 Membership Form and bring it to the Annual General Meeting along with your membership fee.
A Special Request
In the June Canadian Rose Society newsletter, the editor, Christine Moore, asked CRS Members to give the names of their favourite rose. I am sure she would be interested in what are the favourite roses of HRS Members. She will put them in the next CRS newsletter. Send your top picks to cmoore2738@aol.com
2015 Rose Show Report
The annual Rose Show, held at the Dorian Parker Community Centre on Sunnidale Road, was very successful and well attended. Our 35th Anniversary was celebrated with a lovely and delicious cake.
Queen of the Show (Edna Caldwell Plaque) | Dale Lovering | Tropicana
Best Shrub Rose (Victor Loeb Memorial Trophy) | David Ross | Westerland
Best Red Rose (Wendy Caldwell Halkewycz Trophy) | Ellen Spencer | Royal William
Miniature Queen of the Show (Plaque) | Dale Lovering | Popcorn
Best Design Level B (Reta Caldwell Plaque) | Ligita Preisbergs | Synergistic
Best Design Level C (Betty Nielsen Cup) | Edna Caldwell | Complementary
Everyone enjoyed browsing through photo albums prepared by Edna with historical pictures and information about the early years. The fun presentation of floral designs by Dale Lovering, Carl Phillips, David Ross, and Ron Spencer was well received with a lot of laughter and comments. It was expertly moderated by Edna Caldwell. The invitational class was entered by three new OHA judges who each did a lovely design to depict “Thinking outside the Box”.
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- Queen of the Show | Dale Lovering | Tropicana
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- Miniature Queen of the Show | Dale Lovering | Popcorn
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- Best Shrub Rose | David Ross | Westerland
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- 2015 Victor Loeb Memorial Trophy winner David Ross
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- Best Red Rose | Ellen Spencer | Royal William
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- Best Design Level B | Ligita Preisbergs | Synergistic
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- Best Design Level C | Edna Caldwell | Complementary
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- Invitational Design | Michelle Lynch | Thinking Outside the Box
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- Huronia Rose Society 35th Anniversary cake
A New Rose
When the Canadian Rose Society celebrated its 50th anniversary a few years ago, a Canadian-bred rose was sold to Members as a fundraiser. Called “Rosy Vision”, it was developed by Dr. Arnold who took over breeding Canadian roses after the Experimental Station at Morden Manitoba was closed down by the Federal Government.
In my garden “Rosy Vision” is a lovely soft pink with hints of coral. It has continuous blooms all season and is almost disease-free. It winters quite well with no winter protection. The Palantine Roses nursery is propagating this rose and will have it for sale in a couple of years. To see more of Dr. Arnold’s new introductions go to http://www.northernhybridroses.com. -Edna
Photographic Competition
I hope that everyone has had a wonderful summer and many opportunities to snap photographs of beautiful roses in bloom making ready for the photographic competition this fall.
All entries are due at our November meeting. If you need a refresher regarding the entry categories please refer to the attachment to your June Newsletter or email me, Janice Schmidt, at: jan52.tim62@rogers.com.
Ina’s Cross Stitch
There are many occasions to present someone special with a beautiful handmade cross stitch picture. These creative pieces were donated by Ina and all proceeds go to Huronia Rose Society. The starting bid is $20 for both pictures, so please bring some cash to the September meeting and you may be in luck and return home with a treasure.
