Rose Gardening 101

For birthdays, hostess gifts, or even Mother’s Day, one gift that will surely bring a smile is a bundle of fresh cut roses. The easiest way to order roses is to just call a florist and have them delivered, but that doesn’t really have the personal touch you may be looking for as memorable gift.

Of course you can pick roses right from your garden or at your local florist. But so many times, you can end up with roses that are in poor condition or die before they are ever opened. When you are looking at all those roses, how do you know which ones to choose? (more…)

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June is National Rose Month in the United States. Here are some ideas for celebrating:

• Fight the recession blues by adding at least one new rose to your garden.
• Show your children or grandchildren how to plant and care for roses.
• Host a garden party for your fellow rosarians.
• Set up a tour of your rose gardening club member’s gardens.
• Visit a public rose garden near you.
• Join a local rose gardening club.
• Begin a garden blog to celebrate your rose garden.
• Send photos of your roses to friends and family.
• Post photos or videos of local rose gardens on Flickr or YouTube.
• Gather your favorite rose photos and create a coffee table book to give as gifts.
• Create your own special postage stamp or seal celebrating your own rose garden.
• If you are a scrapbooker, create a special page or whole scrapbook devoted to your garden, especially your roses.
• Take a shut-in to visit a public rose garden near you.
• Give a rose plant to a nearby nursing home
• Volunteer to help care for the roses at a local park.

The GardenSites.Info Directory is the place to go to find public gardens and rose garden societies by state.

Intering bits of rose trivia:

• Since 1986 the rose has been the official National Floral Emblem of the United States.
• A rose is the official state flower of: the District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, New York, and North Dakota.
• George Washington was the first rose breeder in the US.
• Roses are native plants in the US.
• Roses are big business: 1.2 billion are sold annually.

Source: International Cut Flower Growers Association

This post was first published in June 1, 2005. It was updated May 28, 2009.

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Here are some of the questions that we have been asked from time to time. The answers include links to pertinent pages on this website about planting and caring for roses. Please let us know if there are other topics you would like us to cover. The Rose Gardening 101 Archives contain a complete list of the articles on this blog. (more…)

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What’s the point of growing and maintaining beautiful roses if you don’t have anyone to share them with? With today’s technology, you can go way past digital photos of your roses. Why not make a video of your roses that you can easily share with friends and family. You can even upload a video of your rose club’s exhibition to YouTube for the whole world to see! (more…)

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When the snow begins to melt and grass begins to turn green, it’s time to begin to look at your roses. Sometimes, just getting back into the garden can be overwhelming.These tips will be helpful to get you motivated to get your roses looking like new again. (more…)

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I asked a friend who is currently living in Europe to write about the great rose gardens of Europe. Each of the garden that she describes is now on my list of rose garden to see before I die. Do you have similar list? What rose gardens would you recommend to travellers?

Here are Miriam’s notes about great European public gardens:

While there are rose gardens on every continent, the history and old-world elegance of the rose gardens of Europe sets them apart from the rest. If you’re a rose lover planning a spring or summer trip to Europe, here are a few rose gardens you won’t want to miss. (more…)

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