By Carol Wong, President

It’s April and the rose bushes sport reddish new leaves and buds in singles, doubles, and more. Those who can bear to experiment with their blooms can finger prune side shoots to produce a bigger single blossom, or snap out the biggest bud to form sprays that will open all together. You hope they will peak during the week you want them to show or share but you’ll have a beautiful bloom or spray anyway.

This is the first month of our Monthly Rose Shows at the membership meeting. Please consider sharing your roses by exhibiting them or try your hand at an arrangement! Use the new “Monthly Rose Show Horticultural Schedule” to decide how your blooms should be identified on the card which should be hung on each clear bottle. Jim Crowther suggested the theme of “spring” for large and mini rose arrangements. Perhaps find a vase or tool to suggest a modern (shiny, angular) arrangement or gather some complimentary mini roses for a spiraling line arrangement. We’d like a roomful of blooms!

We will have a table set up in the hallway outside the Goldstar meeting room for people to check their roses. Volunteer mentors can demonstrate or advise on grooming, propping roses with wedges, answer questions about filling out the entry cards and help as needed. When your entry is ready, place it by class or section in the main room. No matter how your entries do, it is always a learning experience for the next time. I’ve made many a blunder, and I am willing to make more. We want to see your roses, whether or not they are show-ready, so please bring whatever you have. The over-all effect should be uplifting for us all.

You should know that our annual Rose Show in May is cancelled for this year, but we will be displaying our roses at the Filoli Flower Show May 5-8. Let the following people know if you have roses to contribute by 7:30 a.m. for these dates: Pam Schenk, Priya Kamath, and me for Thursday, May 5, Eleanor Rakonitz for May 6, Priya Kamath for May 7, and Anne Quincy May 8. These people are setting up or refreshing our display and would like to have the participation of as many members as possible. The name of the rose, its date of introduction and your name as the grower are what we need for each rose.

Please send in the names of your favorite roses to Jerry Georgette so we can update our 2011 list. It can help us select roses for our gardens.