UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH MEETING

TUE, MAR 10 / 6: 30 PM EST
Sullivan Munce Cultural Center
225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN 

GROWING ROSES THE EARTH-KIND™️ WAY
Sonja Lallemand, Vice Director of Illinois Indiana District and retired Horticulture Educator with U of I Extension

PROGRAM: 
Learn how the Earth-Kind™ landscape management system will help you create your own fabulous rose garden requiring only minimal maintenance while providing you with a high level of performance and maximum protection for the environment. Find out why these roses have earned the prestigious “Earth-Kind™” designation.  Join us and discover the simple facts that will make gardening with roses a real delight!

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: 
At each meeting we have a round table discussion. Bring your questions and comments about what’s going on in your garden! Together we will celebrate success and deal with issues!


ILLINOIS INDIANA SPRING DISTRICT MEETING
FRI/SAT, MARCH 20-21, 2026
EFFINGHAM, IL
FAIRFIELD INN / 217-540-5454 

⭐️Two of our favorite speakers are coming — Dr. Mark Windham and Ron Daniels. This will be a special event. It’s a 2 hour drive to Effingham … so you can come for Saturday only if that is better for you. 

MAP LINK

REGISTRATION FORM LINK

AGENDA LINK

SPEAKER INFO LINK


APRIL MEETING

TUES, APR 14 / 6:30 PM EST
Sullivan Munce Cultural Center
225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN 

ROSE PICK UP DAY
If you ordered roses they will be at available for pickup at Sullivan Munce

PROGRAM:

TIPS AND TRICKS ON GROWING GREAT ROSES
John Hefner

For over 50 years John and Donna Hefner have grown the most beautiful, award winning roses as well as bringing great leadership and inspiration to our society. As a retired educator, John is a natural born teacher and will share some of his best tips and tricks for growing beautiful roses. 

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: 
At each meeting we have a round table discussion. Bring your questions and comments about what’s going on in your garden! Together we will celebrate success and deal with issues!


MAY MEETING

TUES, MAY 12 / 6:30 PM / EST
Sullivan Munce Cultural Center
225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN 

MY WORK WITH ROSES
Dr. Malcolm Manners, Retired Professor at Florida Southern College

PROGRAM:
Malcolm will give us his introduction to Florida Southern College and how he became interested in roses, his work with rose mosaic virus disease and the redevelopment of the original garden into the Jane Elizabeth Jenkins Rose Garden and the development of Ruth’s Rose Garden. 

We are excited to learn from one of the world leading authorities on roses who was the recipient of the 2013 Great Rosarian of the World award for his extensive research in treating rose viruses and maintaining older rose varieties. And, who just happens to now be a member of our rose society. 

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: 
At each meeting we have a round table discussion. Bring your questions and comments about what’s going on in your garden! Together we will celebrate success and deal with issues!


JUNE MEETING

TUES, JUNE 9 / 6:30 PM EST
Sullivan Munce Cultural Center
225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN 

FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP

Details TBD
We don’t have all the details worked out yet but it will be epic! Mark your calendar!


A gallery of scenes from last year’s programs…


ROSE SALE

Our rose sale is in full swing. Full details here.

SPRING

The great thaw has come and spring is in the air. We are beginning to see crocus and the vibrant green of emerging daffodils. We know winter still has a few tricks yet to come, but once it all starts our rose season will follow closely behind. We will be on the look out for the Forsythia to bloom – one of our signs to get started on the pruning process.

Our meetings are open to the public. So grab a friend and come join us.

We look forward to seeing you and are excited to share our garden experiences together.

A Saturday Steeped in Roses by Linda Kimmel

JUDGING SEMINAR

The morning of June 8 (Saturday) started off with a Horticulture Judging Seminar in the beautiful home and garden of Mark and Cathy Nolen.  Attendees came from near and far, including Ed Yesan from Collinsville, IL, Cheryl Pettus, Champaign, IL, Howard Carmen and Paula Williams from the countryside of Louisville, Ky. We were very happy to see Renee LaFollette back up and around, as well as Barbara Stauch.

Mark Nolen and John Hefner kick-started the morning with programs on judging rose horticulture, including topics concerning exhibition stage versus exhibition form, judging challenge classes and much more. Members practiced point scoring of several roses selected from the Nolen’s garden. After a beautiful lunch prepared by Cathy Nolen, Linda Kimmel leads the group in a lively game of Old Garden Rose Jeopardy. Mark polished off the afternoon with our final program including ethics. I think everyone went home with renewed enthusiasm and knowledge for judging roses. Thank you, Mark and Cathy Nolen, for hosting the Horticulture Judging seminar, sharing your beautiful home and garden, and for being such gracious host.

GARDEN PARTY

But the party does not stop on the south side of Indianapolis, it just moved to Brownsburg. After a lot of rain, Mother Nature provided a beautiful evening at the home of Teresa and Greg Byington for a pitch-in and self-guided garden tour. We are thankful for the 40 wonderful people that attended, of which four to six were new members.

 

A trellis loaded with ‘Peggy Martin’ blooms and others covered in ‘New Dawn’ rose and Etoile Violette clematis provided backdrops for Prom-like photo opps. ‘Mother of Pearl’ rose emerged as the Queen of the Prom with spectacular peachy-apricot blooms that were simply stunning. As she strolled down the red carpet, ‘Mother of Pearl’ was photographed like frenzied paparazzi at the Oscars.

There was food galore on the tables, lovely serenity views of a gorgeous rose garden and wonderful friends with great conversation. A perfect ending to a perfect day. Thank you, Greg and Teresa, for sharing your wonderful garden and home.

One thing that strikes me while at the Byington home, you can feel the love. You can feel the love that Teresa has for her roses and garden. You can feel the love that Greg and Teresa have for each other and their family. You can feel the love they share with their friends.