Roses

Thursday, June 6, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – New England Roses, Online

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Our native New England roses have charming fragrant blossoms that attract a wide range of pollinators, while their spiny thickets provide important wildlife habitat. These hardy shrubs grow in a wide range of habitats and are great additions to flower gardens. Learn to identify Virginia rose (Rosa virginiana) pictured below, Carolina rose (R. carolina), swamp rose (R. palustris), bristly rose (R. acicularis), and shining rose (R. nitida), several non-native species, and the invasive multiflora rose (R. multiflora). Dubbed “the queen of flowers,” roses are perhaps the most recognizable of blooms. Several rose species are native to New England. Many more are introduced and naturalized and have become a familiar part of our landscape. Their beautiful scented blossoms are popular with pollinators, spiny thickets provide important habitat for wildlife, and hardy shrubs and ramblers are prized by gardeners. Learn to distinguish native species, common naturalized species, and the invasive multiflora rose, and become familiar with their habitats.This Native Plant Trust class takes place June 6 at 5:30 pm with instructor Neela de Zoysa, online. NPT members $51, nonmembers $60. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/new-england-roses/

Wednesday, September 27, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – Rose Discoveries and Innovations, Online

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Join Tom Carruth, Rose Collection Curator at The Huntington and American Horticultural Society’s 2011 Luther Burbank Award winner, for a history of the famed California rose industry. The virtual take will be held on Wednesday, September 27 at 7 pm Eastern. Starting with innovative rose breeding of the 1950s, this talk will illuminate how rose species are improved through several generations of hybridizing. Carruth will share about his discovery of a lost seedling that, when brought into his rose breeding, led to some of the best rose introductions of his career. Together we will trace succeeding generations of offspring, noting their improvements along the way.

Tom Carruth is the Rose Collection Curator at The Huntington, where he showcases over 1,300 rose cultivars. Previous to his work at The Huntington, Carruth served as Director of Research, Licensing & Marketing at Weeks Roses, where introduced over 150 roses and invented over 100 plant patents. His award-winning roses include DICK CLARK, CINCO DE MAYO, STRIKE IT RICH, JULIA CHILD, and many more. Carruth is AHS’s 2011 Luther Burbank Award winner for extraordinary achievement in the field of plant breeding. Register HERE. $10 AHS members, $15 nonmembers.

Monday, May 29, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: Pruning and Training – Getting the Best Out of Roses and Wisteria, Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

In week Seven, Bev Bond will cover Pruning and Training: Getting the Best Out of Roses and Wisteria. In this talk Bev will be aiming to show the possibilities of these marvelous and sometimes majestic plants and will introduce you to some beautiful plants that she has cared for over the years. She will explore training, supports, growing plants on buildings, (including historic buildings) and the importance of soil, aspect and establishment. She will discuss some of her techniques, rose varieties, pruning cuts, wound healing, pruning for direction and planning ahead. Bev will also look at the supposed dichotomy between historical accuracy and ornamental value, and the possibilities when restoring plants. Some information on tools, tool maintenance, health and safety, ladders, attachment, wires and tying, will follow.

Bev Bond was born into two families of market gardeners; her father and both grandfathers grew vegetables and flowers for Covent Garden. She was educated at grammar school, then Braintree College, Shuttleworth Horticultural College and The Open University. After working some years in the family business, Bev moved to inspecting production of oats, fruits and nuts, throughout Europe, for a major food manufacturer, for 10 years. Then, during a decade employed as gardener, guide, and garden guardian in a historic garden, she further developed her pruning skills on large wisteria, climbing roses and so forth and began to branch out on her own.

For the past 23 years Bev has been self-employed as a horticultural gardener, and over the last 17, specializing in wisteria and rose contract pruning and training. She has been lecturing on garden history and presenting talks on gardens, and plants for over twenty years.

Monday, May 22, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: Il Piccolo Roseto di Giovanni Chilanti, Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

In week Six, Helga Brichet will speak on Il Piccolo Roseto di Giovanni Chilanti. This small rose garden on a hillside outside Rome overlooking olive groves was established by Italian engineer Emanuele Dotti in memory of a dear friend who had inspired him with a love of old and species roses. It started life as a collection of roses grown in large containers on the terrace of Emanuele’s Rome apartment, but soon expanded so that outside space became urgently needed to house them. Some land on the edge of a small village outside Rome was located, and this is the story of how the rose garden developed, with over 600 roses bushes in beds, borders, and climbing up olive trees, overlooking a valley in a beautiful countryside setting. Now there are plans to establish a reading room in the farmhouse for visitors, with a collection of books on roses from the late Milton Nurse, former editor of the Historic Rose Journal, donated by the Historic Roses Group.

