2024 Lecture Series

Roseraie de l”Hay featured in Our New Program “French Gardens & More”

It’s January.

The holiday frenzy is over and the long winter gloom is drifting in.

Everyone is hunkered down for a few months except gardeners. Paper and online rose catalogs are arriving daily as rosarians get ready for the 2024 season. Gardening mojo is rising and this will hold them until the forsythia blooms. There is no one more optimistic than a gardener in January.

Meanwhile, we posted our 2024 Lecture Series this week.

Our bookings are back to pre-pandemic levels with mostly in-person events with a few Zoom presentations scheduled for winter dates and a few distant locals.

We are excited to announce two new programs this season and have already booked both for later in the year.

The first program, titled” French Gardens & More” is based on our three-week trip to France last May when we traveled throughout Normandy, down to Lyon and spent more than a week in Paris. We visited rose gardens, museums, Gothic cathedrals, Normandy sites and lots of cafes and restaurants.

The other program, one that has been marinating on our back burner for quite some time, is titled “The Brownells – American Rose Pioneers.”  The Brownells – Walter Brownell and his wife Josephine and later their sons – hybridized and sold winter hardy and disease resistant roses throughout the United States from the small seaside town of Little Compton, RI. from the 1930’s through the 1960s. A very interesting story.

Programs that are open to the public include:

The Southeastern Connecticut Home and Garden Show at Mohegan Sun, Uncasville CT: “Selecting Sustainable Roses” on February 17, at 1 PM.

The Rhode Island Rose Society on Saturday, March 9, at 10 AM at the Riverside Library, 475 Bulocks Point Ave, Riverside, RI: “French Gardens & More.”

The Little Compton Historical Society on Tuesday March 19 at 7 PM at the United Congregational Church, 1 Commons St., Little Compton:” The Brownells – American Rose Pioneers.”

The Connecticut Horticultural Society on Thursday, May16 at 7 PM at the Elmwood Community Center in West Hartford, CT:  “Roses for New England.”

The American Rose Society National Convention at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI on September 10 at 10 AM: “The Brownells – American Rose Pioneers.”

Add to these public events are dozens of garden club and other horticultural organizations bookings. Its going to be a busy season. And as always, if your organization needs a program at the last minute, contact Mike at RoseSolutions. Maybe we can help. For descriptions of our programs visit our website’s Program Page.

See our complete 2024 Lecture Series by clicking the 2024 Lecture Series tab above.

Winterizing Container Roses: Roses in a Bag

Roses planted in containers may require some form of winter protection in cold weather climates. Because roots in containers lack the natural shelter of ground soil, we protect them by covering them in some readily available organic material – wood chips, chopped leaves, seaweed, or manure. This also preserves their winter dormancy.

However, this method has a major drawback. It provides an ideal winter vacation spot for mice and voles – a toasty place to hang out and multiply with plenty of rose bark and roots to eat. We found this out in March of 2017 when we uncovered our winter crib only to find the roots of every rose eaten and shanks girded. We lost the entire 2016 crop.

We took a few years off but resumed bud grafting roses in the summer of 2022. We enjoy the process and are able to propagate hard-to-find varieties and others that we like especially Brownell roses introduced by Walter and Josephine Brownell in the mid 1950s. (Note: all propagated roses are long out of patent.)

We grafted 55 in 2022, mostly Brownells, that we plan on using as live plant props at our lecture at the American Rose Society’s 2024 national convention to be held in September 2024 here in Rhode Island.

Budded Roses in 2-Gallon Containers

The challenge in the fall of 2022 was how to winterize these 55 budded root stocks planted in two-gallon containers and protect them from being destroyed by rodents.

The first winter was easy. After the now-budded root stocks were completely dormant in late November and mice had found someplace else to invade, we removed the small plants from each container, shook off most of the soil, bundled them together and packed them in 25-gallon plastic tubs and covered with wood chips. Four months later we unpacked 55 healthy undamaged budded root stocks. Voila!

These were repotted in fresh potting soil and were “topped’ in April then began growing vigorously as the budded variety.

