We are home from the conference, a day early, because of some problems with our RV. But I want to congratulate the Desert Rose Society of Palm Springs on a fabulous event.
BUSY Event!
From our arrival Thursday afternoon, onward, there was a whirl of terrific opportunities.
Jim Delahanty did his Polyantha history talk Thursday. He KILLED!
He was followed by John Bagnasco on more modern developments in Polys. Between the two of them, if you didn't leave the room craving Polyanthas, I don't understand you at all!
Clay and I went first, Friday morning, speaking on Rose Rustling.
At 9 a.m., we expected an audience of about 10 -- but there were 85 in the room, and they seemed to love it.
Gregg Lowery followed, with a terrific ramble through the last 200 or so years of rose creativity -- Again, the audience kept him there with questions, so we liked the talk a lot, but more importantly, the audience was really engaged.
Cass Bernstein followed Gregg, speaking on rose identification. I don't think any of THOSE people will EVER think a rose can be I'D from one pix of a half-open bloom. The three talks blended really well.
Again -- in all three cases, the audience were really engaged. It was great.
We missed the Hungarian lady, speaking on the roses of Gergely Mark. I was in a lot of pain after an hour of standing and 2 hours on those stiff little chairs! I had to get out of there. But I did see a pix of one of the Mark roses, St. Elizabeth? GORGEOUS, and apparently tolerant of both cold, and alkalinity. Euro-Desert Roses will offer it, and I'm very interested!
We are home a day early, as we had a problem with the motorhome's headlights.
As it turns out, it's as well we came on home, because the weather forecasters are now saying tomorrow will bring very high winds. We'd have been stranded there, which would not have been cool.
Today, we stayed long enough to get through most of the PSWD District Breakfast and Meeting -- I hung in there long enough to see Jim Delahanty collect an award for the Stagecoach Inn garden (Newbury Park, CA) -- a garden I designed, 15 years ago. But those hard, stiff chairs were misery for my back. I was glad to get up and move!
Finally, we were able to get into the exhibit room, to see the rose show.
It was a fairly small show, but the quality was high.
I do not in the least understand arrangements awards, but it LOOKED to me like our friends, and fellow Gold Coast HRG members, did really well.
The big thrill for us was that our friend Ingrid got on the trophy table, winning the FOUND Roses class, WITH "BENNY LOPEZ"
And I must say that it was a superb specimen of BL. Ingrid, being Ingrid, she thought first of how much fun it will be, when she gets home, to call Benny Lopez, and tell him.
I DO have pix, of the rose show, and some of the Arrangements, and some of "Benny Lopez."
It was (still is of course) a superb Conference -- and it really WAS a Conference, this time -- in a way serious Hort organizations would recognize. The Desert Rose Society folks can feel proud as punch. They were RIGHT, RIGHT, 100% RIGHT that there is serious interest in REAL educational talks. And I heard people talking about it, a lot.
I understand that they're going to put together a CD of images from the conference. I hope they do!
Clay and I have neither of us EVER had our pictures taken so many times. It seemed that half the people in that room ran up at the end of the talk and wanted to take pictures of us. (Have you ever seen such a thing?)
You know, this place was "dog friendly."
We thought for a nanosecond about just getting a room and staying there? But it turned out that having a dog with you meant an extra $70./Day PER DOG!!! We passed!
BUT we could take them anywhere with us, other than the food-service areas, and we did.
I imagine there must have been people there who didn't like dogs, but for sure, most DID. And Brisa and Becket were surrogates for every person who was missing their own dogs at home. They were patted, hugged, and made-over by literally HUNDREDS of people.
What magnificent ambassadors for their breed they were!
And think about this: 6 months ago, Becket was running stray outside Waco TX. He acted like he'd been in that hectic environment his whole life. I've seen few dogs with that sort of self-possessed confidence.
I am SO glad to be home, though.
My GOD that was a frantic few days. I'm exhausted, but really glad we went, and really pleased with the outcome of the whole thing.
Jeri Jennings
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
jerijenOriginal Author
Related Discussions
2009 ARS Fall National Conference and Rose Show Palm Springs
Q
Do Certain Nationalities Have A Gardening Gene?
Q
ARS May & June 2010 Rose Show Results
Q
Palm Springs (Very Off Topic but I Promised KG :-)
Q
melissa_thefarm
mendocino_rose
jacqueline9CA
jerijenOriginal Author
anntn6b
henry_kuska
jerijenOriginal Author
seattlesuze
jerijenOriginal Author
the_bustopher z6 MO