06/20/13

Floral Designs from the 2013 Albuquerque Council of Garden Clubs Spring Show

Floral designs in Garden Council are very different from those that follow American Rose Society Guidelines. I always enjoy seeing the different approaches to floral design.

The Council of Albuquerque Garden Clubs Spring Flower Show was held on June 16, 2013.

I thought this entry by Debi Harrington, who won Best of Show at the Rose Show three weeks earlier, was stunning. The class was entitled Ä Day Hike in the Woods.” It called for all dry plant material.

Debi Harrington

Mary Ann Moreno is also known for her striking designs. This is “Sunday Night at the NASCAR Track.”

Mary Ann Moreno

Some new designers made their presence known at this show.

This is Debra Sorrell’s, Ä Winter’s Day Spent on the Slopes.”

Debra Sorrell

This is Debra Sorrell’s “Saturday Afternoon Matinee.”

Debra Sorrell

Everyone was talking about Thelma Escalante’s underwater design, “A Day Spent Snorkeling.”

Thelma Escalante, A Day Spent Snorkeling

Thelma also was awarded for her design In “Daddy’s Little Girl’s Wedding Day.”

Thelma Escalante, Daddy’s Little Girl’s Wedding Day

Maple Levine’s design with dried wood and sunflowers was in the class “Saturday Morning Tee Time.”

Maple Levine, Saturday Morning Tee Time

It was fun to see designs so different from those I am used to seeing in rose shows, and to meet new people (and to see some old friends).

06/14/13

Rose Mermaid on June 13, 2013

Rose Mermaid has had a spectacular spring bloom this year. Said to be Monet’s favorite rose (thanks for the tip, David Clemons), I’ll just say Monet had good taste in roses. 😉

These images show Mermaid on one day, with various phases on the one bush I have.

This is a bloom just barely opening in the morning. They open in the morning, and the petals are gone by the next morning.
The long golden parts are the stamens, the pollen bearing part of the male plant reproductive system. The center part is the stigma, the visible portion of the pistil, the female plant reproductive system. The stigma is sticky and catches the pollen.
Even barely unfurled, Mermaid, to me, is gorgeous.

Bloom beginning to unfurl early in the morning

Close up of the stigma (the visible portion of the pistil in Mermaid). It looks very other worldly.

Stigma of Mermaid

On the right is a bloom starting to unfurl. The spent bloom in the lower left has just lost its petals. The one in the middle is about 48 hours old. I cannot tell how old the one in the lower right is.

Spent blooms of Mermaid

These are actually on two different branches – one with the buds, one with the spent blooms.

Spent blooms and buds of Mermaid

Mermaid was awarded the ARS Victorian Award (best old garden rose with unknown date of origin or introduction in or after 1867) this year at the Albuquerque Rose Society Spring Show. She won Best of Show in 2006 and 2010, but this year she did not hit her peak until after the show. The glory of Mermaid for me is in the garden! Sharing her with others at shows is fun. Any awards are just a bonus for this beautiful rose!

06/5/13

Rose ‘Mermaid’

Rose ‘Mermaid,’ Part 15, the Saga Continues

The Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid,’ has long been one of my favorites. Regular readers here are aware of my love for this hybrid bracteata, introduced in 1918, which was also the year of my father’s birth. I planted the rose in his memory after he died.

Although known for being somewhat tender, the rose grew huge, climbing up the fireplace within a couple of years. After the 22 inch snow that fell in late December 2006, with thawing, freezing, thawing, freezing, etc., the weight of the ice tore ‘Mermaid’ and its trellis off the wall of the house, and it had to be cut off at ground level. I was sure it would not recover.

Recovery was very slow, but ‘Mermaid’ did recover to virtually her old self by the spring of 2010.

