Judith's Corner - January, 2005

    I spent a few hours with Wanda and Janet this week, going over plans for this year's Rose Show. Janet, as you all know, has been in charge of this event for the last four years, and I've been her Rose Show sidekick for three of those. One thing we're sure of at this point--we could write a book on all the mistakes we've made along the way. When we started, neither of us had seen a rose show, and I was a very hard sell on the whole concept. I think my very first comment upon hearing about rose shows in general was something intelligent and receptive like "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"
    As it turns out, it wasn't such a dumb idea, and I'm a convert to the
pleasures of rose shows. This year, courageous Wanda has taken on this project,
and we're going to try to help her avoid the mistakes we made. Our biggest
error, we've decided, was that we didn't "sell" the idea of the Rose Show to our
membership. We never explained why it was such a great idea, what it was about,
what wonderful things you learn and accomplish by participating, or how to
prepare in advance for exhibiting the roses. We were always working at the last
moment. Wanda is going to undo that tradition!
    This year, we're going to do better. Very few of our members participated
last year, which is how I managed to take the top prize. I did nothing more
than cut a rose and plunk it into a vase at the last minute, and I won Queen of
Show. I owe it all to Oregold, which, as it turns out, has a history of
winning at rose shows. If I had taken time to plan to enter some roses, I might
have swept the contest!
    What would I have done differently if I had taken the idea of rose
exhibition seriously last year? First, I'd have thoroughly read the show schedule,
which is the booklet that describes all the categories and themes. It wasn't
until I looked at the schedule, the day of the event, that I realized that I had
quite a few roses that would have qualified for entry. I hadn't thought any
of mine would fit the standards, and I was wrong.
    I'd have planned my rose feeding schedule with an eye towards exhibition.
A couple of weeks before the show, schedule in hand, I'd have walked through
my garden and looked at my roses. I'd have noted which bushes produced sprays,
and nurtured the good ones--shrub, climber, and floribunda sprays do well at
shows. I'd have done some early dis-budding on likely sprays to make sure the
spray bloomed all at once. I'd have been vigilant until show time, and
ruthlessly groomed the bushes to favor the blooms I thought were contenders.
    I'd have made up my floral preservative a week in advance and begun
cutting roses in the days preceding the show--turns out you can hold flowers for up
to a week if you plan correctly. I'd have realized that flaws can be
compensated for--imperfections can be trimmed to shape, and a short stem isn't fatal.
I unnecessarily rejected roses that could have been groomed for competition.
    I'd have put more thought into entering some arrangements--I was chicken,
and it was foolish of me. All kinds of arrangements won--it's not something
you have to be an artiste' to do! I'd have paid more attention to the "bouquet"
categories, which allow for mixing roses, or using roses that are
unidentified. I'd have realized that there are categories for both closed and opened
blooms. I thought they all had to be at a "perfect" point of development, and that
wasn't true. I wish I'd paid more attention.
    This year, the show schedules will be out at least a month in advance, so
we'll all have time to do that garden walk-through and make some plans. We're
going to talk about the Rose Show at every program meeting, and we'll offer
more training and preparation opportunities.  We're going to call you and beg
you to enter, and invite your friends to enter, too.
    Ultimately, the Rose Show is about the complete surrender of self to the
charms of roses. At the show, the room is full of the fragrance of roses, the
low murmur of voices hushed with admiration, and a stunning display of rose
after sumptuous rose--it's sensory overload that's legal and good for the soul.
AND, the prizes are really, really nice!
    The ARS rose show tradition is more than 100 years old, and its purpose,
besides the competitive angle, is to show off roses. Roses are our national
flower, and one of the most hardy, and diverse, inhabitants of our planet. This
is a flower worth celebrating, and I urge you to plan to show your roses at
the Rose Show this year. See you in the winner's circle!

Judith Curtis-Mardon

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