The challenge for the second winter was how to winterize 55 now much bigger plants with large root balls as well as fully developed canes and stems – too big to remove from their pots and pack together.

Filling Bagster

Angelina came up with the solution. She suggested getting a “Bagster,” a thick vinyl 4’ x 8’ bag with 2 foot sides that is designed for construction debris that a truck will come and haul away. Instead of debris, after punching lots of drainage holes in the bottom, we filled it with the 55 potted roses and covered them with wood chips.

Our thinking is the Bagster is tall enough to prevent any tiny intruders from scaling the sides and camping out for the winter. We will know next March.

Roses “Bagged” for the Winter

The next challenge will be timing the second bloom cycle next summer to coincide with September 10 when we present our lecture, “The Brownells: American Rose Pioneers.”

Meanwhile, the roses are taking a break and so are we.

Pointe du Hoc along Omaha Beach

Pointe du Hoc

During our recent trip to France, we used Bayeux as a base to explore Normandy, especially the Omaha Beach area. We spent two days driving mile after mile along back roads through the idyllic French countryside, past farms and through villages on the way to Omaha Beach.

Cliffs at Point du Hoc

One of the venues high on our trip list was Pointe du Hoc, a 110-foot cliff jutting out into the English Channel located about 4 miles west of the center of Omaha Beach.

Artillery Bunker

World War II German fortifications built along this prominent cliff top location included a series of defensive artillery bunkers. On D-Day, the US Army’s 2nd Ranger battalion scaled these cliffs and took this critical position, pushing German forces back from the cliffs while taking heavy losses in the two-day battle.

The site is now the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument and managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

We arrived on a warm sunny day and, despite the crowd, found plenty of free parking nearby. The site is easily accessible from the parking area through a series of paths taking visitors throughout the battle site.

View from Inside Bunker

Pointe du Hoc has remained basically unchanged since 1944 and entrance to many of the concrete bunkers is allowed. We descended down tight step ways into small concrete bunker rooms able to gaze out the same narrow view ports into the English Channel as the German artillerymen had 79 years ago. (All artillery pieces have long since been removed.) Outside, the entire field area around the bunkers is pock marked by deep craters caused by heavy US naval bombardment prior to the assault, still highly visible today.

Naval Bombardment Crater

The Pointe du Hoc Visitors Center provides lots of information for those visitors interested in a deep dive into the events of June 6, 1944. Note: there is no gift shop and no place to buy food.

Artillery Concrete Pad

Pointe du Hoc is an important stop for visitors to realize the breath of the D-Day invasion. Allow about two hours to walk along the small battle site and see everything, including stooping down into a few coastal bunkers. As we peered over the railing at the top of the cliffs to the beach below, we wondered how Army Rangers could have climbed up rope ladders and taken the top under fierce enemy fire. But they did.

French Connection

Roseraie de Bagatelle

The French, especially Parisians, are often considered to be brusque, sometimes to the point of rudeness. However, we have found this not to be the case.

Mont Ste. Michel

Angelina and I recently spent three weeks in France visiting rose gardens, museums, and other points of interest. We rented a car for nine days and enjoyed cruising through the idyllic Normandy countryside. This included two day-trips to the Omaha beach area, Pointe du Hoc, Mont Ste. Michel and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, sacred ground for Americans.

American Cemetery – Normandy

We returned to Paris for a week and then on to Lyon on the high-speed train. While this was our third trip to France, we found ourselves needing a little bit of help from time to time and we got it.

When we arrived in Lyon, a rowdy demonstration was going on in front of our hotel and the area was blocked off by the police. All the taxi drivers at the train station were aware of this and would not take the fare. One driver who understood our predicament gathered the other drivers and they came up with an alternative using the nearby Lyon Metro. But once inside the metro station the only way to buy a ticket was at the ticket kiosk where the instructions were in French. A young man walking by saw our confusion and worked the machine for us and then escorted us to the right line. Voila.

