Spring is Coming!

As I have been out and about over the past week, I have seen unmistakable signs that spring will soon be here.

I spent three afternoons this month at Hollywood Cemetery, evaluating the roses in preparation for our Rose Volunteer Day on March 10.  The roses are still sleeping, but there are other plants springing to life.

A maple tree in full bloom.

A clump of snowdrops on a family plot.

Winter Jasmine.

Lawn full of tiny purple crocuses along one of the main avenues.

More crocuses.

During a walk in downtown Fredericksburg last week, I saw this lovely patch of snowdrops.

A friend and I were looking at a cabin near Harrisonburg on Monday.  The owner of the property was obviously a gardener.

A huge naturalized patch of Winter Aconite.

More Aconite, in another part of the yard.

Snowdrops.  I really love these!

Here in my yard, it's the beginning of Hellebore season.

Yesterday and today have been unseasonably warm ... 80 degrees both days with blue sky and bright sunshine.  It's been glorious!!

Heritage Rose Foundation Conference, Next Month

One month from today, rose lovers from all over the US (and at least a couple of foreign countries) will spend three rose-filled days in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for the 2017 Heritage Rose Foundation Conference.  

It's not too late for you to plan to join us.  Let me show you what we are going to do.

The conference will begin on Thursday, May 18, with an optional pre-conference bus trip to Charlottesville to visit the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Tufton Farm, home of the Leonie Bell Noisette Garden, and to tour the gardens and mansion at Monticello, home of President Thomas Jefferson.  Lunch is included.

"Bremo Musk" in the Leonie Bell Noisette Garden.

Friday, May 19, we will enjoy a day of presentations at Belmont, Gari Melchers' home and studio in Falmouth, Virginia.  Continental breakfast, buffet lunch, and tours of the mansion and garden are included.

'Tausendschoen' in the garden at Belmont.

I am very excited to have put together this slate of speakers:

Benjamin Whitacre, who paired a fascination with ancient texts and roses as a college student in Williamsburg, Virginia, before spending a year at the Arnold Arboretum researching Harvard's historic rose experiments.  He has also worked with roses at Mount Auburn Cemetery, the American Horticultural Society, and at Monticello.

Beate Ankjaer-Jensen, who has served as Cultural Resource Manager at Gari Melchers Home and Studio since 1999.  She led the research and restoration of the gardens and historic buildings, and directed the creation of native grassland meadows and trails that interpret the cultural and natural recources on the 29-acre estate.

Scott Dean, who became interested in roses at age 5, when his father entered a rose in his name in the youth class in a rose show.  He combines his hobby of studying the Middle Ages, as a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, with his interest in roses, researching the rose varieties grown in Europe prior to the year 1600.

Mike Shoup, who opened the Antique Rose Emporium in 1984, with the goal of creating a resurgence in the preservation of rare and beautiful roses.  Specializing in the re-introduction and distribution of historic roses, the retail center has theme gardens that show the versitility of antique roses in garden settings.  Mike is a past president of the Heritage Rose Foundation, and the author of three books and numerous national articles on the subject of using Old Garden Roses in today's gardens.

Saturday, May 20, we begin with a bus tour to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond to learn about the history of this 19th Century garden cemetery and its roses.  Goth Gardener and I are writing a new tour especially for this event.  As part of the day's activities, we will be replanting three lost roses to their original locations!  Lunch is included.

One of the roses that we will replant is 'Safrano' on the Waller lot in Section Q near Presidents Circle.

Saturday evening is the part of the conference that I'm most excited about ... a buffet barbecue dinner under a big tent in my garden here at Hartwood Manor!  My roses should be in full bloom for the guests, and I have been working SO hard to make everything look its best.  Roses will be available for sale.  A Heritage Rose Foundation banquet would be incomplete without the star attraction of the evening, Stephen Scanniello, president of HRF, acting as auctioneer for a wonderful assortment of rare roses and rose items ... including an oil painting donated by my very talented artist husband.

'Shailer's Provence' in the Fence Border, at Hartwood Manor ... home sweet home.

