Fifty Fifth Annual Rose Show, Sponsored by The Louisville Rose Society, Affiliated with The American Rose Society . Thank you LRS memebers and LOWE'S for making this years show so successful !

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Click Here to Download the 2007 Rose Show Schedule in Word Format.

Click the "play" button below to watch the promotional segment shown on the Wave3 Sunrise with Louisville Rose Society members Laura Hayden and Janet Miller.

Spotlight Garden:

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Greg Sanders, a Mechanical Engineering graduate of the University of Louisville Speed Scientific School, is a member of the Louisville Rose Society. Along with his wife, Laura, he grows approximately 250 rose bushes in their Louisville garden. Of his 150 miniatures, 75 hybrid teas, and a dozen assorted others, Greg considers his bankers Touch of Class, Veteran s Honor and Moonstone among the hybrid teas and Mobile Jubilee, Kristin, Hilde, and Olympic Gold his most dependable miniatures. Among the newer releases, he likes Ruffian, Arcanum, Butter Cream, Providence, and Foolish Pleasure in the smaller roses with Angela Lansbury, Bobby Darlene, Hot Princess, Tempie Lee, and Mystic among his favorite newer large roses.

When asked about his mentors, Greg remembers his first mentor as his mother, Rosalie. When he was single, Rosalie helped Greg plan his landscape, which, of course, had to include roses. It seemed every time she came to my home I had another bush. That year, he entered his first rose show, the 1988 Kentucky State Fair, at which he earned a red ribbon (and $2 cash prize). I noticed that the show had many exhibitors working diligently grooming their roses. They all seemed to have a well planned approach to exhibiting and neat little tools and devices.

I was a lost ball in tall weeds and my effort resulted in a red ribbon. After the show, Monty Justice took Greg to the head table and explained form, color, substance, balance and proportion. He took this newfound knowledge to heart and won King of Show with Marijke Koopman that fall in Louisville and took his first Queen in 1992 with Lanvin. Most recently, Greg considers John Hefner a mentor. He raises the show bar for me, which keeps me humble and on my toes.

Greg's winning Ralph Moore entry for 2003. Icognito, Pierrine, Irrestible, Conundrum, Bees Knees, Carlonia Lady, Miss Flippins. Photo by Greg Sanders.

An avid exhibitor, having 10 Queens and 18 mini Queens to his credit, Greg considers his greatest accomplishment winning the King of Show at the Columbus all-miniature national convention in 2002 with Mobile Jubilee. Having won two Ralph Moore challenges (including 2003) and sweeping the Mini Royalty at a district show in Memphis are also great memories for him. He hasn t always been wildly successful, though.

An enlightening experience for Greg involved a lesson in quantity versus quality. One year for some reason, I picked every bloom in sight to go to a show. I got so involved in picking blooms, that I lost track of the numbers and as a result they would not fit into my car. Rather than eliminating roses, I decided to rent a van to get them to the show. I broke a sweat loading and unloading all the roses. Once in the grooming area, I realized that I had more blooms than I could prepare for entry. did my best plopping and dropping of the exhibits on the tables while still sweating. All of the remaining roses not entered were then loaded back into the van. As a result of my efforts I was shut out from the court, but I did get an award for the best wet clothes, bad odor, and an invoice for the rental van.

Greg offers this sound advice to the novice exhibitor.

• Show your roses.
• Attend all the workshops and all the shows you can handle.
• Practice makes perfect and the more you show the better exhibitor you will become.

A prime example would be Jim Preston of Louisville. He has been exhibiting for three years. The first two years he showed and received some awards. In his third year he has won four Queens in one season. His persistence, aided by the experience of showing, has developed him into a very good exhibitor whose roses will continue to be seen on head tables in the future. How does he feed his award winning bushes? When I liquid feed, I utilize two 30 gallon garbage cans, sump pump and a hose, then apply the solution by counting to ten at each bush. In the Spring, I like a product similar to Osmocote, which is called Woodace. It s the same as Osmocote, but is released by mo i s t u r e rather than soil temperature . Also, I like the stinky stuff. Processed alfalfa (i.e. bunnyre - mains ) , and fish emulsion. It is good for the plants and clears out the sinuses. On the liquid side, I like Monty s Joy juice. However, the best of all is water. I water by use of Dramm sticks on a timer system, which occurs daily at 5:00 a.m. My feeding occurs based upon my observation of the growth habits of the plants, typically every two weeks.

The worst pests Greg faces in the garden are spider mites. "They are the hardest to discourage. One gentleman at a district meeting once indicated that he had no mites. Then one day he found one dead. The next thing he observed, a million showed up for the funeral. The same thing happens to me."

Besides showing his roses, Greg enjoys sharing roses with friends to help lift their spirits on a bad day. A smile is satisfactory payment, and Greg is glad that the good Lord has allowed me to take part in growing his roses. For the novice rosarian who wants to take his hobby to the next level, Greg advises: Just what Jimmy Valvano, [the coach of the North Carolina State men s basketball team] said, Never, Never give up! Hold your head high, be satisfied with your efforts and learn from others.

Click Here to learn how to become a member of the Louisville Rose Society!