Lyon Restaurant District

Besides accepting friendly support from strangers, we had a number of interesting chance encounters with French citizens as well as other travelers which add flavor to all our trips. One of our favorites was meeting a waiter in a Lyon bistro who spoke amazingly good English. I asked him how he learned – in school? perhaps at home? Nah, he said, he picked it up by listening to the New England Patriots play-by-play announcers for ten years. He would wake up at 3am on Sundays to catch the game live on French satellite TV. Big Tom Brady fan.

In a Lyon fromagerie, where no one spoke any English and my French failed me, the cheese lady pulled out her iPhone to a translation app and we got the cheeses we wanted courtesy of Apple.

But the most memorable experience took place when we left the Bois de Bologna, a large public park in the western outskirts of Paris. We were returning to our hotel from a visit to the Roseraie de Bagatelle, the rose garden within the park with a worldwide reputation and an annual international competition. We had taken a taxi to the garden but there was no taxi or bus service within the park to get us back. We knew where we were and where we wanted to go but did not know exactly how to get there. We were half-lost.

We intrepidly hiked the half-mile out of the park and found a bus stop and decided to board any bus to get us to any Metro station and we would wing it from there. I tried asking the bus driver what stop we needed for the nearest Metro but she did not understand my French. Neither did I.  It was then that we heard a voice behind us ask where were we going in fluent English. We turned around and that’s when we met Francoise. We told her we were heading back to our hotel in the 6th (arrondissement). That’s where I’m going, she said, follow me.

Paris Metro Stop

She led us to the Metro station and off we went. We sat together and chatted like old friends. Her English had a slight French accent but also a bit of London and a touch of Manhattan. It was so good I asked her if she was really French. She admitted that she had lived in New York, Los Angeles, London, South Africa and, get this, Newport RI where Angelina was born. When asked what she did for a living, she only smiled.

She suggested ways to see Paris (ride the bus not the Metro and take a river cruise on the Seine). We were aware of these tips but enjoyed her cheery narrative. We had to switch lines which meant up and down a maze of stairs and escalators to reach the next leg of the trip but we simply followed Francoise. When we finally reached the point where we parted company, we shook hands and she briskly walked on to the crowded platform of the next metro and disappeared. Mary Poppins sans the umbrella.

After a hiatus of three years, it felt good to be back travelling again. As always, we plan to be good guests in whatever country we visit by first learning some basic words and phrases in the local language and using them. Our efforts are usually clumsy and the pronunciation awful but the locals forgive us for trying, especially the French. Maybe that’s why we get along. N’est-ce pas?

Rose Rosette Disease

Rose Rose Disease Foliage at Rest Stop in Maryland

Our first up-close sighting of Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) was during a trip to Washington, DC and nearby mid-Atlantic areas a few years ago. RRD was everywhere, in private gardens and especially in median strips and in other public plantings where it apparently went unnoticed and unmanaged. Whole beds were infected. We had been aware of it but had not seen any evidence of it at home in Rhode Island so we were less concerned.

That would change when two years later we noticed infected multiflora (a common species or wild rose) roses growing next to the bike path along upper Narragansett Bay where we go on our daily walks. The bright red foliage, heavy thorny stems and witches broom made it easy to spot. Other similar sightings of RRD have since been made locally and even infections in some gardens have been reported.

Witches Broom Growth Among Normal Growth

Rose Rosette Disease is a virus that causes roses to grow strange deformities. The first tell-tale symptom is extra thick, bright red stems and clusters of thin, bunched foliage – often referred to as “witches broom.” Excessive thorniness and deformed flowers are also typical.

This highly contagious virus is carried by the tiny wingless Eriophyid mite that travels great distances on wind currents. Once one plant in a garden is infected, the disease can quickly spread by plant-to-plant transfer or by people and animals passing by an infected plant. At that point an infected plant goes into decline and eventually dies within a year or two. There is no known cure.

Bright Red Foliage of RRD

If RRD symptoms occur, the best remedy is to remove the plant immediately before it can infect the rest of the garden. Pruning out diseased shoots does not help once the virus is in the rose’s vascular system. Place the infected bush – canes, stems, foliage, roots, everything – into a trash bag and discard out of the garden. This may seem extreme but the virus spreads quickly and it’s better to lose one plant than an entire garden.

