By Patti Spezaferro
A garden is probably the most pure and spiritual of joys.
A communion with nature and beauty in their
most simple and fundamental forms.
–Oscar de la Renta
I always knew that Oscar de la Renta was known as one of the world’s leading fashion designers because of his elegant style of dressing modern women, but I didn’t know he was an avid and passionate gardener. When friends would drop by his Dominican Republic home, they would often catch De la Renta wearing an old polo shirt and khaki shorts down on his knees working alongside his gardener cutting back, digging out, and watering his Casa de Campo garden. His wife, Annette, was famous among their friends as a ruthless weeder. De la Renta loved symmetry with precisely clipped hedges filled with colorful planted chaos much like Vita Sackville-West did in her own garden at Sissinghurst. He carried his love of roses to his china, stationery, and dress designs. In 2016, he even created a wonderful rose perfume named Bella Rosa with middle notes of Damask rose and peony.
During this unprecedented time of the pandemic, extremely hot temperatures, thunder, lightning and now even fires, my garden more than ever brings me pure and spiritual joy much as it did for de la Renta. There is no better place for renewal and hope for a tomorrow filled with unlimited promise than in one’s garden. After all, planting a garden means you have hope for the future. De la Renta always said “You have to appreciate every single day that you’re alive. Life is a little bit like a garden — you have to find time to plant the seeds for beautiful flowers to grow.”
So, I am off to my garden oasis trying to keep up with watering since September can be the hottest and driest weather of the season. This is also the last month for regular rose fertilizer and Jim Crowther is still taking orders. You may contact him to place your order. Now is a good time to cultivate rose beds before heavy rains set in. I am following ARS Consulting Rosarian Nanette Londeree’s, advice and adding another two to four cups of alfalfa meal to each plant along with a cup of bone meal.
And finally, I invite you to keep in touch by attending our PRS Weekly Zoom Social Chat hour every Thursday at 2 pm to get ideas, watch members tour their rose garden, build community, and learn something new.
Last Month’s Membership meeting which featured Diana and Steve Steps’ fantastically researched talk on The History of the Peace Rose was an absolute hit. Our next Zoom monthly membership meeting is set for Tuesday, September 15th, and will feature Consulting Rosarian, Laura Dickinson, from Kansas City speaking on Soil and Water for Roses. You can’t grow healthy roses without healthy soil. This is a talk not to be missed.
Visit our PRS website for up-to-date events. In June of this year, 601 visitors dropped in our Peninsula Rose Society website. Thank you Tomoko Lee for doing such an outstanding job!
Like De la Renta’s garden that brought him much joy, our Zoom monthly meetings, and our weekly chats will leave you delighted, your mind refreshed, and 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, don’t forget to smell the roses.