Changes

Earlier this morning, I sent this message to the folks on my Hartwood Roses mailing list, and I posted it to both my personal and nursery pages on Facebook.  I am publishing it here on the blog, too, to reach as many people as possible.

'Lac la Nonne' at the Fairbanks Botanical Garden

Dear Friends and Customers of Hartwood Roses,

I have written and rewritten this message many times in my head over the past few weeks … it’s probably best that I just come right out and say it … effective immediately, I will no longer be propagating roses for sale.

"Lac Majeau'

'Jens Munk'

Hartwood Roses has always been a one-woman operation.  I plant and care for the gardens, and propagate and grow all the roses in the catalog, mostly by myself.  I also present rose programs several times a year for groups and garden clubs, consult on historic roses and gardens across the country, search out and preserve roses found at abandoned home sites and in cemeteries, and work plant sales and other events throughout the year.  This has become too much for me to do, and I must make some changes.  

Unknown rose at our hotel in Talkeetna, Alaska

I have been spending a disproportionate amount of my rose gardening time and energy producing and caring for each year’s crop of new roses, while my own roses are all but ignored.  My gardens are overgrown and neglected, and this is putting much of my collection of rare roses at risk.  I cannot, in good conscience, continue to propagate and sell the same popular roses over and over when the rarest and most unusual of my roses need to be preserved and distributed to reduce the chance of their extinction.

Unknown rose in Ketchikan, Alaska.

I have already removed the online catalog from the Hartwood Roses web site.  There were not very many roses left there, because this has been a good year for sales.  I am also disconnecting the Hartwood Roses phone line … email has always been the best way to reach me anyway.

Unknown Alba rose in Ketchikan, Alaska

Everything else around here will remain the same.  I will continue to welcome visitors to the garden, especially while the roses are blooming each spring.  I hope to expand the number of rose programs I present … to continue to teach gardeners that roses are not rocket science, to show that anyone really CAN have the rose garden of their dreams.

Unknown rose in Ketchikan, Alaska.

This has been a very difficult decision, one that I have made after months of consideration.  I got into the rose business to educate people about rare roses from the past … and this is what I will be concentrating on in the future.  Hartwood Roses has been a success because of your support and encouragement ... for this, I will always be sincerely grateful.  

Thank you very, VERY much.

Sincerely,
Connie Hilker

End-of-Year Rose Sale

(I just sent an email to everyone on my Hartwood Roses mailing list, telling them about my end-of-year clearance sale on roses.  I'm reprinting it here, with a few edits, to reach a wider audience and to let folks see some of the beautiful roses that are still available ... I avoid sending photos in my emails to make them a more manageable size.)

Dear Rose Friends,

Cold weather is here, and it‘s time for the remaining roses in inventory to bed down for the winter. Before I do this, from now through Sunday, December 11, all roses in stock are $10. First come, first served. No delayed shipping on this offer.

The Bishop

Alberic Barbier

There is still a lovely selection of hardy roses in stock, many of which are some of my favorite roses in the garden … Tuscany Superb, The Bishop, Silver Moon, Peggy Martin, Leontine Gervais, Alberic Barbier, Caldwell Pink, Apothecary’s Rose, and many more.

Peggy Martin

Puerto Rico

At the conclusion of this sale, I plan to tuck the roses into the greenhouse for the winter and close the online store till spring.

Tuscany Superb

Paul Transon

Next year will be a bit different, as I catch my breath and regroup from a couple of whirlwind years. I’m putting less emphasis on propagation, and turning more of my efforts toward getting my gardens in order and preparing new programs and classes that I am anxious to introduce. Folks want information about roses … which roses to choose, how to plant and maintain them, what to do when problems occur, etc. … and I am gearing up answer the call. There will definitely be a new crop of roses for 2012, I’m just not stressing over it.

Silver Moon

Apothecary's Rose

Let me close by taking a minute to thank each of you for your support of Hartwood Roses. Even in this climate of economic uncertainty, 2011 was a good year for us, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you look forward to what we offer in 2012, and can make room in your garden for a few more Hartwood Roses.

Sincerely,
Connie Hilker

(and I offer a very sincere thank you each of you, who read this blog and support me through your comments and emails.  I appreciate this more than you know.)

Do You Read Tara Dillard?

Tara Dillard is a landscape designer/author/TV personality/lecturer in Atlanta, Georgia ... and she has one of my very favorite blogs.  If you don't read it, you should.  Her style is snappy and straight-to-the-point, and her advice is just as no-nonsense ... and I'm not telling you this just because she featured Hartwood Roses in her post this morning.

This is Tara's beautiful photo of 'Dortmund', a gorgeous red climber, that I "borrowed" from her blog.

Tara is on my mailing list, and she (and everyone else on the list) received my latest email update last night.  It prompted her to write and ask permission to republish my note on her blog.  I was touched.

To read what I wrote, and to get a delightful taste of Tara's style, click HERE.  I guarantee you will love it as much as I do.

This is 'Dortmund' again, trained along the front of one of the buildings at Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery.

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