Note that RRD symptoms can be confused with herbicide damage. Witches broom bunching can also be caused by careless application of Roundup or other herbicides in proximity to rose bushes. None of the other RRD symptoms will be present. If this is suspected, observe the plant closely and if it’s herbicidal damage, the bush will eventually outgrow the damage.

Note also that many rose varieties express their juvenile growth as dark red stems that turn green as they grow – completely normal.

Rose Rosette Disease is a serious threat to roses but research is underway to discover resistant varieties and develop effective treatments. Meanwhile, it  can be managed once the symptoms are recognized and quick action takes place.

Yaddo Rose Garden

Yaddo Rose Garden

When visiting Saratoga Springs, NY this summer, one of the stops on our itinerary was the Yaddo Rose Garden. Hidden down a long winding road, the rose garden is located on part of the 400 acre working artists’ retreat. The only part of the estate open to the public are the gardens which include the rose garden and the rock garden.

On the day we visited the garden, during the second week of June, we were fortunate to meet several of the volunteers who maintain the garden. Due to Covid, the garden had been shut down in 2020 and only limited access was allowed in 2021. To say the least, there was a lot of work to be done when they returned. The volunteers had overgrown beds to weed and replacement roses to plant. They also have a continuous deer problem to deal with.

Newly Planted Rose Bed

We learned some of the history of the garden from the volunteers we met and it is quite a story. The gardens at Yaddo, a gift by Spencer Trask to his wife Katherine in 1899, were designed by the couple with some input from landscape architects. The designs were also influenced from the gardens the Trasks had visited on their trips abroad.

Fountain Surrounded by Rose Beds

The rose garden dates back to 1905. Unfortunately, after the deaths of their four children, the Trasks were left with no heirs and formed what became The Corporation of Yaddo which they endowed to manage the property as an artist’s retreat. With the death of Katrina in 1922, the corporation established a residency program for artists from all backgrounds and various countries. It has attracted well known artists over its many years such as Saul Bellow, James Baldwin, Katherine Anne Porter and Leonard Bernstein.

Pergola with Climbing Roses

The rose garden’s original design remains. It has four beds that surround a fountain with a long pergola that overlooks the garden from a terrace. Roses reflect the original color scheme of red, pink, white and yellow hybrid teas and floribundas. While our visit was about 10 days too early for their June bloom, which comes in the later part of June in Saratoga Springs, we were, however, able to enjoy the display of the prolific climbing roses. They were in full bloom and scrambling up and over a huge pergola. West of the pergola is the woodland Rock Garden.

One of the Marble “Four Season” Statues Enclosed

On one side of the rose garden stand Italian marble statues representing the four seasons. These statues are protected in the off-season by elaborate structures that had not yet been removed when we were there. However, as you can see from the photograph, the enclosures were made with a plexiglass-like material which allows visitors to still admire the sculptures.

Although Mrs. Trask’s intention was to share the gardens with the public, like many public gardens, they fell into disrepair. Luckily, it was rescued by Saratoga Springs resident Jane Wait in 1991 who gathered 17 volunteers and raised money to replace roses, install water lines and reconstruct the pergola. Today there are over 50 volunteers making up the Yaddo Garden Association and they not only plant, prune, and select roses, but are in charge of all aspects of maintaining and preserving the rose garden, its marble statues and the additional rock garden as well.

Thanks to the enormous effort by these volunteers, the Gardens at Yaddo are restored, well-maintained, and still able to be enjoyed by the public.

Rose Fest

A Great Way to Learn about Growing Roses

Saturday April 30, 2022

Graham Thomas Rose

If you would like to learn more about how to plant, prune and care for roses, the RI Society’s Rose Fest, hosted by Wildwood Nurseries, is the perfect event. In addition to a schedule of talks and demonstrations by American Rose Society Consulting Rosarians, Mike and I will be presenting “Six Steps for Successful Rose Gardening at 11:15 AM.

