Vol. 23, No. 09
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 ARS Trial Membership Form |
Temecula Valley Rose SocietyAn Affiliate of the American Rose Society
September 2012
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President's Messageby Frank Brines I
t gives me pleasure to inform all our members that starting with the September general membership meeting our meeting room at the Temecula Library will be expanded! Since we have secured a meeting room FREE for the Board to meet, we will have both rooms A and B for our membership meeting. This will allow us to conduct the Little Rose Show and discuss quietly while judging without distracting from the monthly speaker's program. We will also be able to use this room for additional committee meetings or events. So bring those specimens and share the experience!
Thanks to all who attended the annual Strategic Planning meeting August 16 and for contributing your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions. As a result of this meeting we have a new Historian: Jo Ann Churchill will chair that committee. She would gladly accept anyone's help in compiling a historical account of TVRS. By the way, please contact me if you have information of the where-abouts of the TVRS and Rose Haven Heritage Garden archives which disappeared from the Properties Storage shed at Rose Haven! An organization such as TVRS operates with many committees to be able to accomplish and support it's goals—and our committees can certainly use your help. Sign up, take part, and help direct our society in reaching its goals. Most committees meet immediately following the monthly members' meeting lunch from 1-1:45 PM, so you don't need to plan another day away from home or out of your life. Since you are already here, select a committee, stay, and contribute-don't worry, you probably won't be the only new person on your committee! A list of committees is in the back of the Member's roster, or on the TVRS Website. (From the home page,click "Members Page" then click the link "Committee List".) Some committees are inactive as no one seems interested. If we don't have enough volunteers on those committees we'll need to cancel some activities, events, or projects. So, please join a committee and become a part of creating a better TVRS.
The September 13 Board Meeting location will be at the Assistance League of Temecula Valley, 28720 Via Montezuma, Temecula. Phone 951-694-8018. Grocery Cards Benefit TVRSDear Members: I trust that you have made a determined effort to use Stater Bros. Script/Gift Cards for your everyday normal purchases. Even in these financially difficult times we all must eat. Purchasing a $100.00 Script Card will let you spend $100.00 for groceries at Stater Bros. There is no extra expense or donation coming out of your pocket and the Rose Society will get a $6.00 donation for the upkeep of the Garden. Your support is greatly appreciated. See Ann Coakes to order Cards. Tel 951 693-5635.Visit Our New Facebook PageGardening For Kids In Temecula.Summer at the Gardenby Barb PurdyOur third Saturday program for young children is not active during the summer, but our vegetable garden continues to need care and nurturing during the summer. Our vegetables had a good start and were flowering and starting to produce in June. We had squash, pumpkins, peppers, watermelon, sweet potatoes and tomatoes growing. The sun and hot weather helped our vegetables grow, but we also saw an increase in "critter damage" despite our efforts to keep the vegetables protected with chicken wire. 
