From start to finish Rosefest was a great opportunity to share information about our favorite hobby. Not only did we share information we also displayed rose blooms and arrangements for the public to enjoy. The attendees chose their favorite blooms and arrangements in many classes as well as their favorite entry. Many members stated that the event was the best staged show ever. At the end of the day we had 6 new members and a ton of new rose friends!

Our location proved to be perfect. Inside the Hamilton Co. Exhibition Center  the rooms were exactly what we needed for our rose displays and lecture series. Just outside the door was the Hamilton County Master Gardener Association rose garden. The garden was in full bloom and a perfect compliment to a day of rose education and fun–especially the gorgeous Peggy Martin Rose which was very significant since Peggy was was one of our speaker! A big shout out to Monica Taylor and her team for giving our area a beautiful educational rose garden to enjoy.

There were three excellent programs on Earth-Kind^® and easy-to-grow roses for our climate  (US Hardiness Zones 5 – 6) presented by noted experts, Peggy Martin from the New Orleans Old Garden Rose Society, Gaye Hammond, from the Houston Rose Society and Indiana’s own, Carol Tumbas.

Quote from Gaye Hammond, our featured speaker on the Earth-Kind rose program.

“Congratulations to the Indianapolis Rose Society and the Hamilton County Master Gardeners for putting on one tremendous weekend of roses! Everything down to the tiniest detail was perfectly executed. All program attendees received their own seedling of the Peggy Martin Rose as part of their registration fee.  Thanks to John Hefner for moderating the educational programs. Volunteers from the Indianapolis Rose Society put on a fantastic floral display for the public to enjoy. Hundreds of roses of every kind, color and style filled the hall.  Rose society members stationed themselves around the hall and were busy all day answering questions posed by the almost 100 visitors. Thanks also to the American Rose Society for giving each of our new members a free ARS trial membership.”

Our board will be meeting in the next couple of weeks to assess this festival and begin making plans for next year. A huge thank you to all of you who participated! For those that were not able to be there, we missed you and look forward to having you join us next year!

If you have comments or suggestions please email them to indplsrosesoc@gmail.com.

Enjoy some of the pictures from our day of roses!

COMING SOON!