Join Sheena for an inspirational and colourful presentation on the "In's" and "Up's" of growing clematis alongside your climbing roses, and how to plant, prune, and make the blooming season last as long as possible! Handouts are included, and questions welcome.

About Sheena

Sheena is from GardenWise Magazine.

Peter and Amanda will discuss roses as companion plants within the landscape of the garden and promote them as good mixers with most other genera. The pictures will show roses in different aspects and positions, namely mixed in with shrubs and herbaceous plants, but also as wall plants on obelisks, pillars, trellises and arches; adjacent to water; growing into the branches of trees; as hedges and specimen plants in their own space; as well as in pots and containers. Interspersed amongst these pictures will be examples of some of their favourite roses and a few of their company's more recent introductions.

About Amanda

Amanda Beales has followed in her famous father's footsteps at Peter Beales Roses and is making a name for herself as their chief hybridizer. She also has authored numerous bookson roses and is turning her hand to the painting of beautiful rose prints.

See Presentation description above

About Peter

Peter Beales studied at Burlingham Horticulture College, in Norfolk. He was an apprentice to the famous Rose Breeder and Grower, Edward LeGrice of North Walsham, Norfolk. In 1968, Peter established what is known today as one of the leading rose nurseries in the U.K, Peter Beales Roses Ltd. Peter specializes in Classic Shrub Roses, Climbers and Ramblers and has bred and introduced some 25 new varieties of roses, several of which are now grown world wide. Peter’s rose collection consists of 1,300 varieties, and is now recognized as one of the largest commercial collections in the world; this collection includes many Old Roses, several of which he has saved from extinction. Peter is a worldwide lecturer and the author of many books including the well-known “Classic Roses” and “Twentieth Century Roses”. He is the winner of 10 gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show and 50 gold medals at various national flower shows for the Exhibition of Roses.

About Tracy

Tracy has been working in the floral industry for 22 years and has been teaching floral design and the business of floristry for 17 years. Tracy is the Owner of La Belle Fleur Floral Boutique Ltd in Surrey which will celebrate its 12th anniversay on July 2nd. Currently, Tracy is the President of the CPFDA.. In 2008, Tracy received the Surrey Board of Trade's Business Excellence Award for businesses with 1-5 employees. Outside of the shop, Tracy is married to Thomas and has two amazing children, Ryan, 10 and Lindsay, 7.

About Peter

Peter Boyd has published numerous articles and is currently writing a book on Scots Roses (see www.peterboyd.com/scotsroses.htm). Most likely the largest collection in the world, Peter possesses the British National Collection of Scots Roses and related cultivars and hybrids of Rosa spinosissima (some 300 taxa). He has advised at various rosariums including the Europa-Rosarium at Sangerhausen and the Roseraie du Val-de-Marne at l'Haÿ. Peter represents Northern Europe on the Heritage Rose Committee of the World Federation of Rose Societies and is a council member for the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens. Peter is also Museum Collections Manager for Shrewsbury Museums Service.

About Helga

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Helga Brichet graduated from the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch. Helga resides in central Italy where she gardens roses, particularly Chinas and Hybrid Giganteas. More recently, her focus has shifted to collections of Hybrid Sempervirens and “Mystery Roses” from Bermuda. Her ambition is to introduce unique and historical roses from China to rose lovers in the western hemisphere. She is a consultant, international lecturer and author. She was elected WFRS President from 1997-2000 and was the recipient of the WFRS Gold Medal in 2000. She is a member of the Permanent Juries at the International Trials in Rome and Baden Baden, and has been an organizer and coordinator of the International Rose Trials, La Tacita since 2007.

Alister Browne will divulge all his secrets about growing and exhibiting roses, particularly on how those with small gardens can compete with those with large ones.

About Alister

Alister has about 100 roses, and has won the Vancouver Rose Society Rose of the Show 3 times in a row, the Fraser Pacific Rose of the Show in 2008, and the Vancouver Rose Society photography competition 4 times.

