November 2013
Volume 43 No. 3
The Official Newsletter of the
Gainesville Rose Society Affiliated with the American Rose Society G R S a t
M e e t s N o v e m b e r 1 0 t h a t 2 : 0 0 p m C e l e b r a t i o n M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h
P R E S I D E N T ’ S
M E S S AG E
I can’t believe it’s already November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. This year is sure going by fast. But cooler, dryer weather is here – Woo Hoo!!! I believe the tour to my home and Anita’s was enjoyed by all who attended and everyone seemed relaxed and the weather was pleasant, though a little warm in the sun. I do hope everyone took time to look at Anita’s and Donovan’s beautiful roses as you certainly could tell how much work went into growing such lovely specimens. Thanks again to both of them for opening their yard to us. Thanks to Ann Sherwood, Linda Rengarts and the Campbells for presenting a wonderful table of delights. The jerked chicken was awesome thanks to Donovan. It was my pleasure to have everyone see my yard and I promise bunches of orange for the raffle table in the Spring. This next meeting is our planting of the rose garden. There will be a beautiful DVD by the Sacramento Heritage Rose Society showing photos of the old heritage roses in the Sacramento Cemetery presented for those not participating in the digging and planting. You certainly can stay outside in the beautiful sunshine and be “sidewalk superintendents’ if you wish. Pastor Holloway has given us a larger area to plant the garden in a better area for roses. I believe the selection of roses we have to start with will grow into beautiful specimens that we can be proud of and enjoy caring for. So if you want to work, bring gloves, a shovel or a rake. The plan is to amend the planting hole with cow manure and/or top soil rather than tilling in the entire plot. Pastor Holloway thought it would be nice to have some companion plantings between the roses so at our February meeting we will add some companion plants such as Daylilies, Agapanthus, Bulbine, etc. as well as fertilizing, etc. If you have any small perennials to share let me know so we can plot out the most attractive design. I was excited by our last meeting. Your enthusiasm was contagious and I see good changes coming to our Society. The two committees that we are forming - membership/marketing and financial/ fundraising – will need people to make them work. Please consider being on one of the committees or at the very least, provide some positive ideas for the committees. See you all soon, Sally
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Gainesville Rose Society Elected Officers: President: Sally McDonell
The Official Newsletter of the Gainesville Rose Society
Minutes from 10/13/13 Meeting
Vice-President: Linda Rengarts Secretary: Anita Campbell Treasurer: Tom Mullins
Newsletter and Website: Please send articles, recipes, poems or lore to Linda for the newsletter. We also need members to write articles - Please visit the web site so you can see what is there. If you have suggestions please let Linda know. The site is www.gainesvillerosesociety.com American Rose Society: All new members of rose societies receive a 4 month free trial. Old Business: If you would like to donate money for the Deep South Winter basket, please see Shirley.
Annual dues are due now Consulting Rosarians: Consulting Rosarians are rose growers who have met ARS qualifications and are able to help you with your rose-growing problems. Our active, local Consulting Rosarians are: Lee Kline 352-240-6950
[email protected] Dan Mills (352) 591-2145
[email protected] Tom Mullins (352) 378-4231
[email protected] Ralph Stream (352) 591-4474
[email protected] John Tucker (352) 591-2145
[email protected]
John brought up that it had been suggested to give a donation of $250 to Celebration Church on behalf of the Rose Society and in the Spring if our finances are in good shape we could give an additional amount. There was some discussion. A motion made, seconded and passed. John and Dan offered to take the check by the church. New Business: Website – Jean is interested in learning how to work the website. She and Linda will get together at a date of their choosing. Future programs November - plant small rose garden at Celebration church. December - Christmas party. January - Wendy Wilbur speaks on Fl. friendly landscapes Ideas to grow our society Give GRS memberships to persons for birthday presents Sign on Archer Road advertising Rose Society meeting Leave newsletters at garden centers Bouquets at Libraries branches Get Rose Society business cards with contact info Donate old ARS magazines to libraries Senior Center and other good places to send our newsletter Start committees: Two committees are being set up – Membership/marketing and Finance/fundraising. Members will be asked to join either committee and others can help by sharing ideas. Rose Tour: 11/02 Central FL. Rose Society will tour Ralph and Jean's garden, and after will tour David's garden in Melrose. He extended an invitation to us to come after 1 pm to Melrose. Refreshments: Thank you Linda Rengarts, the Sherwoods and the Campbells
Respectfully submitted, Anita Campbell, Secretary, Gainesville Rose Society.