This program explains everything you need to know in six easy-to-follow steps that take the mystery out of rose gardening. It also includes suggestions on sustainable rose varieties that are winter hardy, disease resistant and will thrive without the use of pesticides. We will have our books, Roses for New England: A Guide to Sustainable Rose Gardening and Rose Gardening Season by Season: A Journal for Passionate Gardeners available to sell and sign.

If you live nearby, this is a good opportunity to come to Rose Fest on Saturday, April 30 at Wildwood Nurseries, 659 Frenchtown Road, East Greenwich, RI. The schedule of events is posted below. You can also become a RI Rose Society member and receive a 10% discount at Wildwood.

Hope to see you there.

David Austin’s 2022 Rose Introductions

Silas Marner (Photo Courtesy of David Austin Roses)

Each year we wait to receive a press release to learn what new roses David Austin Roses will introduce into the United States. For 2022, there are 2 new introductions: Silas Marner and The Country Parson.

Silas Marner (Photo Courtesy of David Austin Roses)

Silas Marner is a lovely, medium pink rose with cuplike blooms and a button eye with glossy dark green foliage. The underside of the petals, as well as the outer petals, are a paler pink, creating a halo effect. It has a medium strong, old rose fragrance, a mature growth habit 3½’ high x 4½’ wide and is winter hardy to zone 4. If the name sounds familiar, it is: Silas Marner is named for the main character in George Eliot’s novel of the same name.

The Country Parson (Photo Courtesy of David Austin Roses)

The Country Parson, named after James Woodforde’s “The Diary of a Country Parson,” is a medium yellow rose. It has flowers that form medium-large rosettes with paler yellow outer petals that are described as translucent. This new introduction has a fruity fragrance, grayish green foliage and grows 3½’ high x 3½’ wide. Like Silas Marner, it is winter hardy to zone 4.

I recently checked David Austin’s web site (davidaustinroses.com) and both The Country Parson and Silas Marner are still available. You can also request their 2022 Handbook on their web site.

2022 Lecture Series

One of Our À La Carte Travel Programs

It’s early January, cold and quiet but not as cold as it used to be. As a kid I played hockey on safe pond ice at Christmastime but those ponds hardly freeze at all by late December. Anyway, Angelina and I are getting ready to post our 2022 Lecture Series. While this season had promised a return to in-person programs, it is starting out just like last year with virtual Zoom presentations due to the persistent pandemic. Zooms are not as satisfying as in-person visits but they had an unexpected bonus by allowing us to present programs in Manhattan, New Jersey, Toronto, and Houston without leaving home.

Our 2022 Lecture Series includes some re-bookings that were cancelled last year as well as new ones. Our entertaining PowerPoint lectures, workshops and seminars are designed to educate and make rose gardening appealing to even the most reluctant gardener. For a description of our programs, visit our web site’s Program Page at RoseSolutions.

Some highlights for 2022:

Brownell Climbers

• We are currently developing a new program on Brownell Roses utilizing an extensive trove of source material gathered over two decades. Walter Brownell was an early pioneer, hybridizing winter hardy varieties in Little Compton, RI that were later sold throughout the United States. We plan on rolling out this PowerPoint presentation this spring.
• Interest in our À La Carte Travel programs continues to grow. Last year gardeners stuck at home enjoyed our International Virtual Garden Tour, visiting five of our favorite overseas rose gardens. We escorted several groups to our favorite city outside of the United States with Paris! The City of Lights and more are scheduled this year.
• While there are fewer New England area flower and garden shows than just a few years ago, the Southeastern Connecticut Home and Garden Show is scheduled for February 18 to 20 at the Earth Tower Expo & Convention Center at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. We’re scheduled to present our popular “Six Simple Steps to Successful Rose Gardening.”  This program covers all the rose gardening basics plus lots of Q and A  – – everything necessary to grow beautiful roses in home gardens this spring.
• On Saturday morning, April 16, Angelina and I will demonstrate the best way to prune roses in the rose garden at Blithewold in Bristol, RI.
• A week later, on April 30, we will present our lecture “Six Simple Steps to Successful Rose Gardening” at the Rhode Island Rose Society’s 2022 Rosefest at Wildwood Nursery in East Greenwich, RI. This is free and open to the public.
• In-between these events, we have scheduled lectures with garden clubs and other horticultural organizations.

