By Patti Spezaferro
My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.
– Claude Monet
Claude Monet, one of the founders of impressionistic art, always loved the outdoors, and wherever he lived, he planted flowers. So, it’s not surprising to read that it took Monet six years to find the perfect setting for his garden that possessed the right combination of water, light, and open fields. Once settled in at Giverny in Normandy, he began tearing up the existing vegetable rows and failed fruit trees, and planted flower beds and trellised arches for his climbing roses. He looked at the shapes, colors, and blooming time of his plants, composing the garden in loose geometric blocks of color.
He created two gardens: the water garden and the flower garden. The water garden with its small arched Japanese footbridge became an inspiration for so many of his famous water lily paintings. Each day, in a boat, he weeded the pond, trimmed the lilies to keep the arrangements of their clusters precisely as he wanted to paint them.
The flower garden was an ode to the English country style in a French countryside setting. Under the influence of Victorian landscape architect Sir Joseph Paxton who emphasized a riot of color, he filled his garden with roses, peonies, tulips, narcissi, daffodils, poppies, forget me knots, daisies, climbing wisteria, lilies, and a plethora of other flowers. Although he stopped talking about painting at the end of his life, he remained obsessed with his garden directing his five-person gardening crew what to plant and where. So, let’s go outside and enjoy a special time in our gardens!
I go out in the garden in November and when temperatures start to cool down, I reduce my watering schedule. This is a great time to decide on your new rose purchases for next year. Start looking through rose catalogs and websites and make out your wish list. Make it easier on yourself and select only disease-resistant roses. Also, decide which roses to keep and which to donate. Repot roses that have become rootbound. Keep garden debris cleaned up to avoid overwintering of insects and fungus.
Zoom Weekly Thursday Social Chat Hour
As always, I invite you to keep in touch by attending our PRS Weekly Zoom Social Chat hour every Thursday at 2 pm to watch gardens from all over the world, build community, and learn something new. Every third Thursday, Jerry Georgette will give a talk on Italian gardens.
November 17th Monthly Membership Meeting
Our November speaker on Tuesday, November 17th is Joe Truskot speaking on Rose Nutrition. An avid rose grower from Salinas, California, Author of the “Central Coast Rose Manual” and host of “In the Garden” on KSQD Santa Cruz 90.7 FM, Truskot has experience with over 300 different varieties and species, conducts rose pruning demonstrations, won Queen of Show on two occasions, and has been a guest speaker at numerous rose and garden clubs throughout the bay area.
December 8th Monthly Membership Meeting
The Peninsula Rose Society Membership Meeting on Tuesday, December 8th at 7:30 pm will feature Floral Designer extraordinaire, Karen Flores, who will demonstrate how to create the perfect Christmas floral arrangements. To our loyal members who have stood by us during these uncertain times, who learned Zoom with us with all its challenges, Peninsula Rose Society will provide the free floral materials and will even deliver the materials to your door so you can follow along and create your very own holiday masterpiece. This wonderful gift to our members is paid for by PRS to thank you for staying with us this year! All you have to do is RSVP to Paperless Post invite and Karen Flores and her team will deliver it right to your door. Take advantage of this offer and order fertilizer too and we will deliver that as well. Place your order with Jim Crowther.
The Peninsula Rose Society is working hard to brighten your day. I encourage you to join our Zoom Thursday weekly social chats, Zoom monthly meetings, and mark December 8th in your calendar to celebrate the holidays with us. I assure you it will leave you delighted, your mind refreshed, your spirits lifted, and your heart filled with thankfulness in having found a strong and welcoming community to share your love of roses. Until then, follow Monet’s lead and take time to smell the roses.
Welcoming Volunteers on our Calling Tree
There is a famous quote by Winston Churchill who said “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give”. I have been a volunteer for 10 years and will be the first to tell you how enriched my life has become because of it. Research from the Mayo Clinic states that volunteering lowers stress, extends life, decreases depression, boosts self confidence, increases your skillset, activates your mind, and lastly and not least builds friendships. Come join our Calling Tree Committee and brighten someone’s day. Reach out to fellow PRS members by phone and make a new friend. Contact Patti and receive your list of four members to call each month.
Happy gardening,
Patti