Registration fee is $210.  This all includes activities on Friday and Saturday, including lectures, tours, and meals, as noted.  An additional $85 fee is required for Thursday's optional tour to Charlottesville.  We also offer registration for individual activities, for folks who have scheduling conflicts and cannot attend the entire conference. (If you can only come to one thing, the banquet is the one that I recommend.  It's going to be so much FUN!!)

Edited to say:  Registration is closed, because this event is now history .. and it was FABULOUS.  You should have been here!)

I am coordinating this event with a little bit of help, but not much, and it has required an ever-increasing amount of my time and thought processes.  Folks who are coming have told me that they are very excited to come see the world of roses that we have here in Virginia ... and I am over-the-moon delighted to be their hostess.

A Post Full of Random Photos

The purpose of this post is for me to do something with some photos that have been hanging around in my Blog file for a few weeks.  Let's use this as an opportunity to catch up on some stuff.

#1.  I took this photo on the afternoon after we spent the day digging out from our blizzard, which I told you about in THIS post.  I intended to capture a normal scene, and to show how relaxed and happy Maggie was ... then I noticed my husband's socks.  He absolutely IS my Superman.

#2.  I recently had a meeting with the folks at Hollywood Cemetery.  After we finished, I drove through the cemetery to check on a few things.  When I saw this little angel with her Santa hat, I had to stop and take her picture.

#3.  I have had my '66 Mustang since 2002.  In all this time, it has had a radio but no speakers.  As a present to myself, I ordered after-market kick panels with speakers in them.  I also ordered a new dashboard speaker, which I will install when the weather is warmer.  Now that the little Pony has music, it's going to be good to have something besides the voices in my head to listen to while I'm driving.

#4.  I showed you my Amaryllis sprouts in THIS post from December.  Those little sprouts grew tall and strong, and I had beautiful red flowers on my kitchen windowsill for weeks.

I also have an Iron Cross Begonia, an Orchid, and a pot of Lycoris Aurea.

#5.  I'm still working hard to declutter, downsize, and organize around here.  In 2015, we donated 374 useful items to charity, just over one item per day, and threw out lord-only-knows-how-many useless things.  My goal for 2016 is to double this number and to donate TWO items per day this year.  So far, with five trips to the charity shop as of today, day #48, 199 items are out of the house and on their way to new homes.  All of this effort really makes a difference in how this place looks and functions.

#6.  Part of my winter routine is to avoid the cold and spend time sewing.  I have a few projects in the works ... I will show them to you later.  For now, I want you to see the sweet critter who keeps me company while I sew.

Alice loves her fluffy bed, on the windowsill by the radiator, with a tree full of birds to watch outside the window.

A Very Special Arrangement

This is the arrangement that I made from the flowers that I gathered from the roses that grow at Hollywood Cemetery.  

Do what you can to spend some time with loved ones this weekend, and appreciate what they mean to you.  That's exactly what I will be doing ... as we gather to celebrate Doug later today.

Remembering Doug

Reverend Douglas Seidel passed away three days ago, early on Saturday morning, October 3.  He leaves behind an army of friends and family ... and I am proud to count myself among his friends.

This is the only photo I can find of Doug and me.  It was taken in Lynchburg, in 2011.  That's Doug in the center of the back row.

I remember when I first heard about Doug.  I was reading In Search of Lost Roses by Thomas Christopher, not long after I discovered the wonders of old, unknown roses, some time in the early 2000s.  The author described how Doug, as a teen, partnered with Leonie Bell (who is not mentioned by name) to travel the Pennsylvania countryside to document and collect roses at abandoned sites and in cemeteries ... does this sound like someone else you know?

Photo of Doug with "Hollywood Pink Cluster" in 2001.

Photo by Peggy Cornett.

"Hollywood Pink Cluster"

I remember the first time that I saw Doug in person.  He was the banquet speaker at a district meeting of the ARS's Colonial District in Staunton, Virginia.  Doug's program was mesmerizing, and I remember sitting there in awe of the history of our repeat-flowering roses and their origins in the ever-blooming roses imported from China in the late 18th century.  I don't think that most of the audience that evening fully appreciated who he was or what he had to say.  

