Monday, December 31, 2012

Tournament of Roses Parade - 124 years strong



           
The annual Rose Parade and Rose Bowl football game is an all-American tradition on New Year’s Day.  Long before the radio was invented much less the TV in 1890, members of the Pasadena’s Valley Hunt Club wanted to celebrate the mild winter weather in California where roses were still in bloom in January.  They were eager to tell the world about their paradise.  They were from the East and Midwest who moved to California and discovered the nice mild winter weather in Pasadena.  Dr. Charles Frederick Holder declared at a club meeting that “In New York, people are buried in snow.  Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear.  Let’s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.” Fast forward to 2013 - The forecast for New Year’s Day tomorrow for Pasadena is 58 degrees, not exactly a warm weather.  There is even a frost advisory from midnight tonight until 9 AM tomorrow morning.

The first floral festival on New Year’s Day was attended by more than 2000 people and was patterned after the Battle of the Flowers held in Nice, France.  The festival included a modest procession of flower-covered carriages with afternoon games of foot races, tug-of-war contests, bicycle races, ostrich races, polo matches and other contest on the town lot.  There was even a race between a camel and an elephant.  The elephant won.  Eventually, the contest was replaced by the best of college football.  The town lot was then renamed Tournament Park in 1900.  The first football game was played in 1902 between Stanford University and the University of Michigan with Michigan winning 49-0.  Due to such defeat, the Association dropped football in favor of chariot races. 

Then in 1916, football came back to stay.  In 1920, a new stadium was built which the local newspaper called the Rose Bowl.  On January 1, 1923, the Tournament held the first Rose Bowl game.  Today, the festival starts with a parade that includes matching bands, high-stepping equestrian units and spectacular animated floats covered with million flowers from all over the world.  Volunteers called petal pushers work hand in hand with professional designers to make this event a huge success.  This was followed by the Rose Bowl where the championship collegiate football teams of the Pac-12 and the Big Ten conference meet for the showdown of the Granddaddy of them all. 

In the early years, few teams arrived in flower decorated carriages which gave Dr. Holder the idea to change the name of the festival to “Tournament of Roses”.  By 1895, the festival had gotten so big that it was difficult for the Valley Hunt Club to handle so the Tournament of Roses Association was formed.  Today the Tournament of Roses Association headquarters is housed at an Italian Renaissance-style house, thanks to the generosity of the famous chewing-gum manufacturer, William Wrigley Jr. whose favorite pastime was watching the parade.  The 18,500 square foot mansion designed by architect G. Lawrence Stimson with a 4-1/2 acres rose garden is located two blocks south of the starting point of the parade and was bequeathed to the city of Pasadena upon Mr. Wrigley’s death in 1958 with the stipulation that it be used as the Tournament’s permanent headquarters.   

On Tuesday, January 1, 2013, the 124th Rose Parade with the theme “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” named after the Dr. Seuss book starts at 8:00 a.m. (PT) followed by the 99th Rose Bowl Game at 3:10 pm between the Wisconsin Badgers, champions of the Big Ten Conference, and the Stanford Cardinal, champions of the Pac-12 Conference, a rematch of the same two teams in the 2000 Rose Bowl.  From a humble beginning, the Rose Parade is now presented by Honda and expects to be watched by millions on television in more than 100 countries plus a million of spectators along the parade routes.  The Rose Bowl Game is presented by VIZIO.  The Rose Bowl Game will be televised on ESPN  and begins at 1:30 PM PST with kickoff at 2:10 PM PST.  The game will be presided over by the 2013 Rose Queen Vanessa Manjarrez, the Royal Court, Tournament of Roses President Sally Bixby and Grand Marshal Jane Goodall.  Dr. Jane Goodall is a British anthropologist best known for her work with chimpanzees and also serves as United Nations Messenger of Peace.    

Roses are not difficult to grow contrary to popular belief as long as you know what they need. Why do you think Roses have been around for millions of years?  All they need are food, water and sunlight.  Just like you and me.  

 Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you about the Rose - our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states.  Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden, Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture, Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place.  

 We are constantly updating our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often.  We want to help you grow Beautiful Roses and we welcome comments.  Take time and smell the roses. 

  Happy Rose Gardening!

