Hello Everyone, Spring is springing all around and what beautiful weather we have had. Today is cool and I’m sure the azaleas and Spring flowers are loving it as well.
How are we doing with our pruning? If you have new plants you probably won’t have to do much but if you have older ones the time is here to tackle the job. Howie Johnson, CR in the Marion County Rose Society has a beautiful Powerpoint program on Pruning. One slide tells the main reasons for pruning and I quote, “improves form, regulate height, improves air circulation and light penetration”. These are things we all want for our roses, right? We will take a few minutes at the March meeting to see if anyone is having pruning problems or questions.
Please give me an update on any ads you are working on for the show schedule. Let Dan know as well if you want to donate money to be a patron or sponsor a trophy; I want to include names in the show schedule. Ralph is still tweaking the layout for the show and trying to line up tables for us to borrow to keep the costs down. Please be sure to let Mary know what you can bring to help with the breakfast. The Judges always appreciate this and our folks enjoy it as well. With several of our GRS people unavailable the show weekend, we will need the rest of us to pitch in where we can. It will be exciting to host our show at this end of town. Remember one of our goals as a rose society is to share our knowledge with the public. Let us help our visitors “See Your Garden Through Rose Colored Glasses”. Don’t forget we have a couple of Dan’s articles on our website that will help you with Exhibiting. “Let’s All Exhibit in Our Rose Show and Playing The Fringes When Exhibiting”. Your blooms are important to our success!
The Kanapaha Spring Garden Festival will be right on the heels of our rose meeting. We have 9 on Sat & 6 on Sun signed up to help. (Remember GRS is paying for your admission to help at the booth.) I hope you are as excited about the March program as I am. Oriental art and flower arranging is near and dear to Ann Sherwood’s heart. Ann has a wealth of knowledge from extensive travel and training. We all know she and Dan have so many wonderful treasures they have collected along the way. Ann, I feel sure, will be bringing some unique & beautiful things to work with and show us how to use. Come, relax and enjoy!
The nominating committee has been appointed and will bring us word of leaders for next year. As you think about GRS, consider how you would like to serve. New leadership is the spark that keeps any organization alive. Any of our leaders would love to be a mentor to you for any role that interests you.
I’m looking forward to seeing you on the 12th. On the 12th, my calendar reads, “Daylight Saving Time Begins”. Clocks need to go “forward”! See you at 2:00 pm.
- Jean Stream, President