About Tommy

Tommy is an internationally renowned rose expert and exhibitor. He holds judging credentials both in the Royal National Rose Society of Great Britain and the American Rose Society. He has judged international rose shows in South America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe. Prior to his election as President of the World Federation of Rose Societies for 2003-2006, Tommy served as the 50th President of the American Rose Society in 2000-2003. He was editor of both Modern Roses 10 and Modern Roses XI - THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROSES and currently is editor of World Rose News. His recent literary efforts have been chronicled in Botanica’s Roses and the series of popular books, namely All About Roses, All About The Easiest Roses to Grow, and The Complete Guide to Roses, published by Ortho/Meredith Books. His latest work is The Ultimate Rose Book, published in October 2007 by Abrams, New York. Tommy has won many awards for his involvement in roses, including the Dean Hole Medal by the Royal National Rose Society, regarded as the top award in the rose world, and the ARS Gold Honor Medal. At his home, he enjoys almost 1,000 award-winning rose bushes.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Campbell, CPFD, has been in the floral industry for 8 years. Shortly after graduating from Kwantlen University in 2001 with a certificate in Commercial Floristry, Lindsay came to work at La Belle Fleur Floral Boutique in Surrey. Lindsay is the current Vice President of the CPFDA.

Roof tops offer a wonderful platform for green living... Learn about roof top gardening from a local, celebrated practioner. Patra will talk about what you need to create a roof top garden, including containers and plants, and what she has learned from trial and error, often the best teacher, along the way. She will also discuss the use of natural and organic products in gardens, based on her holistic medicine practice.

About Patra

Born in Sri Lanka, Patra loved gardening as a child and brought a lot of her innate youthful vitality to the design and planting of her spectacular 3,000 square foot roof garden that overlooks False Creek in Vancouver. The garden was featured by Steve Whysall, garden editor of The Vancouver Sun, as one of his favourite gardens in B.C. in 2008. After only four years of enthusiastic gardening, she has produced a beautiful artistic work featuring more than 90 rose plants and a exquisite collection of trees and shrubs, all grown to perfection in containers. She attributes her success to a simple process of learning from her successes and as well as from her disappointments. The garden, which required conscientious maintenance through summer and protection in winter, is decorated with an abundance of well-placed statuary and unique garden ornamentation. All of these elements combine in a seamless synergy to offer an intoxicating mix of colour, fragrance, texture and sculptural interest. In addition to all of this, Patra’s ineffectious enthusiasm and love of beauty, especially rare and unusual plants, blend to create a heavenly sunny garden environment that is a joy for visitors as well as a daily pleasure for Patra and her family and friends.

About Ethel

Ethel has worked with the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) in many positions: past President (1985 – 1994), past Vice-President, North America (1985 – 1994), past Chairman of the Publications Committee (1997 – 2006), past Convention Chairman (1985), present Editor of the WFRS Rose Directory, and present Webmaster of its website. In Canada, Ethel has been very involved in the Canadian Rose Society, as she is a Past President (1984-85), past Editor of Canadian Rose Annual, and past Director (1980 – 2005). She was also Past President, Greater Toronto Rose & Garden Society. Ethel grows about 150 roses of all types on a small city lot, with a special interest in winter hardy roses and roses for the garden, as opposed to exhibiting. She dabbles in hybridizing, again with a particular interest in winter hardiness. She doesn’t spray at all (and suffers the consequences). She has lectured and written about roses nationally and internationally.

Imagine growing beautiful roses without fertilizers, pesticides, deadheading or pruning and with less water. It’s been proven through numerous demonstrations and scientific research by Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service, the A&M University System. Beautiful, healthy roses can be grown in an environmentally wise manner using Earth-Kind® principles. Earth-Kind® uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum horticultural enjoyment while preserving our environment. Earth-Kind® is the best of organic and traditional gardening principles to create a horticultural system that is effective and environmentally responsible.

