"'There's a man who likes a challenge.'" That is better than "nuts" ---- I suppose. Rose nuts are an interesting group of folks which I am fond of including myself.

OTOH the only time I have left a spade by a rose bush was when I was too lazy to put it in the shed.

The interview sounded good hearted in nature. Looking foward to reading the book.

F.L.
NAGL

I just finished the book and it had some interesting tidbits. I have a lot of respect for people dedicated to growing roses well, but as pointed out in the book, there are some people who grow roses only for the trophys they can win. Many years ago I met such a person. When he hadn't won anything significant for a few years he pulled up all his roses and went back to growing grass (or whatever). Bummer.

I just finished reading the book too. I enjoyed reading it. I can't even begin to imagine that I would have the temperament to get up in the middle of the night and insert q-tips into my roses.

I have never been to a rose show, but I'm sure the perfect beautiful blooms could take ones breath away.

If you have a nice, fresh, Graham Thomas with a good stem and clean foliage, then you too can enter a rose show! In fact, it makes for a more interesting rose show when the "odd balls" show up. The public really goes nuts over minis, singles and crazy colors like Distant Drums, they just can't believe that everything they are seeing are roses. Just in case you ever thought about entering, it isn't just about the "perfect" HT. OK, off of my soap box now.

I have the book and I really like it. I know many of the people she interviewed -- she did a good job of describing their personalities and telling their stories.

I only exhibit occasionally, but I often help at rose shows as a volunteer.

Sandy, we don't all get up in the middle of the night -- most stay up all night before a show putting those darned Q-tips in the roses to make the shape more symmetrical, wiping off leaves and a bunch of other stuff to prepare them for competition. Not to mention transporting them to the shows in elaborate carriers with the car's air conditioning blasting ... don't get me started!

I loved the book. I chuckled at the lengths taken by some of the exhibitors. That's all part of the fun. The roses are beautiful. In every endeavor there are the ones that take it to the max. Along the way, the rest of us often get some benefit out of it--new products or roses.

However, at our local rose show which is held in a shopping mall, everyone one loves to see the variety--from the singles, old fashioned, green rose, etc.

Know Clarence well. I've been to his house in Maine and the description of the garage is right on. Clarence has an infectious personality......hang around him for 10 minutes and even if you could care less about roses at the end of that 10 minutes you'll be asking him where you could buy a few plants. He just judged our rose show a couple weeks ago.....as good a judge as he is a person.
Michael

There was a related article in USA Today last Thursday. I was just in a class with the Smiths.

Oh, and the "sidebar" article is Right now, the bloom is on these rose varieties.

Here is a link that might be useful: A competitive spirit blossoms among rose growers

I had a good chuckle tonight reading the post about how the rose shows are more interesting when the "odd balls" show up! Yep, that might be me!

Sandy

The USA Today article was done at the Richmond Rose Society Show Memorial Day weekend. If you look at the photo, the man at the far end of the table, standing with his arms folded, is my husband. I'm in the green shirt, sitting to his left. We were quite excited to have a national audience for our rose show.

This was my first rose show. I wasn't able to come up with any blooms to exhibit. My OGRs had just finished, and my HTs wouldn't have come in for a week or so afterward. Instead, I entered photographs.

I went in not knowing what to expect, and I left with a deep respect for the work (and luck) required to be a competitive exhibitor. I can't exactly say that I'm hooked -- but I plan to continue to exhibit at our show in Richmond.

Connie

I really commend those that exhibit. They work very hard to grow roses as lovely as they do.

I have the buttercream-one bought and my only one I grew from a cutting.
Its a fussy rose down here but I have posted pictures several times as it can be stunning.At a certain stage[show one] it is well-named as it looks like a buttercream,tempted to eat it.

And then there's Happy Butt.

There are really only two kinds of rose growers - those who grow the roses for the fun of it, who give many of their blooms away to those in hospitals and nursing homes, or to cut for the house, and those who are "Hardware Hunters." The hardware hunters attend all the shows they can including the Nationals and pursue the trophies with zeal. With them, rose growing is not fun, it's a passion, and woe betide anyone who interferes with their pursuit of perfection or questions their motives. In a previous life, I was married to a rose arranger and judge, and that's what we did - show, show, show. I, happily, am no longer encumbered, and now grow roses for fun. It's much more rewarding IMHO.