Temecula Valley Rose Society

Membership Renewal

Time to renew your membership in the Rose Society. Forms will be available at our Holiday Party, December 18. They are also available on our website under Membership. The cost is $20 per individual or $30 per family. Mail the form with your check to TVRS, P.O. Box 890367, Temecula, CA 92589 or renew at the monthly meeting.

We sincerely hope every one enjoys our programs and our outstanding Rose Festival and Art Show. We strive to bring you entertaining and informative guest speakers, and also provide a meeting place to gather with other rose enthusiasts. Our society has been successful because the people who support our group are the greatest.

Co-President's Message

I wish everyone a joyous holiday! I know that I consistently preach that volunteers are the lifeblood of any organization7ndash;and that applies specifically to the Temecula Valley Rose Society. An organization must have new ideas and member leaders in order to survive. When the same people always fill an organization's leadership positions or the Board of Directors, they eventually run out of new ideas and directions. We all know that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result…" so let's try some new things and some new people! We have plenty of committees and a long history of wonderful programs: Come contribute.

It's strange, but we often don't realize how much we value something until it's gone. Without enough volunteers, some of our programs, agendas, meetings, socials, and events may have to be abandoned. I'm sure no one would wish this scenario on us, but the only way to guarantee the continued health of this organization is to continue embracing the opportunities to put your imprint on things! We have such an opportunity right now: Membership renewals are due soon, so think about others whom you can invite to a meeting or event! Maybe they will like what they see and join us! The rose is the emblem for Temecula City, so come on, let's encourage people to check us out and enjoy the rose and its friends here!

Co-President's Message

I hope all of you heard Leon Vogel speak about iris last month, how well they grow here and what good companions they are to roses.

There is a corner in Rose Haven that will become an iris garden. The Temecula Valley Garden Club will help with the project, a marker will identify it as the "Norma and Leon Vogel Iris Demonstration Garden." The Vogels have not waited long for the project to progress. They have already dug and potted more than fifty prize iris, some too lovely to describe. I have begun tilling the area, and the Vogels have begun a plan. Norma knows how to make stone walls for a raised bed. Perhaps she will give us a class in the Spring.

There is a committee forming and you're invited. There are already six of us. We will make sure nobody has too much to do, nothing too hard, lots of fun and good information, and probably some iris after a while. Call me at 951-693-2814.

Other Rose Happenings

Hosted by the San Diego Rose Society. An all day workshop on rose care from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, January 24, 2009, Room 101 of the Casa del Prado, Balboa Park. Speakers are Robert B. Martin, Bill Tall, Jack Shoultz, Al Heck, and Gary Bulman. Cost is $20 (bring your own lunch). Subjects will cover choosing the right rose, full-cycle organic rose care, container rose gardening, and rose pruning techniques. To register call 760-739-8342 or e-mail Bulman at gossbulman@cox.net.

Everything's Coming Up Roses

This is a year of change, and changes are coming to our Rose and Arts Festival! We will be collaborating with the Temecula Valley Garden Club – sharing the weekend of Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 with them. We are looking at twice as much fun for us all!!!

Each group will still maintain its own identity and have its own judges, clerks and placement volunteers. We will have our most important sections but eliminate some classes that have not had any/many entries in the past few years.

The Garden Club has a wonderful collaboration with a local quilting guild. The quilting guild is making quilts with a flower theme to display at the show. We are continuing our relationship with the Art League. Art League artists are again painting original art work to our theme "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

We, of course, will be all about roses. Garden Club members interested in entering roses will enter them in our show rather than having a rose section in their show. We have slightly different rules but they will not be difficult for them to comply with after a little training from us.

We, on the other hand, will have the opportunity to enter in their show. In our recent discussions it appears that entries for the Garden Club show will be received late Friday afternoon and early evening. Roses will be received on Saturday. This will keep us from tripping over each other.

There are many details to work out and we will keep everyone updated as we go along. We will need a number of sub-committee volunteers. We will be having monthly meetings with the Garden Club as well as our own meetings. Please, we would love to have your input regarding the show and to have you attend any or all meetings.

Oh, yes – we will need a new name that reflects our collaboration. How does "Blooming Arts Festival" sound?

Member Meeting Program

"The Reflexions" will be providing the entertainment for our December Christmas luncheon. The group is comprised of Bob and Diane Dennis, who have performed in various local bands for many years. She is a pianist and her husband Bob plays the electric bass guitar. They will be performing a varied musical program for us which will include Christmas music, big band 40's standards, as well as other compositions.