This spring, 2013, has been an exceptional year for ‘Mermaid,’ as the following images demonstrate:

Buds on ‘Mermaid’ in early spring

Spray of ‘Mermaid’

‘Mermaid’

Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid’

Is it any wonder that the Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid,’ is one of my very favorite roses? 🙂

06/3/13

Rose Arrangements from the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show

Arrangements from the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show, June 1, 2013

Debi Harrington – Best in Show

Roses ‘Candy Cane,’ ‘Golden Showers,’ ‘Moondance,’ ‘Gourmet Popcorn’
ARS Royalty Award, plus Best in Show in Arrangements

Roses: ‘Candy Cane,’ ‘Golden Showers,’ ‘Moondance,’ ‘Gourmet Popcorn’

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Lauren Toth
Roses ‘Candy Cane’
ARS Duke Award

Roses ‘Candy Cane’

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Pat Jeremia
Roses ‘Wild Blue Yonder’
ARS Princess Award

Roses ‘Wild Blue Yonder’

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Pat Jeremia
Roses ‘Julia Child’
A Modern Arrangement

Roses ‘Julia Child’

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Juanita Ortega
Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’
ARS Artist Award
(This is a Transparency)

Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’

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Juanita Ortega
Rose ‘Fragrant Cloud’
ARS Oriental Award

Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’

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Shirley Tetrault
Roses ‘Tropicana’
A Modern Arrangement, specifically a Transparency

Rose ‘Tropicana’

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Shirley Tetrault
Roses ‘Double Delight’
A Modern Arrangement

Roses ‘Double Delight’

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The rose arrangements in the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show exhibited a remarkable range of creativity. Beyond that, the growing season had not been particularly good this spring, and the timing for the show was also not particularly good. That these and the other arrangers could put together these designs is a tribute to their skill and creativity.

On the Rose Arrangement page are images of arrangements at various shows in the Pacific Southwest District in the 2004-2007 time frame.

06/1/13

Albuquerque Rose Show, 2013

The Albuquerque Rose Show was held today, June 1, 2013.

In spite of very warm weather back in April, followed by a couple of freezing night temperatures later, people managed to pull together some nice roses and some very nice arrangements, to make a good show.

Albuquerque Rose Show, 2013

The work of a lot of people is required to have a successful rose show. Here are some images, in no particular order, of some of the Albuquerque area people who helped to make today’s show a success. (In another post, I’ll show some of the judges for today).

Charlene Bacchus keeps the Rose Garden running, which is a year-round job. For today’s rose show, she was in charge of the classification table, making sure entries were correctly named and placed in the correct classes.

Charlene Bacchus

Jack Ortega was Judges’ Chairman. He and his wife Juanita are outstanding exhibitors.

Jack Ortega

Jody Ifversen took reservations for photographs; served in classification and placement for photographs; and was the blue ribbon runner for the show.

Jody Ifversen

Beth Baker was busy helping exhibitors in the morning, and then visitors later in the day. She took out just enough time to allow me to photograph her.

Beth Baker

Rose friends in the Pacific Southwest District probably know Carroll Sue Wagner quite well. She has been both a Horticulture and Arrangement Judge (now Emeritus in Arrangements), Consulting Rosarian, famed pruning lecturer at the pruning demonstrations in the spring, and is another person who worked hard on the 1998 National Convention.

Carroll Sue Wagner

Debbie Butcher did whatever needed to be done. She is also the treasurer for the Albuquerque Rose Society.

Debbie Butcher

Pat Jeremia has become a wonderful arranger since joining the Albuquerque Rose Society. For years she worked at the shows putting extra roses into bouquets and arrangements for sale, which helped as a fundraiser for the local society. Here she is shown before the show, working on what became her award winning arrangement. She won the Princess Award for an arrangement of all fresh roses.

Pat Jeremia

Pat Stone had been a member for some time before I joined the Albuquerque Rose Society. For those of you who remember the 1998 National Convention in Albuquerque, Pat, along with her husband Hal (“Stoney”) contributed much to that convention. Pat has worked hard every year that I have been a member.