We are privileged to have Rita Perwich, Consulting Rosarian and Master Gardener, present our February program on February 27, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. detailing her experiences when touring the rose gardens of England. She described her trip this way: ‘The British are known for their beautiful gardens. Last June, I went to England and participated in the rose tour organized by Paul Zimmerman. We visited 11 gardens including Sissinghurst, Mottisfont, Kiftsgate, Hidcote, Michael Marriott’s garden, David Austin nursery and David Austin’s own private garden. I came home with over 1,700 photographs! I felt compelled to put together a presentation of the highlights of each of these glorious gardens to share with you the pure joy of roses at their peak of perfection. Sit back and enjoy photographs of spectacular roses and incredible gardens. You will also learn about the history of each of the gardens and the people who have created them. Since the British are also known for their scrumptious tea and scones, I was determined to uncover which garden’s tea room has the best scones. You will discover the result of my dedicated efforts.’
Rita Perwich has been a Master Gardener since 2001 and a Consulting Rosarian for the San Diego Rose Society (SDRS) since 2016. She writes monthly rose care articles for the SDRS newsletter, Rose Ramblings, and the San Diego Union Tribune in a column series entitled “The Sustainable Rose Garden”. She has been the editor of the monthly e-newsletter, Roses & You, for the American Rose Society (ARS) and was presented with the award for Outstanding Consulting Rosarian for the Pacific Southwest District in 2022. Her presentations and writing stress the importance of implementing the principles of Integrated Pest Management and protecting the beneficials in the garden. Rita lives in Coronado, California. She has been growing roses for over 20 years and has taught the annual pruning workshop at the Coronado Public Library and chaired the rose section of the Coronado Flower Show for many years. Rita has a Certified Earth Friendly Garden, and she does not use any pesticides or fungicides. Her garden includes over 100 roses and a diverse palette of many other plants. For Rita, the pleasures of growing roses are to be outside in nature, to share roses and her passion for roses with others, and to meet and teach the really wonderful group of people who grow or want to grow roses.
The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in Casa del Prado’s room 101 in Balboa Park. There will be a rose auction at this meeting. Feel free to bring some yummy goodies to share before the meeting. Homemade items are always very popular!
Pre-meeting Rose Care Program with Q&A From 7:00—7:30 p.m. one of our expert Consulting Rosarians, will be presenting a short program in the Consulting Rosarian Corner about successfully growing roses. This program will be followed by a question and answer period to offer attendees a chance to have individual questions explored and solutions offered.