They should try to come to NC once. End of March there is a big and popular sale/show is going on at Poplar Grove with a lot of out-of-town vendors. I have never seen roses there; it is a shame.

Ceterum. See if you can email us the information. We do a garden event in Hendersonville, NC every year.

Buford - Looking forward to meeting you.

I visited with Paul and friends at the Southern Spring Show last year in Charlotte. It is a shame you'll miss Paul's talk "Roses are Plants Too"....he spoke on a similar subject in Charlotte and I really enjoyed it. Learned a good bit too.

At least you'll get to hear Paul and Richard Beales speak. I wish I lived closer to Atlanta just this once. ;-) I'd love to hear that one. I also see that on Sunday Billy Styles is speaking....you should try and catch that one too if you can. He's a bit of a character but a HUGE proponent of natural and organic products for the entire yard. His business is sort of near here and I keep meaning to get over there. There are radio commercials running in the Charlotte area for his business saying that with the use of organics and feeding the soil that your yard will need less water to thrive. Which after last summer's drought is a good thing to look into.

I'm hoping that Ashdown will be back this year at the Southern Spring Show in Charlotte...Paul?

Carole

After I submitted my last post I followed the link you provided to the show program and there is no mention of either of the talks that I wrote about. LOL!!! I really haven't lost my mind and started rambling like an idiot. Earlier today I had gotten an email from Ashdown Roses that lists the talks on Saturday and Sunday that I spoke about.

Both are listed at 11:30 am on the respective days.

Carole

Hi There,

The demonstration stage is not in the formal program but Carole your notes are correct. Richard and I will be pontificating on Saturday at 11:30 and Billy on Sunday. Tomorrow Billy and I will be on his radio show which is on 107.9 the link FM out of Charlotte. You can stream it on the Internet. The show begins at 7 AM. After that we go to a seminar at his store in Matthews, NC.

And yes your points about Billy are all true and that is exactly why I took the Peter Beales Complete Natural Rose Care program to him for development!

Paul, I will ask at the next Garden club meeting (NOT rose society, LOL) when the spring sale goes on this year. Some of the members are also commercial growers, who always participate in this event. Usually a huge crowd goes there to but plants, since this is the first spring event and everybody is itching to see and buy new plants for their spring planting. I met Richard Dufresne the Salvia guru there and bought all salvias that in-town nurseries never carry. He sold a lot more of those salvias right after because people asked me why I was so happy with those small plants, LOL. As I noticed people spend a lot of money during that day.

I will notify you as soon as I found out the exact date and the basically nominal fee for a nursery or vendor should pay as an entrance fee (I think it is around $20, at least that's what I remember hearing)

Just promise me that you don't bring too many Knockouts, LOL, rather alternatives to Knockouts. This town is flooded with KOs. Teas, Noisettes, no spray old and modern roses are needed along with good info on them. Don't be surprised if they ask if these roses repeat. They know only Lady banks roses, then Knockouts and then HTs from chain stores those last category is they usually fail with.

This event is usually scheduled one week before the Azalea festival - you may even have (or could time) roses blooming by that time and that is the most important selling point as I notice again and again when our club has its garden sale a week later.

You might even want consider donating a few great leftover performers after the sale for the Arboretum that has a pitiful rose garden provided they display that the roses came from Ashdown. (I will double-check if that rose garden is still so sorrow or got better a bit, just to be on the safe side - provided you think this is a good idea))

I apologize for being so impertinent to attempt giving you advice; I am well aware that you know better. However, maybe I know a bit about the locals and the gardening scene here. People are told by the extension service that they couldn't grow roses in this town/climate. For example, once I was advised by a guy at the Ext. Service to cut down all my roses and plant lantanas instead, LOL.

I didn't know that Billy Styles had a radio show...thanks to my durn cat I am up early enough, I'll have to listen to it. Especially since Paul is on it this morning.

Hopefully there will be more info on the seminar they are giving today. All I had planned this am was a trip to Trader Joes which is sort of over in that direction. Cool.

Carole

ceterum, Thank you and any information and insight is more than welcome. Please email me with any other information you may have along with your suggestions and idea. Not promising anything but we'll take a good look at. I may have to ask you to help me work the booth!!!

It appears Billy has managed to set up for us to do his radio show from Atlanta this coming Saturday while we are at the Flower Show. So that program will have Billy, Richard and Myself on it.

Too bad y'all don't come down here to Slovannah-they have the yearly Antique and Garden Expo in April and there are no roses there.........

Hey, Paul. Didn't I talk to you one year at the Maymont show in Richmond?

Connie

After listening to the radio this AM I wandered over toward Matthews, NC where I had a chance to speak quickly with both Paul and Billy Styles. Both were extremely excited about their new product line,the Peter Beales Complete Natural Rose Care program. Billy was telling me that the first of the products, called Good Morning Roses will be available perhaps by the middle of next week. I am so looking forward to using this stuff in my yard!

And they are going to be at the Southern Spring Show in Charlotte...hopefully Richard Beales will be there too.

Carole

Here is a link to more info about the Peter Beales Complete Natural Rose care line soon to be available:

Here is a link that might be useful: Peter Beales Complete Natural Rose Care

Do you know anything about the price of the various products? Plus shipping?

::Do you know anything about the price of the various products? Plus shipping?:::

You know....I forgot to ask that part. Hopefully there will be more info online after the Atlanta show. Maybe Paul will stop by and let us know. (hint)

Carole

Hi There,

We should have prices and everything on the website after Atlanta.

(hint taken!)

Darn, this is the first time I have missed the Southeast Flower show in several years. Our Garden Club usually goes each year but this year opted out. Several members were "tired of going."

Cindyabs, that Southeast Flower show is HUGE. People from all over the south go there, and in busloads.

This is the first time in a while that there has been so much information on roses. I saw a question and answer presentation by Beales and Zimmerman yesterday. Today Beales showed slides of Chelsea. Zimmerman will present 'Roses are Plants too' on Sunday. One of our local society members will do a demonstration on Friday. There's more I just can't remember. Anyway I have really enjoyed it all. It's been Great! Try to attend if you can.