President's Message

Top ‘O The Mornin’ to ya! Yes, ‘tis true…Sure an’ there’s Irish blood flowin’ through these veins from me sainted mother’s side of the family. An’ no doubt there’s where me love for growin’ things comes from as well, an’ every shade-o-green ya can imagine…like the emerald green of the grass in the spring, or the soft green of the tulips’ leaves, or the oh-my-gosh-is-the-river-really-that-color green flowin’ through the Chicago River on Saint Paddy’s Day, or “the McCormick green” of the eggs I’ve just dyed and carefully placed in the bottom of the Easter basket. Or what about the lovely green hybrid tea, Saint Patrick, and the holiday of the same name…now you talk about green…that’s a day when ya better be wearin’ it or sure an’ you’ll get pinched!

Yep...it’s March, and with our pruning chores behind us now we’re feeling pretty darn good about a job well done, right? So now as we wait for our rose plants to get some much-deserved rest so that they can give us all those gorgeous blooms in a couple of months, let’s turn our attention to some of the events coming up for our society.

For starters, in the works is a possible mid-April field trip to the beautiful Flower Fields, Armstrong Garden Center and Christopher W. Greenwood Rose Walk of Fame and AARS Test Garden in Carlsbad, with a picnic lunch afterwards at a nearby state park. A show of hands at the February meeting indicated that many of you would like to go, so please plan on attending the March 7th meeting where Gordon Ballmer will give us all the information we need about the trip, including costs. Next is the Riverside Flower Show to be held two weeks later on the weekend of April 29-30, which I plan to have our society liaison, Sharon Couch, report on at our March 7th meeting. There will also be an update that night about our youth program from member Gary Wagner.

Things are also moving along well with our own June 3rd rose show, with monthly meetings being held to aid the committee in preparing for the show. In addition, the possibility of our society getting involved in some way with the Orange Blossom Festival and Old Riverside Foundation Vintage Home Tour (both events held the same weekend in May), is under consideration, as is hosting a fund-raiser in August entitled “New Orleans Night” (to be held at a Riverside restaurant specializing in Louisiana quisine), as well as a fund-raising Victorian Tea in October hosted by members Lee Stevens and Sandee Aguna at their lovely Victorian homes. These events are all, of course, in conjunction with our main project for this year, “Restoring Roses to Southern Gardens”. Several RRS members are also planning on attending the American Rose Society’s Spring National Convention in late June in Seattle, Washington. (See Luana Roth for information if you’re interested in going.)

As you can see from all of the above, we are going to be one busy society in the next few months, and everyone is needed to pitch in to make these events a success and help us to help others learn more about roses – which is our mission, after all. Also, if you haven’t already done so, please be sure to get your dues paid for 2006. The revenue received from members renewing their dues helps to put us on solid financial footing, which we all want for our society. Well, that is all for now. I look forward to seeing all of you at the March 7th meeting where there will be surprises in store for everyone!!

back to the hill…Bonnie