Co-President's Message

In 2008 there will be many new opportunities for members to get involved, and I encourage you to grasp any opportunity that you might find interesting. You'll more than likely enjoy great rewards in the activity, and find a deeper camaraderie and plenty of congenial fun. TVRS is an exciting organization, with dreams of expanding our gifts to the community. Please don't hesitate to get even more involved!

Co-President's Message

We are going to make a hospitality committee, and Jean Block has agreed to head it. We need a couple of volunteers to help make that job easier and more fun. I have certainly enjoyed myself in that role, and everyone is so helpful.

Youth Gardening remains my foremost interest. With horses and 5 acres I spend most of my time in the natural world and feel hemmed in when I'm not. It is always worth repeating that there are many children in our community who have never dug in the dirt or grown anything. It is always amazing to remember the first time you really read a book, or grew a plant, or nurtured a rose. It is even more amazing to watch a small human experiencing those treasures. With Rose Haven and our Shows we are able to reach out. With our Youth Gardening Committee we help pass it on.

Compost Campaign Challenge!

However, we're still a little short on meeting our Compost Campaign Challenge! Remember, I'll personally match up to $300 in donations from the club's membership. Don't let me leave money on the table!

Still need convincing? Consider the fact that this challenge will NOT meet all of Rose Haven's needs. One cubic yard of compost applied to the minimum recommended depth of 3" will provide the above elements for a dozen rose bushes. Forty cubic yards will take care of only 480 bushes—only about 20% of our roses!

And this year compost will be more important than ever: Our Southern California water agencies have announced that they are cutting our supply this summer by 30% and you can be sure that they will charge higher rates for water. TVRS will pay for this one way or another: It can be through compost, higher water costs, and/or dead rose bushes.

So give a donation for yourself or in someone's honor for Valentine's Day, a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion. Then, when you visit Rose Haven throughout the year, you can appreciate the beauty that your generosity made possible.

Community Outreach

This month, Pauline Bowron's work will be on display at the library. She is a well-known artist in the Inland Empire and is also known for her photography. Pauline was born in England and her interest in photography was kindled when she lived in Paris. In 1975 she took up residency in California where she continued to pursue her career in photography. Her photographs will be on display February 2nd thru the 29th.

Member Meeting Program

“My experience in growing, caring for, propagating, and learning about roses has now spanned many decades and four distinct climate zones. I have received many awards in rose exhibitions, for specimens and arrangements. I am a Certified American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian, member of two ARS-sanctioned rose societies, including the Temecula Valley Rose Society for whom I served as VP, board member, and now co-president.”

Birthdays This Month

Renew Your Membership

Please bring your payment to our February 21st Member Meeting or mail to: TVRS, PO Box 890367, Temecula, CA 92589. The 2008 Roster and Membership Cards will be available at our March meeting to all who have renewed.

New Members

Rose Haven Update

We are delighted a group of Master Gardeners of Riverside has chosen Rose Haven to further their community service training. Not only are they helping us out a great deal and honing their skills with the roses, we can also learn from them as the garden now contains so many different types of plants.

And did you hear about the Wells Fargo bankers who came to the garden enmass with our own Ann Coakes leading the pruning brigade? They were so enthusiastic, did a great job, and then cleaned up every scrap of cuttings off the ground. We really appreciate their help. Wells Fargo has been a super sponsor of our Rose Festival for many, many years. Thank you so very much.

The rest of February will be spent finishing the pruning, so we invite our members to come out and prune a few roses anytime, but we encourage Wednesday and Saturday mornings so we can prune together. Also, on the third Saturday of the month (the 16th) there will be a special program from 9 to noon. Look for more details in the Rose Haven Workshop article.

The street address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula 92592. Please refer to our website for a map and photos, or pick up a map at our member meeting.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

For a source of truly local weather information, go to http://weathercurrents.com/murrieta or http://weathercurrents.com/temecula.

Location can be important even in the same neighborhood. Several years ago, I had some bushes that seemed to be less vibrant every year. I dug them up and gave them to a neighbor who loves roses

Speaking of that, there is still time to place orders for bare-root and potted roses from your favorite catalogue. Potted roses have a big head start over bare-root ones, and you can plant them any time of the year, but unless you find what you want locally,you'll pay more with shipping and handling. Bare root plants cost less to ship, take more time to flourish, and should be planted during the months when weather is cooler and moister. Keep in mind, however, that there are a lot of other people ordering, so act as soon as you can to be sure your varieties are still available.

A Brief History of the Rose

Roses today seem very commonplace. Everyone has heard of them or knows someone who has grown them. We rarely consider how they become so widespread throughout the world. How were roses originally cultivated, and why did they make it to the modern world with so many different varieties? Below is a brief history of the rose. It has taken a very long, strange, and interesting path to get where it is today.

Many people don't realize that the roses we know today primarily originated in Asia. They were initially grown not as ornamentals, but as medicinal plants. Roses were used to treat a variety of ailments. In some Asian countries medication based on the rose plant can still be found today. Around the 16th century roses began to be exported from China by European ships exploring Asia. Europe and the Americas did have some roses, but they were primarily wild. There was little color selection, most were shrub like, and they didn't bloom more than once a year. Roses imported from Asia were of greater quality, variety and many offered repeated blooming. The joy of tending plants that bloom throughout the growing season caused rose gardening to catch on as a hobby throughout the developing world.

Before new varieties were brought from Asia Europeans as far back as the Romans grew roses, but they were of the "old world" type. The dividing line between "old world roses" and "modern" hybrid tea roses is considered to be about 1867. From the Roman Empire until 1867 roses grew and declined in popularity throughout the world. Often only the gardening at monasteries kept roses in existence during times of decline.

Empress Josephine was the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. She resided at the Malmaison Chateau after becoming Empress of France and was extremely interested in all aspects of rose gardening. Josephine decided not just to grow roses, but to bring every single rose variety in existence to the Chateau's garden. She worked with many important botanists and rose enthusiasts during the early 1800s to bring the roses of the world to France.

Roses hybridize very easily. In many ways this is part of what can make rose gardening exciting. There isn't a size or color of rose bush or climbing rose that can't be found. However, the crossing and creating of new plants has over time caused a decline in disease resistance. This is why it's crucial to try and locate disease resistant varieties of roses for your garden.

Roses have really come a long way. They've basically always been around in one genus or another. In a way, rose gardening can make you feel in touch with those throughout history. The next time you're out pruning think of the Romans tending their gardens under the ancient sun or Josephine Bonaparte in her massive rose garden surrounded by over two hundred and fifty beautiful rose varieties. She of course had an entire staff to help her prune!