 Check my other blogs:

Saturday, December 29, 2012

TEN ROSEY THINGS TO DO IN JANUARY



What can a rosarian do in the middle of winter?  The answer is plenty.  Here are ten rosey things I can come up with this time of the year.
1.    Mark the sick and dying roses and chuck them in the trash bin.
2.    Add more mulch to your rose beds to keep the weeds in check, maintain an even temperature and prevent premature growth in late winter or very early spring.
3.    Give away unwanted good roses and replace with new introductions.
4.    Cut down on the rose wish list to a manageable number.
5.    Read your rose catalog but don’t get carried away with those gorgeous photographs and tantalizing descriptions.
6.    Read some books on roses and rose articles in magazines.
7.    Consider membership in the American Rose Society for yourself if you have not done so and/or membership in your local rose society.  Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society if you live in the lowcountry area.  Other local societies are listed in the American Rose Society website: www.ars.org.
8.    If you are a member of a local rose society, invite someone who loves roses to come to your meeting.  They might decide to become a member. 
9.    Call a fellow rosarian whom you have not seen for a while.
10. Design and plan your new rose bed.

Roses are not difficult to grow contrary to popular belief as long as you know what they need. Why do you think Roses have been around for millions of years?  All they need are food, water and sunlight.  Just like you and me.  

 Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you about the Rose - our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states.  Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden, Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture, Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place. 

 We are constantly updating our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often.  We want to help you grow Beautiful Roses and we welcome comments.  Take time and smell the roses. 

 Happy Rose Gardening!

 Check my other blogs:
·         ROSE SUPPLIERS 
·         PLANTING BARE-ROOT ROSES
·         CLEANING ROSE PRUNERS BLADES
·         PRUNING YOUR ROSES
·         DAVID AUSTIN ROSES
·         DAVID AUSTIN ROSES IN COMMERCE
·         
Visit my website
Join a local rose society
Join the American Rose Society


Thursday, December 27, 2012

LOW MAINTENANCE ROSES LOSING FAVOR AMONG GARDENERS



 

I just read from the November-December 2012 issue of The Capital Rose, the newsletter of Arlington Rose Federation that the “Word in the rose industry is that the Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora and Floribunda are slowly moving up to the forefront as the favorite consumer rose sale. Many are becoming less enamored with the “non-maintenance” types.  Disease has affected some plantings that lack total maintenance.  In particular, the dense, untouched mass plantings.  Rose Rosette disease has also devastated many public plantings of the low maintenance types, rarely leaving a few plants unscathed.”

I do agree with the current sentiments.  When we bought our townhouse, they planted four Blushing Knockouts in front of my house.  Knockout roses have been planted everywhere in my development by the landscaper.  By the time we moved here permanently last year, my Blushing Knockouts were totally pathetic with few ratty blooms.  As an American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian, I felt it was an embarrassment for me to have such a disgraceful front yard.  So I dug them all up this spring and started to put in other roses instead.  I planted fragrant roses with eye-catching colors.  I walked around the neighborhood and the Knock Out roses were in terrible shape except for the newly planted ones this year.  The old plantings are either in terrible shape or practically dead.  

When Knockout roses were introduced years ago, I was lucky to be a member of the Garden Writers Association and came home with 2 Knockouts and 3 Blushing Knockouts from one of their symposia. They all did very well the first 3 years but after that lost their appeal.  To be honest, I never really liked them because there is no fragrance and it lacks the beauty of the hybrid tea.  Some of them get blackspots later in the season.

In my new garden, I don’t have Knockouts.  I rather have Old Garden Roses.  They are low maintenance also and they are fragrant.  I like Hybrid Teas and if they get blackspot, so what.  They are the standard of the true beauty of a rose and recently some of them are now hybridized for disease resistance.  When you work hard for something, the reward is always great.  If the rose was to be no maintenance, it would be like an ordinary plant.  We wouldn’t need any standard at all.  Do we want to go that route?  Why do we need a rose society if you can just plant a rose and forget it.  Any fool can grow them.  There is no need for Consulting Rosarians.  You don’t have to be a member of a rose society.  Why pay $45 to ARS or $20 to a local society?  What for?  The American Rose Society will be irrelevant.  I don’t think that’s what we are aiming for.  Will that be the end of the American Rose Society as we know it?  

Roses are not difficult to grow contrary to popular belief as long as you know what they need. Why do you think Roses have been around for millions of years?  All they need are food, water and sunlight.  Just like you and me.  

 Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you about the Rose - our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states.  Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden, Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture, Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place.  

 We are constantly updating our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often.  We want to help you grow Beautiful Roses and we welcome comments.  Take time and smell the roses. 

 Happy Rose Gardening!

 Check my other blogs:
·         KNOCK OUT ROSES
·         EARTHKIND ROSES
·         OSO EASY ROSES
·         OSO HAPPY ROSES
·         ROSE SUPPLIERS 
·         PLANTING BARE-ROOT ROSES
·         CLEANING ROSE PRUNERS BLADES
·         PRUNING YOUR ROSES
·         DAVID AUSTIN ROSES
·         DAVID AUSTIN ROSES IN COMMERCE
·         
Visit my website
Join a local rose society
Join the American Rose Society

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