I did not approach Doug that evening, as I tend to get a bit tongue-tied when I'm around people that I admire.  I used to rationalize that it was best to remember a pleasant evening, rather than regret having said something completely stupid.  (I'm not so much like this anymore, thank goodness.)

A group of rose lovers, including Doug, Dennis Whetzel, and Peggy Cornett, in front of the "Crenshaw Musk Rose" at Hollywood Cemetery in 2001.

Photo by Kent Krugh.

"Crenshaw Musk Rose"

I remember when I first spoke to Doug.  It was the morning after that program in Staunton.  I was on the hotel elevator ... the elevator stopped at a lower floor, the door opened, and there was Doug.  I had been mentally kicking myself for passing on the chance to meet him in person the night before, and I was not going to let this new opportunity slip by.  I introduced myself, told him how much I loved his program, and we then spent the next two hours in the hotel lobby talking and getting acquainted.  I still get goosebumps when I think about it.

Doug and I exchanged contact information as we parted that day, and we promised to keep in touch.  He stubbornly refused to use computers, relying mostly on hand-written notes and phone calls.  I always had a notebook nearby and a pen in hand whenever I spoke to him, whether in person or on the phone, because I never knew what our conversations would be.  What to him may have been a tired story or insignificant fact, could be a valuable clue to to some mystery that I may have been thinking about.  I wanted to make certain that I remembered it all.

Doug with "Red Smith's Parish" at Presidents Circle, Hollywood Cemetery.

Photo by Kent Krugh.

"Red Smith's Parish"

Through my friendship with Doug, I have met many more like-minded rose people.  It is through him that I got to know the people at Monticello's Tufton Farm.  Doug was the force behind the Leonie Bell Noisette Garden, where I have been working for the past few years to help preserve the roses there.  Some of the plants in the Bell Garden were Doug's own, donated as a tribute to Mrs. Bell (he always called her Mrs. Bell), his mentor who nurtured that curious young man and helped him awaken a lifetime love of old roses.

Doug with 'Alba Odorata Bracteata' in Hollywood Cemetery, 2001.

Photo by Kent Krugh.

'Alba Odorata Bracteata'

I remember when Doug told me that he had been diagnosed with cancer ... an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.  He and I kept in touch regularly during that time, as I was a link to Tufton and to Hollywood Cemetery, and he listened intently as I told him of my work in both of those places.  He told me over and over of his experiences there and other places ... and I took notes.  

Doug had hoped to see the Bell Garden again, but he never did.  He took comfort in the fact that the rare roses planted there are safe, having been propagated and shared with individuals and nurseries.  (I still have a few roses there to propagate, which I hope to do in the next couple of weeks.)

Doug and the group with "Oak Avenue Tea" at Hollywood Cemetery in 2001, which he identified as 'William R. Smith'.

Photo by Kent Krugh.

"Oak Avenue Tea" ... aka, 'William R. Smith'

I remember one of the last times I talked to Doug.  It was in June of this year, after I sent him a surprise package full of roses and photos.  (He had been scheduled to speak at the rose festival at the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, but he had to cancel because of his health.  I was going to bring roses to him, unknown roses from my garden and from Hollywood Cemetery, for him to identify.)  He said that he was so excited to open that box ... full of old friends, as he called them.  One of the things he told me is that my "Tidewater Trail" is a rose that he has found in many places throughout his part of Pennsylvania.

Doug and Dennis Whetzel, identifying roses during the Open House at Tufton Farm, 2011.

I will remember Doug as a friend, a mentor, and a confidante ... someone from whom I learned so much, who awakened and nurtured my own love of roses and of discovery.  I will be with Doug's friends and family as we will gather this weekend, to remember him and to say goodbye.

I will ALWAYS remember Doug ... with my memories and notes, through continuing friendships, and with some of his roses that live in my garden ... and I will always think of him and smile.