We will have our two books, Roses for New England: A Guide to Sustainable Rose Gardening as well as Rose Gardening Season by Season: A Journal for Passionate Gardeners, available at all our lectures and workshops.

Step 1 of Our “Six Simple Steps” PowerPoint Program

We  have been on the lecture circuit presenting lectures, conducting seminars and leading workshops for more than twenty-five years. We are always  available to speak at flower shows, symposiums, conventions, and garden club meetings and with Zoom we can travel anywhere on the planet. We can customize programs and even produce one-of-a-kind presentations. We continue to add bookings throughout the year so keep checking in. As always, if your organization needs a speaker at the last minute, even if you meet in some far-away place, contact Mike at Rosesolutions – maybe we can help.

Meanwhile, we are working on the February issue of our quarterly e-newsletter, The Northeast Rose Gardener, which is available to anyone who wants to learn more about rose gardening in the northeastern United States. It’s written for New England gardeners by New England gardeners with each issue drilling down into some aspect of rose horticulture specific to the northeastern climate. To sign up for the e-newsletter, send us an email. The Northeast Rose Gardener is free and we do not share email addresses with anyone.

Finally, there is no greater optimist than a gardener in January. Nothing ignites the passions in the soul of a rose gardener more than the promise of next year’s garden. 

2022 American Garden Rose Selections

Celestial Eyes

Mike and I received our first Rose Catalogue in the mail last week which has us thinking about what roses we will add to our garden this spring. While word of mouth is the best way to find out about rose varieties that are sustainable and winter hardy for our climate, another way is to pay attention to what awards a rose variety receives.

Luckily, there are organizations that test varieties and designates them as winners if they meet certain criteria. The American Garden Rose Selections (AGRS), an organization that replaces the All American Rose Selection, is one such organization that tests and evaluates roses. Varieties that are entered into the program are planted and evaluated in 12 test gardens located throughout the United States for 2 years. They are evaluated for disease-resistance and ease of care as well as other criteria such as bloom form, fragrance, hardiness and plant habit. Varieties are awarded the AGRS designation based on regions. The closest test garden for us here in New England is the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, NY. Out of the 4 AGRS winners for 2022, two are Regional Choice Award Winners in the Northeast.

Pink Freedom (2018, Christian Bedard) – introduced by Weeks Roses/Spring Hill Nursery is winter hardy to zone 4. This pink shrub rose grows 4’-6’ high and 3’ wide, has 3½” blooms and is a good landscape rose. In addition to winning in the Northeast, it is also chosen for its performance in the Northwest, South Central and Southeast areas of the US.

Pink Freedom

Pretty Polly™ Pink (2019, David Zlesak) – introduced by Star Roses and Plants, is a Regional Choice Award Winner for the Northeast, Northwest, South Central and Southeast. This pink polyantha has cuplike blooms with a compact 2-1/2’ x 3’ wide habit. It is hardy to Zone 4 and attracts pollinators.

Pretty Polly Pink

The other two 2022 AGRS Winners are:

Celestial Night (2019, Christine Bedard) – introduced by Weeks Roses won in 3 regions: South Central, Southeast and Southwest. This deep purple floribunda has cupped and quartered old fashioned blooms, was also a Fragrance Award Winner and is hardy to zone 5. (Pictured as lead photo.)

Easy on the Eyes™ (2018, Tom Carruth) – introduced by Weeks Roses, is part of their Easy to Love series. This mauve shrub displays a large magenta/purple eye on blooms that have 15-20 petals and produces large clusters. It has dark green, glossy foliage, is hardy to zone 5 and won in 5 regions: North Central, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, and Southwest. It is also a Fragrance Award Winner.

Easy on the Eyes

All of these AGRS winners demonstrated disease resistance after going through a 2-year trial and may be roses to consider when looking for sustainable varieties to plant in your garden. For more information about AGRS and previous winners, visit their web site at www.americangarenroseselections.com

All photos are courtesy of the AGRS web site