Flowers bloom for rose show
Hard work pays off for enthusiasts
THE Garden City has lived up to its reputation once again.
On display at the Newtown Rose Gardens yesterday was the tireless hard work of greenthumbs who made it their life’s mission to bring quality roses to this year’s Autumn Championship Rose Show.
The weather over the last week, however, made that job even more challenging.
While many impressive colour and scents could be found at the rose gardens yesterday, many of the competition’s participants noted their best offerings had come the week before.
“The quality has been good but they were blown out after the storm last weekend,” Darling Down Rose Society president Leo Cooper said.
“We haven’t really had an autumn which has made it hard for growing roses, it has just been hot non-stop.”
While locals who brought in their finest trimmings placed well, it was those from elsewhere in the state who took out the big prizes at the weekend.
“We had a lot of the winners come up from Brisbane and the Gold Coast,” Mr Cooper said.
After 25 years with the society, the argument could be made the Mr Cooper is our city’s top rose aficionado.
So what makes the perfect rose?
“The rose is in the eye of the beholder,” he said.
“To get them to a rose show you have to trim them at the right time.
“It takes eight weeks for them to flower but this year it has taken around six.
“It is pretty full on but that’s why we love what we do, that’s why we give up our weekend.”