Upcoming Spring Rose and Garden Events in Virginia

At this time of year, there are SO many choices of things for rose and garden lovers to do in Virginia.  (For those of you in other parts of the country, I'm sure that there is plenty of stuff for you, too, wherever you are.)  Below, you will find the events that I plan to attend ... I will be enjoying these as a plain old attendee at each of them but one.

Virginia Garden Week
April 19 - 25, 2015
There's nothing like Virginia Garden Week anywhere else in the country.  Home and garden tours are scheduled in many locations throughout the state.  I'm touring Fredericksburg on Tuesday, Warrenton on Wednesday, and Middle Peninsula on Friday.
Click HERE to go to the Garden Week web site for schedule and details.

Azaleas in full bloom in Fredericksburg for Garden Tour.

I will be speaking at the April meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Garden Club, delivering my program "Documenting and Preserving the Roses at Hollywood Cemetery"
Festival Hall, Reedville, Virginia
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm

A beautiful example of statuary, and 'Safrano', at Hollywood Cemetery

Lynchburg Old City Cemetery Antique Rose Festival

Featured guest and speaker is my friend, Rev. Douglas Seidel

Heritage roses propagated from the cemetery's collection will be available for sale.

May 8-10, 2015  

Schedule of activities at the cemetery's web site HERE.  

'Dortmund' climbing on the porch of one of the museum buildings at the Old City Cemetery.

Sunday Picnic at Hollywood Cemetery

Pack a picnic, bring a blanket, and relax to sounds of great entertainment.  As an added bonus, I expect the roses at the cemetery to be putting on quite a show.

May 3, 2015, 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Details on the cemetery web site HERE.

Unknown red China rose, on the Dorsey Cosby lot at Hollywood Cemetery

Monticello’s Tufton Farm Wine and Roses Open House

Featured speaker is Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants at Monticello

May 30, 2015 10:00 am – 2:00 pm  
Details are HERE, at the Monticello web site.

'Baltimore Belle' blooming in the garden at Tufton Farm.

Hartwood Roses Open Garden Day

Date to be determined, as soon as the roses in my garden let me know when full bloom time will be.

Details will be posted here, on the Hartwood Roses Facebook page, and on the Hartwood Roses web site as soon as I have them. 

The Weekend's "Big Flea" Finds

My husband and I went to the "Fredericksburg Big Flea", a once-per-year huge antique/collectibles show at the Fredericksburg Expo Center, on Saturday morning.  We took our time going up and down the aisles in the show room, but nothing seemed awesome enough to buy until we were in the last aisle.  Here is what we bought:

As soon as I saw the carefully-framed remains of this sampler from 1805, I knew that I HAD to have it.  Even in this condition, the precise stitches are a work of art.  To be honest, I think I love it MORE in this tattered state than I would have if it were whole.

Sarah Murray and her numbers and alphabets.

dated 1805

I have a huge collection of vintage and antique postcards.  My ones of sites in Fredericksburg are matted and framed, and I used to have them hanging in the family room in our past houses.  When I saw a dealer with postcards at the Big Flea on Saturday, I checked the Richmond, Virginia, section to see what he had from Hollywood Cemetery.

Three of the five postcards we bought were unused.

One of President Monroe's tomb, and two of the Jefferson Davis family lot.

One of the Davis postcards, copyright 1905, shows landscaping that appears to contain rose bushes!

The other two postcards are my favorite type to find, ones that were used and mailed and contain a message and an address.  This one shows President Monroe's tomb, and it was mailed to Miss Mollie Knight in Luray, Virginia, in 1907.

This last one shows a lily pond that once was part of the landscape near the entrance of Hollywood Cemetery.  I have never seen this image before, and I am thrilled to have it!  It was mailed to Miss Florence Riker in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1909.

Next time I go to Hollywood Cemetery, I will bring these along with me and I will try to photograph the same scenes.

There was other great stuff at the show, but this is all we brought home with us.  Being in the mood to downsize, declutter, and simplify puts a whole different mood on shopping at an antique show.  I look at things and appreciate them, and only items that I absolutely LOVE make the cut ... which, I guess, is how it should be all the time.