Treasurer’s Report October 2013 GRS Website: www.gainesvillerosesociety.com Linda Rengarts, Web Master (352) 641-6225
[email protected]
Bank Statement 09/30/13 $9,814.06 Deposit: $176.00 (Raffle $56, gift $5, Dues $115) Check: #791 $250.00 Celebration Methodist Church gift, bank charges new checks $22.00 Tom Mullins, Treasurer
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Success in Gardening at Kanapaha Middle School Lois McNamara
Four years ago Kanapaha Middle School teacher Sarah Byrd read a book that inspired her. The book was The Edible School Yard by Alice Waters. Yes – that Alice Waters, the celebrated chef of the Chez Panisse Restaurant in San Francisco and one of the leaders in the locavore food movement. Her principal was supportive. So Miss Byrd recruited another teacher to help her start a garden at Kanapaha Middle School and enlisted her parents to help her clear out the grass on part of the school grounds, beginning with a 25 x 30 foot plot. She wrote numerous grants and obtained various donations of fruit trees; she also obtained the invaluable help of Master Gardener Susan Nugent as an adviser who was experienced in growing vegetables. And so the first group of middle school students at Kanapaha began to plant, tend, and harvest vegetables in 2009. Today, a dozen or more Kanapaha students meet on Wednesday afternoons after school to continue the expanded garden. They have just finished planting this fall’s cool season vegetables: cabbage, collards, broccoli, herbs and arugula as transplants; bush beans, pole beans, red and purple dragon carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach and radishes as seeds. In the spring of 2012 I became one of the Master Gardener advisers. I serve in the capacity with Master Gardener Fran Maris. Later that year I suggested that we add wildflowers in an area between the two established vegetable plots. So in November of 2012, students scattered lots of poppy seeds, as well as a S.E. Wildflower Mix, then stepped on the seeds to insure good contact with the soil. The red poppies were a great success, attracting plenty of admiring attention, as well as serving the practical purpose of increasing the pollinators in the garden. From the beginning, Miss Byrd has made eating the foods grown in the garden a priority and so approximately once a month, a table and tools are brought outside, and students assist in the preparation of some food and get to eat portions right there in the garden. Sometimes one of the teachers or advisers prepares a food that incorporates garden produce at home and brings it in for the students to try. Most weeks, once the vegetables begin to mature, students go home with bags of produce for their families. Note the attached photos. Because a student had expressed the desire to grow roses, I asked Rosarian Lee Kline for her advice on obtaining a Louis Philippe rose bush at a modest cost. Lee immediately offered to root one for us. Not only did she give us the Louis Philippe, she also rooted and donated a Mutababilis and a Peggy Martin rose. After giving the students a quick background story on the Peggy Martin rose (after all, they were just toddlers in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina plowed into New Orleans), we planted the three rose bushes in April along the fence bordering the garden. The roses have grown vigorously since then. It’s appropriate that they grow more leaves than blossoms at this stage, so I have few photos of the rose flowers to show you. The one attached rose picture (“Lucia’s Rose”) was taken by a student who took the picture of a Louis Philippe blossom on her cell phone. Lucia had taken on the task of getting to school early every day for weeks so that she could water the newly planted rose bushes. We are very grateful to Lee for her donation and thank the Rose Society for its interest in the Kanapaha Middle School garden. For Miss Byrd and the other two teachers who act as sponsors for this school garden club, the original goals continue to be long-range objectives: that teachers will use the garden as a teaching tool and incorporate it into their curriculum, that the garden will be a beautiful setting for students and staff to enjoy, and that the cafeteria will begin to use some of the produce from the garden in school lunches.
WE’RE ON THE WEB WWW.GAINESVILLEROSESOCIETY.COM
G R S M e e t s N ove m be r 1 0 t h a t 2 : 0 0 p m at Celebration Methodist Church November Program will be planting 9 roses at Celebration Church. In the meeting hall, there will be a DVD playing of the Historic Sacramento Cemetery and the historic roses that are found there. Please come and join either activity and friendship & refreshments before the meeting.
Don’t forget about items for the Raffle Table!!! Refreshments: Veda & Earl Bergadine, Jean Stream Refreshment providers also need to bring a trash bag with them and take it home again after the meeting. Thank you.
Gardening at Kanapaha Middle School
Lucia’s Rose
Preparing a Salad
Setting up Tomato Teepees
Wildflower Patch, Spring 2013
Winter Vegetables
One’s Week Harvest
Pictures from the October Garden Tour