Helga Brichet is a distinguished rosarian, plant-hunter and lecturer who was President of the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) from 1997 – 2000. Now Emeritus President, she lives with her Belgian husband, André, in Italy, on a 5-acre hillside property in Santa Maria, Umbria, central Italy. Here Helga grows a large number of China roses and Hybrid Giganteas, Hybrid Sempervirens and “Mystery Roses” from Bermuda. In her 9 years as chairman of the WFRS Conservation Committee she established the Specialised Conservation Committee, constructing an international database on endangered rose varieties and their location. One of her ambitions has been to introduce to rose lovers in the western hemisphere old and historical roses from China, many scarcely known previously in the west. In 2000 a beautiful chance seedling rose with single pale pink blooms, discovered by Australian nurseryman John Nieuwesteeg, was named ‘Helga Brichet’.

Monday, May 15, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: What’s in a Name? Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

The fifth in the series is What’s in a Name? with Darrell Schramm. If you’ve ever wondered how or why an historic/heritage rose obtained its name, you may be interested in this talk. Who or what was the original inspiration for these often tantalising names? Were the roses named for celebrities of the past, for particular places or famous events, or for people who were linked personally to the rose breeder? More prosaically, did hard-nosed business play a starring role? If so, did this do the trick and help bring profit for the breeder and lasting fame for the person, place or event – or for the rose? Darrell Schramm will briefly discuss the background or history behind about four dozen old garden roses, and show you beautiful images of them, too. It will be a virtual story time. Pour yourself a cup of tea – or maybe something stronger – and be prepared to be enlightened, amused and entertained.

A teacher and professor for about 45 years, Darrell Schramm taught literature, English composition, poetry, editing, and rhetoric, and is now retired from University of San Francisco. He was born in North Dakota, and has also lived in Colombia, Portugal, and Spain. His publications include a book of poetry and Rainbow: A History of the Rose in California (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017), as well as poetry in more than 100 poetry publications, plus articles in various academic magazines and journals. He is currently editor of Rose Letter for The Heritage Roses Group and of The Vintage Rose for The Friends of Vintage Roses, and American Rose Society Chair for Heritage Rose Preservation, as well as a member of the Historic Rose Group and a regular contributor to the Historic Rose Journal.

‘Monsieur Jule Lemaitre’

Monday, May 8, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: Can You Grow Roses in Iceland? Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

Week Four is an exploration of roses for cold, wet and windy gardens, with Vilhjálmur Lúðvíksson

his presentation describes the climatic and environmental challenges facing gardening in Iceland and will explain the opportunities provided by recently successful efforts in afforestation in providing shelter that allows the cultivation of ornamental plants like roses. Only a small fraction of roses available today can be successfully grown in Iceland. We represent a marginal market to rose producers and there is no interest in breeding roses that can survive here.

The Rose Club of the Icelandic Horticultural Society (IHS) was established in 2002. Its role will be explained, with an overview of some varieties and classes of roses now grown successfully – or unsuccessfully – in Iceland, plus where they come from. Recent efforts in rose breeding by local amateurs and semi-professionals will be described, plus the main challenges that face us as a result of extreme variability of our climate, during summers more than winters – and the importance of finding the right cultivars.

Dr Vilhjálmur Lúðvíksson is a chemical engineer, educated at the University of Wisconsin, USA. He was CEO of the Icelandic Research Council from 1978-2004, and is a former President of the Icelandic Horticultural Society (IHS) and past Chairman of the IHS Rose Club. His professional life was devoted to industrial development, the shaping and implementation of science and technology policy in Iceland from 1968 – 2010. As a member of the Nature Conservation Council Dr Lúðvíksson has been involved in the Icelandic conservation and afforestation movement seeking and testing biodiverse forestry varieties suitable for Icelandic conditions.

Married with two children, Vilhjálmur has spent over 60 years establishing a 17ha woodland garden on family land severely affected by centuries of overgrazing which destroyed vegetation and caused extensive soil erosion. Recently he has sought new opportunities in gardening provided by the shelter from growing forests. This includes ornamental trees and bushes, fruit trees, rhododendrons and roses.

Monday, May 1, 10:00 am – 11:30 am Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: A Rose Garden on a Working Farm, Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

In Week Three, Michelle Endersby will discuss The Role of a Rose Garden on a Working Farm. A formal rose garden in the middle of an Australian farm with a high likelihood of drought and flooding rains may seem like a frivolous extravagance. But at Sages Cottage Farm in Baxter, Victoria, an historic 38-hectare property run by disability service provider, Wallara, the rose garden plays a pivotal role in the experience and programs for clients and visitors alike. Not only a tranquil and calming display garden, the roses are also a source of fodder for the farm animals, a cutting garden for the café, a source of materials for craft projects and food source for the bees for honey production. With a collection of interesting roses, rose garden tours are a potential source of income and education. Michelle will show you the microclimates and the multitude of opportunities provided by this special rose garden.