The greatest loss was to our pumpkins (we lost most of our crop to gopher/squirrel damage) and our sweet potatoes (we think it was insects/snails that ate all of the leaves or a gopher). Our greatest success so far is our watermelon. We had help from members and volunteers who built a protective cage that really worked (see picture above) and now the watermelon that a young Girl Scout troop planted in May, are getting big and hopefully juicy. Our tomato plants are producing many tomatoes right now, but they are slow in turning red. We are hoping for a good crop when it cools off. This is one crop that seems to not be as attractive to "critters" so they continue to thrive despite no protective covering. We appreciate all of you who have volunteered during the summer to help in the garden on Saturday mornings. We hope to see more of you as summer comes to an end. We always need help harvesting summer vegetables and we will soon plant crops for fall and winter. Watch for announcements also for our Third Saturday program which will start again the 3rd Saturday in September. |
Member Meeting ProgramDate: Thursday, September 20Time: 10:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Place: Temecula Library, Community Room ( 30600 Pauba Rd., Temecula ) Speaker: Ric Newcomer Topic: Maintaining Healthy Succulents Ric, a member of the San Diego Cacti & Succulent Society, will be giving a presentation on "How to keep your Cacti and Succulents Healthy." Newcomer has traveled all over Mexico and Baja in search of unique plants for his 2,000 plus plant collection. A light buffet luncheon will be served around noon. Guests are welcome. September Birthdays & New Members
Little Rose Showby May OlsonWe will resume our Little Rose Show at our next meeting on September 20th. If you are fortunate enough to have a few beautiful blooms, despite our toasty weather, please bring them and continue practicing for our next officially judged Rose Show. Remember, there are only three LIttle Rose Shows left for this year. With your participation we can fill up our tables with beautiful blooms and you will continue to accumulate points towards the grand prize in December, and don't forget to bring along a friend. Rose Haven Updateby Bonnie BellThe garden looks amazingly good after a month of long hot days. The grasses are spectacular right now and the succulents and water-wise plants will be popping with color soon. Check out the photo of three Octopus Agave's which have produced hundreds of "pups". The stalks are about 20 feet tall and leaning over so far we may have to cut them down soon. The Sunset Celebration picnic in August was great fun and the weather was perfect that day. So nice to see our garden friends again. We have begun deadheading the roses so come autumn they will be full of blooms for our October 20th Fall Festival. Our work days are still Wednesday and Saturday mornings, so if you would like to volunteer we sure can use the help. Erosion control grading has been completed along the upper east side of the garden. At the very top of the property Kathy and Howard Katz mowed down horrible weeds one hot morning. Thanks to their effort we will not have to pay the annual weed abatement summons from the city.
Projects discussed at the recent garden committee meeting were: A new entry sign approved and ordered - funding received; Trees to be planted along the hillside paths for shade and color were chosen - members will be solicited for funds to sponsor a tree; A decorative fountain for the Romantic Garden; Eagle Scout projects are still open. Our next committee meeting is Wednesday, September 26th at 9:00 a.m. The address of the garden is 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd., Temecula Octopus Agave 
Please enjoy the "Garden Chat" articles from Kathy Katz available on our website at this location. |
A Brief Overview of Basic Rose Arranging - Part 1by Frank Brines, Consulting RosarianT he flower show we will conduct October 20 during the Last Rose of Summer Festival will be for arrangements only (including table settings). To help you feel more comfortable with arrangements, I'm going to explain the basics in this column this month and next. To "arrange" means to organize and to place in a proper or pleasing composition or design. We've all seen flower arrangements that take our breath away and make us say, "How did they do that?" Well, they did it the same way you are going to do it: by applying the basic elements and principles of design. ● The basic elements of design are form, line, space, texture, pattern, size, and color. ● The basic principles of design are balance, proportion, rhythm, contrast, dominance, and scale. Don't let all of this intimidate you: I'll bet that you are already quite adept at applying these in other areas of your life, from your wardrobe, to your hair style, to your home décor and your garden design. As in those other areas, you can use these basic elements and principles to build an appealing picture that expresses and communicates your unique personality and imagination. And don't be misled by the word "picture," for an arrangement is not flat: It exists in three dimensions. (Notice how many of the basic elements and principles have to do with space.) When combined into a three-dimensional form, these all lead the eye (and mind) in a journey of discovery, delight, and surprise while creating a pleasing whole. In order to have this kind of impact, the arranger must plan, organize, and build up the design, all the while selecting (and rejecting) materials to best express her vision and to create a memorable design. I encourage you to think about the elements and principles, and to experiment before the next meeting. If you don't have any fresh plant material, why not go down to a craft store and buy some silk flowers and play with those? And bring a line arrangement to the Sept 20th membership meeting. If you create it from fresh plant material, you can enter it in the Little Rose Show, but even if you have only silk flowers bring those anyway. We'll analyze the arrangements and learn together! There are several general types of arrangements. The one I want to discuss this month is the usually called the "Traditional Style." The most basic of these is the "line arrangement." It is also the most easily executed because it requires the least amount of plant material—and yet, its very simplicity can make it one of the most dramatic of arrangements, causing many novice arrangers to doubt that it can be easily achieved. |
The illustrations that accompany this article show four variations on the dominant factor, the line. Every line arrangement should have openness, height and width, but very little depth. It should use minimal plant material of the highest quality, and there should be no deviation from the line. While most designers commonly think of a line as vertical, it doesn't have to be: It may be horizontal, diagonal, curved, crescent, spiral, or "Hogarth" ("S" shaped variation). To read Part 2 jump here. 
