Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (May 2, 3, and 4) is the Spring Plant Sale at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond. It feels weird that I'm not selling roses anymore and won't a vendor at this show. (Click HERE to go to the LGBG web site, for each day's hours and a list of vendors.) Some of my best non-rose garden plants have come from this sale.
On Sunday, May 5, from 1pm - 3:30pm, everyone is invited to the 2nd annual "Sunday Picnic at Hollywood Cemetery". Pack a picnic basket, bring a blanket and relax to sounds of great entertainment (Oak Lane Band and Censations from St. Catherine's School). Guided Trolley car tours will be provided. Cupcakes from Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe, an ice cream truck from Cool Concessions, and hotdogs from The Dog Wagon will be on site. Hollywood Cemetery's roses will certainly be part of the day's events!
Print from Harper's Weekly, August 17, 1867. The caption reads, "Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia -- decorating the graves of the rebel soldiers, May 31, 1867 -- drawn by W. L. Shepherd (see page 568)"
'Duchesse de Brabant' in the Armistead Plot.
Another cemetery that is near and dear to me is the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia. Saturday, May 11, is their 18th annual Antique Rose Festival. The cemetery's rose collection should be nearing peak bloom for the festival, and there will be a huge assortment of antique roses available for sale. (Click HERE to go to the event calendar on the cemetery's web site.)
The rose sale begins on Friday, May 3 ... with 140 varieties on the preliminary list that they sent me. This is the ONLY opportunity I know to buy antique roses in person in this region. Online vendors for antique roses are disappearing, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity we have to get these roses for our gardens, and support the people and organizations who work so hard to bring them to us. (Lynchburg is pretty close to Covesville, where my new rug is, and I hope to make a combo trip ... to pick up my rug and visit the Old City Cemetery's roses. Anyone down that way want to meet up?)
'Aglaia'
Saturday, May 18, is Rose Day at Monticello's Tufton Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rosarian Rev. Douglas Seidel will discuss the various types of old roses ... Doug is one of the most fascinating speakers I know! Bring clippings of your “mystery roses” for Doug’s legendary antique rose identification workshop. Curator Peggy Cornett will lead tours of the Tufton's gardens, including the Leonie Bell Noisette Garden. A wide selection of historic roses and other plants will be available for sale. (I will be there, but I don't know yet whether I will be helping with anything.)
"Hollywood Pink Cluster", found in Hollywood Cemetery, and growing in the Leonie Bell Garden.
'Baltimore Belle'
Though the nursery portion of Hartwood Roses is closed now, I will still host an Open Garden or two (or more) in late May, once my roses are blooming. As soon as I have an idea of when, I will let you know.