Michelle Endersby is a writer and visual artist from Melbourne, Australia, and the ‘Rose Lady’ at Sages Cottage Farm where she is responsible for the care of over 150 roses. Inspired by a vision of a light-filled rose garden she experienced on awakening from a coma following emergency brain surgery, Michelle has made roses the focus of her creative and horticultural endeavors. She is also a member of the HRG and has contributed to the Historic Rose Journal. Michelle is the creator of the popular Art, Gardens and Always Roses monthly e-newsletter.

Monday, April 24, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Roses from the Arctic to Australia: The Other Rosaceae, Online

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This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.

With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/

Week Two is The Other Rosaceae – Brogdale and the National Fruit Collection with Tom La Dell. The National Fruit Collection growing at Brogdale is the most comprehensive collection of fruit varieties in the world. It is the contribution of DEFRA (the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s collections of genetic diversity to secure the future of the world’s food crops. It is the only fruiting collection, providing public access to the National Fruit Collection and to a wide range of education programs on the heritage of the varieties held, fruit cultivation, and fruit in a healthy diet, plus guided tours, festivals and events. Tom will talk about the 4,000 apples, pears, cherries, plums and smaller collections, and how Brogdale Collections is working to maximize the public benefits of these wonderful collections. Future plans include a series of fruit gardens from Medieval to Renaissance (Italian Villas) to Baroque (Versailles) and the Victorian kitchen garden, to show around 400 historic varieties in their historic settings.

Tom la Dell is a landscape architect and ecologist, a trustee of the charity Brogdale Collections, a member of the Kent Gardens Trust and the HRG. Originally a plant scientist, Tom became a landscape architect instead of working with breeding food crops. His work has included all aspects of landscape architecture, often combined with his work as an ecologist. He has written extensively for the KGT and the Historic Rose Journal. His long-standing interest in garden history and plant heritage started with excellent lectures in the late 1960s.

Monday, May 30, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Why the Rose, Online

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This talk is the final lecture in a series sponsored by The Gardens Trust in association with the Historic Rose Group. £5. Register through Eventbrite HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

I ask the rose, ‘From whom did you steal that beauty?’ The rose laughs softly out of shame, but how should she tell? Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi.

In this talk, writer and horticultural historian Jennifer Potter sets out to answer the question posed by the Persian poet, mystic and scholar, Rumi, more than seven centuries ago. What makes the rose so special to so many cultures around the world? How to explain its transformation from a simple briar of the northern hemisphere into the western world’s favorite flower? Ranging widely across cultures and art forms, the talk tracks the rose’s shifting associations with love, sex, death and the great religions of East and West, overturning along the way many cherished rose myths.

When first approached by her publishers to write a book about the rose, Jennifer Potter secretly wondered if we really needed another book on the rose. Quickly hooked by this most potent of flowers, she spent the next five years researching and writing The Rose, A True History (Atlantic Books, 2010), embarking on a journey that took her from the rose fields of Iran to the White House Rose Garden. The author of four novels and six works of non-fiction, she wrote a celebrated biography of the John Tradescants: Strange Blooms, The Curious Lives and Adventures of the John Tradescants (Atlantic Books, 2006), and followed her book on the rose with Seven Flowers and How They Shaped Our World (Atlantic Books, 2013), which has been translated into Chinese.

Monday, May 23, 1:00 pm – The Rose: Hinton Ampner’s Exceptional Garden, Online

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The Gardens Trust, in association with the Historic Roses Group, will sponsor a Zoom lecture on May 23 at 1 pm Eastern time with John Wood. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

Hinton Ampner is a National Trust property with a 14-acre garden set amid the rolling Hampshire countryside. The garden has an exceptional framework with wonderful vistas complemented by topiary and a great variety of plants including dahlias, roses and salvias, as well as woodland areas. Roses are grown at Hinton Ampner in many varied locations and styles: in formal beds, long borders, mixed with other plants or trained on walls, and clambering high into trees. In his talk John Wood, head gardener, will cover how he deals with restoring rose borders and what to consider when planting your roses. He will share some of his favourite roses and talk about the situations in which he uses them.

John Wood has worked for the National Trust for 25 Years. Having started at Mottisfont to assist the head gardener, David Stone, with the restoration of the renowned Walled Rose Garden, it was there that he developed his love of roses. In 2000 John moved to Hinton Ampner. Here John and his team have restored the Walled Garden and continue restoring many of the large beds and borders. In his spare time John tends to his own collection of roses. He is a member of the committee of the Historic Rose Group, has helped build and staff the HRG’s award-winning stands at the Hampton Court Flower Show, also providing the spectacular bouquets of roses for display there and at RHS Wisley’s Plant Society weekend show. John is also an expert photographer and his images feature in HRG publicity.