Awesome! Looks like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing!

Nice photos! A lot of pretty roses in bloom......a nice porch to party! love one lady's flower straw hat. :-)

That looks like so much fun, but too bad about the dwindling numbers. What's driving that?

Seil, that looks much more relaxing than a rose show. The numbers were low last year at our rose show too, because the chili thrips ruined a lot of our roses. Hopefully you can bring back your rose show next year and have a garden tour.

I'm sure it was fun, so glad you enjoyed it!

Very nice!

I always enjoyed the garden tours of my rose society's members best of any of their meetings. It was always such fun to see someone else's idea of using roses in the garden and to note the differences growing zones make - there being a lot of different climate around the Grand Traverse Bay area where my group is centered (I'm the odd man out at 80 miles further north up the coast of the mitten.) I think it was a lovely alternative to your traditional rose show and it certainly looks like the people attending enjoyed themselves - you might just want to make it an annual event! Thanks for posting this, Seil.

Anne

Too bad about your local rose show.

Thanks everyone! I don't know that we'll be bringing back the show. We've lost a lot of the older members and it seems that young people aren't very interested in joining these types of groups. We have had several membership drives with no success. The Grosse Pointe Society had only 11 paid members this year and I fear this may be its last year. Metro only has a few more so there is no telling what will happen to that. The third group, Detroit Rose Society, is also losing members and we've tried and tried to convince all 3 groups to join forces but no one wants to give up their own group. In the end they may all disappear.

I am glad you had a fun day out and a nice garden tour. But I am very sad to hear about the state of the rose societies and to hear about the dwindling membership. It really breaks my heart that these traditions may be lost, and with them the expertise that comes along with growing roses and sharing it with group members. For millenials (and speaking as one) it is maybe a declining interest in roses, but also a more transitory lifestyle with limited opportunities to "put down roots" and own houses/yards as in the past.

Thanks for sharing, Seil. I think it is a great opportunity to meet other people who share your passion.

I agree with your comments Ninkasi. I have to say as much as I love roses, I don't think I would have the time to join any rose societies. To be honest, I am not even sure we have any rose societies up where I live.

You make good points, Ninkasi. I also find that younger people just don't have the time. With both parents working and the kids enrolled in lots of programs people aren't home much even if they do own one.

Are there any public gardens in your area that can work together with your group? I remember my parents used to take me to gardens when I was young. It is the perfect platform to involve the public.

No, nothing really local. There was a rose garden on Belle Isle in Detroit at one time but it's been gone for years. The next closest would be at U of M in Ann Arbor and that's at least an hours drive for most of us.

This can definitely be an opportunity for your community, Seil! If you have other "societies" as well, you can group up and ask whether your town or city will allow all of you to start a sort of community garden. In this age of environmental protection and concerns, it would be a great opportunity to educate and provide a place for the community to enjoy and learn. In addition, it would beautify the community as well.

I think people will definitely stop to smell the roses at a place where family can enjoy a nice afternoon out from their hectic lives.