I knew before I left home that I would certainly be bringing roses back with me ... since part of the conference activities were a rose sale and a rare rose auction ... so I had to make plans for how to get the roses back to Virginia. I included a cardboard box and a roll of packaging tape among the items in my suitcase, and I can mail the roses home.
A hotel room has limited space to work preparing pots of roses for shipment. I watered the roses last night, and left them to drain in the bathtub. This morning, I used the toilet lid as a work surface to tie them into plastic bags.
The five roses I bought are:
"Elisabeth's Red China"
and
"Probably Bloomfield Abundance"
(highlighted names are links that will take you to photos and descriptions of the rose on Help Me Find.)
Once the roses were bagged, there was little risk of spilling dirt on the hotel's carpeting, and I moved out into another part of the room to finish the job. The luggage stand was a good place to hold the box while I was securing four of my roses. They fit inside there perfectly ... they are securely held in place by the tape over the box flaps. As long as the roses don't move inside the box, they will arrive at their new home in good condition. (Any of you who bought roses from my nursery will recognize this packing job.)
The box I brought with me holds four roses, which was the maximum number I intended to buy ... but the first photo shows that I actually bought FIVE roses ... my, what a surprise ... Connie bought more roses than she intended to. (insert uncontrollable giggling here) I figured I could get another box for the fifth rose while I was at the Post Office, but fate intervened. As I left the hotel breakfast area heading back to my room earlier this morning, I found a discarded Lands' End box sitting beside the trash can!
I have a few more things that I can put in the second box, to lessen the chance that my suitcase will be overweight, and I will tape it closed right before I leave for the Post Office.
Among my other stops today will be a final stroll through the beautiful rose garden at the Sacramento City Cemetery ... three acres of magic! To give you a taste of the place, click HERE to see a three-minute preview of a 30-minute professionally-produced documentary about the Historic Rose Garden ... prepare to be blown away.
I fly out later this evening, and I take with me the memories of a very special conference, and new and renewed friendships with fellow rose lovers. What a fantastic trip this has been ... but I can't wait to be home.