One Can Never Have too many roses in the garden.

I thought I would share a little of my passion for roses. I have always loved roses and even more so now that I grow them. I started my journey growing roses about four years and am in still in wonderment of their beauty, colour, perfume and their resilience.

Roses are called the queen of flowers and with good reason. There is something about that tall straight stem, glossy green foliage, amazing colour, soft velvet petals and if lucky delicious perfume. The rose commands attention like no other flower.

From wanting to just grow lovely roses so I could pick and have a vase each week in my home I joined my local rose society and through the encouragement of some wonderful passionate people have dared to enter my roses into rose shows.

Rose shows are at the end of spring when the first flush is hopefully at its best. The first three years of showing you usually start in the novice classes. Last year was my second year and I collected quite a bit of silverware over two shows. I came away with nine silver trophies or platters.

In my first show my novice rose made it to the Championship Table as best Exhibition Rose in show. I was blown away by that. The experts tell me that can happen from time to time.

The large roses are wonderful but I have also found so many wonder miniatures which are fantastic to grow as well.

Many or the horticulture societies are finding it hard to get young members coming through which is a shame, so I do ask that you check out a local rose show in your area. It is an amazing sight to behold when you walk into a hall full of the wonderful blooms and wonder how people grow them in their gardens.

I hope you like the photos of some of my roses and the others are of some other lovely displays you would find at a rose show.

Finally some fine weather and the roses are showing colour at last! Meet David Austin''s Charlotte a lovely little rose new to my rose collection. Lovely creamy yellow colour with a subtle fragrance.



This photo is of a display I did to promote the rose society and up coming show.



Two days to go and the month of November will be here and in NZ it is rose show month. Out comes your equipment box with all the tools of trade to clean and preen your roses to look there best on show day. Our show is fast approaching and it is full steam ahead so I will be a little busy helping with that.

So remember all as our different season change keep snapping and posting folks!

Lovely pics and of course lovely flowers!
And the yellow creamy one is really beautiful.

One strives to have their rose or roses make it to the champion table and then to the very top place. This years winner overall at our rose show was the miniture rose Luis Desamero. Good things come in small packages .



These lovely red roses are my entry of Sir Tristram and Dark Lady which go second place. I am particularly proud of them as this was an open competition class.



Here some of the other entrance and my entry in the class. The one that one it is the vase of pink Joan Monicas at the bottom left of the picture. My entry is the one at the top in the middle.



Not the best in focus picture but I loved this glass because of the brilliant vibrant yellow roses. It was called Tribute to Olympic gold.



For those who like to drink "shots" these miniture arrangements are made in shot glasses. Hard to believe I know!



We try to get the children involved and this is there two class; rose arrangements in a saucer of sand and make a vege animal.



I love the basket classes they are always a delight.



Hard to tell but these are minitures in a vase class.



Another one of my roses that got a second place which is the tall pinky peach one and that is a Paddy Stephens.

Hope you enjoy

Rose shows are very big on giving out Silver trophies. You get to keep them for the year you win them then give them back. This is what I have one this year in November plus two more that I have to go and collect. All bar one in picture where one at my last show. I do particularly well with my minitures. Though the rose bowl with candle holders is the prize for my stem of large roses.



This is the miniture large stem class which I got first and second with the white rose irrisitable and the cute red which is patio prince. As you can see one competitor roses gave up the ghost before the judging. Droopy blooms not a good look for a rose. The other large pink stem had no leaves so let it down.



So then it was my exhibition rose that got first, had much straighter stem which gave it a cleaner look.
The Fully open bloom class I got a second and third. The winner had a much better stronger steam and leaf balance.

In the small stem class I got a first with my Finest Hour which is the little orange red rose and then second with a little pation prince red rose. Flower head with adequit foliage gave this the slightly upper hand in this class.



My only entry in the large roses which did gain first place was my Sexy Rexy which is the lovely light pink rose stem at the top right of picture. It had a lovely balanced display of blooms with ok foliage.



A Rose show on display

I love it. Lovely flowers and those trophies are really cool and shiney haha.
I really like the last pic, the rose show. Lots of roses and colours there

Glad you enjoyed them too! I am sure that somewhere close to you that there is a rose society near you that you could see when their rose show is and go and experience it for yourself.

A church hall fill of roses is wonderful but a pavillion full of them is heaven!