Don't miss this wonderful program, which will help you begin the Christmas season with joy. We hope to see all of the members at this happy event.

Birthdays This Month

New Members

Old Friends...

Marlene Lyons writes: "It was great to see so many old friends still in the society, and how sad to lose some. As you probably know, growing roses in this area is not easy. They grow all right, but black spots and mildew are a real hazard plus a favorite food for our resident deer.

"We have approximately 9-11 deer that show up quite frequently and two mothers each with twins that live here, always ready to eat everything in sight. I am constantly rewiring around my fig tree, which must be their favorite food as they are always nibbling anything that sticks out. We love the deer, nothing cuter than twin babies, but it's a constant fight. Marlene Lyon, Brookings, Oregon. [Editor's note: Marlene was president in 1998 and secretary in 2000.]

Rose Haven Update

There was lots of activity at Rose Haven in November. Frank Brines arranged with an expert and worked with him installing an automatic refill water system for the pond. This is something we have needed for many months as we were filling the pond by hand several times a week and sometimes, oops, we overfilled it. You may recall hearing that our original timer got stuck in the ON position one day and the water overflowed down into the picnic area, then down Jedediah Smith all the way to Ynez. What a mess. Thanks a million, Frank, for taking charge of the renovation.

Next, Kathy Katz purchased and arranged hay rolls on the steep paths leading to the top of the garden, and just in time before the rains started. This action will keep the erosion under control so we do not have to hire workers with bobcats to re-grade next year. Thanks Kathy. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Also, several students from Chaparral High School arrived with their teacher, Emmett Jones, and cut back all the huge butterfly bushes, trimmed the pepper trees in the picnic area, then picked up everything and raked the areas. We are so thankful for their help, as you can well imagine, and hope to continue an affiliation with those young men. There is also a student who volunteers every Saturday morning cleaning up the roses and other shrubs that need detail attention. She is just delightful and does a great job. Boy, have we been lucky lately.

At our November Development Meeting we discussed the items above and others on our "Wish List", including their costs. You can view all the desired items on our website temeculavalleyrosesociety.org/index.shtml. Select the "Last Rose of Summer Photos" menu item. The Wish List is at the bottom of the page. If you would like to make a cash donation for any of the projects please contact Phyllis Bettelheim. It's a nice tax deduction for you as we are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and it will be thoroughly appreciated. (For your specific tax deduction consult your income tax advisor.)

Wednesday and Saturday mornings are still volunteer days, so if have some extra time come out and join us. The address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road , Temecula.

Rose Haven Paving

On December 11th and 12th the Rose Haven parking lot will get some much needed and long overdue repairs. Asphalt patching will be laid down over the worst of the broken sections, and the whole lot will be slurry sealed to help keep the water from penetrating the paving and doing more damage. This "treatment" will not permanently fix the parking lot, making it like new. It's a temporary fix that will have to be repeated every few years until the entire area can be completely repaved. Note: We did not forget to paint parking stripes; The City says we don't really need them.

If you find yourself hurrying around in the season rush, becoming stressed and a jangle of nerves, weary about completing your holiday plans, then let me relieve you of some obligation: Forget your roses–at least, for this month! Let them rest and quietly feed on what you provided them last month. And, if they are continuing to produce blooms, then feel free to use some for your holiday table setting–just be sure to leave some blooms to become hips, because these tell plant to go dormant and start generating new basal buds for the Spring.

Hopefully, you did a major ground cleanup last month, removing all debris and extraneous matter from around the plants, including fallen petals, leaves, and weeds. Tale a leisurely stroll through the garden every day or two, just to keep appraised of its condition or need of any incidental attention.

I hope you can take some time to dream, wish, and relax too, and speaking of which, now is a great time to order catalogs from rose breeders, nurseries, and garden suppliers. Plan and select additional roses, replacements, or new varieties for January delivery. Enjoy!

Oh, and let me make a last-minute, end-of-the-year request: Last year we were so fortunate to receive a donation of 160 cubic yards of compost for Rose Haven. This year, can you be one of Santa's little helpers and pledge a yard or two to replenishing the top dressing for our magnificent public garden? If so, buttonhole me at the next meeting or send me an email: roseguy2000@aol.com.