The 58th Annual Rose Show set to bloom in November

Te Awamutu Rose Society Annual Rose Show from days gone by at St Patrick's Hall. The new venue for this year's return is the Baptist Church Hall. Photo / Dean Taylor

After Covid enforced cancellations, Te Awamutu Rose Society is pleased to have secured a date for the return of the Rose Show.

The 58th Annual Rose Show 2022 will take place in the Te Awamutu Baptist Church Hall, and be open to the public on the afternoon and evening of Friday, November 25 (1pm-6pm) and from 9.30am until 4pm on Saturday, November 26.

Judging commences at 10.15am on Friday and trophy presentations take place at 3.30pm.

The society has put together a programme that gives children, novices and the public the chance to experience exhibiting in a rose show. Entry is open to members and non-members of rose societies.

Te Awamutu Rose Society president Diana Jones says the return of a show is an important step for society.

She says exhibiting your best blooms and having constructive criticism from experienced judges helps rose growers improve their rose-growing skills.

Diana says with the show date set, now is a good time to start preparing.

To help all rose growers be better prepared for the show, the programme, which is available now, explains the various classes and has guidelines for judges and exhibitors.

Youth classes are a nod to the past and encourage children to develop a love for the world's most popular flower.

Staging for the show takes place on Thursday, November 24, from 6pm-9pm, and Friday morning from 6am-9.30am. Between 6 pm-8pm on Thursday, there will be helpful advice for novices to learn how to stage their roses.

Diana says people should bring their blooms or stems and take advantage of help from experienced members.

There is also no fee to enter your roses. The Rose Society encourages all rose lovers to give it a go.

Anyone wanting to learn more about exhibiting is also welcome to attend a Rose Society meeting.

Diana says meetings are held in the Burchell Pavilion at 7pm on the first Tuesday of each month, the next ones before the show being October 4 and November 1.

The society is also keen to gauge the level of interest in rose growing in Te Awamutu by engaging the public in a How Many Roses in the Rosetown survey.

Diana says we all know about roses at Te Awamutu's Rose Gardens, and other public parks such as Anzac Green, Te Awamutu War Memorial Park and beside Te Awamutu Museum, "but how many are growing in private gardens?"

The plan is to invite the public to submit addresses of rose gardens that can be viewed from the street so a Rose Trail can be created.

The survey starts at the end of this month and closes on November 1. After that date, a map will be created.

To encourage participation, all submitters will go into a draw to win a luxury local B&B stay with a romantic dinner, valued at $500.

Entries for the show will be taken by phoning show secretary Anne Oliedam (021 216 1575) from 8am until noon on Thursday, November 24.

To find out any more about the show, Te Awamutu Rose Society or to get a copy of the programme, contact Diana, 027 574 6505 or email nzrosetown@gmail.com.

Details of how to participate in the How Many Roses in the Rosetown survey will be published in the September 29 edition of the Te Awamutu Courier.