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Rose Care FUNdamentalsby Frank Brines, Consulting RosarianT
emperatures finally heated up in August, as they usually do in the Temecula Valley. Because heat is inevitable this time of year, we need to adapt our approach to rose culture during August and September. We live in a desert, after all, and many plants (including roses) tend to shut down under extreme temperatures. So during August and September just let your roses "do their thing." Don't prune off the blossoms from the July bloom cycle; let them fade and wither. You can remove the spent petals, but leave the rest. The plants will respond by forming fruit-that's what the rose hips actually are-and those will release hormones that slow the plant's metabolism, signally that it's time to rest, not to put energy into blooms. By doing so, you will prevent the plant from initiating new growth which would create stress during the harshest time of the year and the tender shoots will almost certainly be damaged by the heat. Keep your roses deeply watered and alive, and fertilize only lightly.
Speaking of which, at this time of year it's best to shift whatever fertilizer you use to a higher level of phosphate to encourage root growth. As you probably already know, I prefer to use organic fertilizers. This is also a good time to make your second application of the year of magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts): Apply 3/4 to 1 cup around the base of the plant to each plant, and scratch and/or water it in. (Note: You can also remove rose thorns from your fingers by soaking in an Epsom salt solution!) Also, just because we're taking it easy this month, that does not mean forgoing soil amendments such as a layer (at least 2") of mulch. It's truet that such amendments provide a bit of nutrition but not enough to kick the plant into a major growth spurt. Its main benefit is to help the soil hold moisture longer and spreading it out in the root zone, as well as moderating soil temperatures. These are essential during dry hot summers. |
Mulch can include anything that shades the soil. I prefer to use composted mulch, available in bulk from various local suppliers, because breaks down slowly and its nutrients are easily absorbed. Alternatively, you can also use a combination of leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, pine needles, etc. Just beware of creating wet mat that prevents air circulation and can lead to sour fermentation. Pine needles are terrific because they tend to be very airy and allow water to penetrate easily, and they eventually break down to acidify the soil. Shredded wood products are often available for free or at a low cost from arborists, the county, or municipalities. Be warned, however: I applied shredded wood products in a previous garden and was dismayed that it eventually bred mats of fungus that made the soil impenetrable to air and water! Another big help during the hot summer months is a drip watering system because it delivers water so efficiently to the root zone. Of course, you wouldn't want to make radical changes to your plants' watering regime in the middle of summer, let alone laboring out there in the hot sun! Wait until the weather cools down. When you do install the system, you'll want to survey your plants regularly to monitor the system's output: Watch for individual plants that show signs of wilting or stress, and look closely to determine if that plant's emitters are operating properly. If the entire bed seems stressed, increase the duration of the watering time. Also, schedule watering for before sunrise so your plants are well hydrated before the heat begins. It is a myth that watering roses in the evening or at night fosters disease; such watering is harmful only if dusty leaves (which harbor mold spores) are splashed with water. Nonetheless, drip watering keeps the water down on the ground where it can't do any damage. If you are an intrepid exhibitor and want roses for an upcoming show, or special event, count 6 to 8 weeks back from the projected date and dare to do a mid-season feeding and pruning-but stay vigilant for signs of water stress! For more ideas, visit TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd., Temecula |
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