About Deborah

Deborah has been an extension horticulture agent for 28 years; nine with New Mexico Cooperative Extension and 19 with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Deborah holds a BS in Horticulture and an MA in Agriculture Extension Education from the New Mexico State University. Deborah has developed environmental horticulture educational programming for home gardeners, landscape professionals and also trains and coordinates the Permian Basin Master Gardener Program. Her horticulture programming includes weekly newspaper, TV and website outlets, outdoor demonstration gardens, classroom programming, result demonstration sites and a National Earth-Kind® Rose Research Site.

About Rose

After joining the San Francisco Rose Society in 1971 it was only a few short years before I became President and took the test to become a rose judge. I grow about 100 large roses of all types plus about 650 Miniature/MiniFlora roses in my city garden. I served as District Director for the Northern California-Nevada and Hawaii District of the American Rose Society for 8 years attending all ARS National Board Meetings and Conventions. I am the recipient of two ARS Presidential Citations, the first AARS National Evaluator Citation, the ARS District Silver Honor Medal, three ARS Bronze Medals and was selected District Outstanding Judge for NCNH District. I am a member of several ARS National Committees and have chaired the Prices and Awards committee for 6 years. For over 20 years I am a member of the ARS Miniature/MiniFlora rose testing committee and for 12 years a member of the AARS National Public Garden Committee. I have attended all WFRS conventions since 1983, twice as a delegate representing ARS. I have judged at all of the WFRS shows with many different judges from around the world. I have judged the Royal National Miniature Rose Show in England and was invited to judge the rose section at the Chelsea Flower Show. I am currently on the International Judging Panel and have judged Rose Hills test gardens for several years, last year as head judge.

Roses have captured the hearts of people around the world. This video presentation takes us on a guided tour through a dozen large gardens in North America and Europe that will have us stopping to smell the roses.

About Alec

Alec Globe grows roses and rhododendrons in temperate White Rock, south of Vancouver, Canada. His passion for gardens has led to speaking engagements at local garden clubs as well as the Pacific Northwest Garden Show in Seattle. Alec is a recently retired university professor at the University of British Columbia. He enjoys the intellectual pleasures of reading about roses as much as looking for native flora and fauna on his hikes and canoe trips in the Pacific Northwest. Alec is an avid historian on the subject of roses and possesses the largest personal collection of rose books in Canada.

Roses that thrive without fertilizers or sprays, without pruning or deadheading, without regard to soil type or climatic conditions and do so with a 70% reduction in supplemental irrigation have finally become a reality! Gaye's program offers a visual tour of Earth-Kind® Rose Research sites demonstrating that it is possible to successfully grow fabulous landscape roses in no-care environments. The program includes an in-depth discussion and presentation of the roses that have received Texas A&M's "Earth-Kind®" designation, as well as the roses currently under evaluation in Phase 1 of the National Earth-Kind® Rose Research program.

About Gaye

Gaye Hammond is a consulting rosarian, international lecturer and writer. She is also President of the Houston Rose Society. Gaye oversees the creation and maintenance of three Earth-Kind® trial sites in Texas and is involved in Earth-Kind® projects at ARS Headquarters in Shreveport, Louisiana.

About Sheenagh

Raised in a family of rosarians, Sheenagh’s parents were Presidents of the Federation of Rose Societies of South Africa and her Mother was a founding member of the WFRS. Following in her parent’s footsteps, Sheenagh was President of The Federation of Rose Societies of South Africa in 2006/07 and is currently WFRS Vice President for Africa. She is an accredited rose judge in South Africa and is well known for her formal garden of 400 roses. In 2008 she was awarded the Zoe Gilbert Merit Award for contribution to and the promotion of rose growing and love of roses by the Rose Society of South Africa.

Be inspired to have a beautiful garden and eat it too! In this presentation, Carolyn shares a range of design ideas, from edible groundcovers to colourful vining plants, ornamental fruit bushes and lovely fruiting trees, all of which are productive and thrive in our mild temperate west coast climate.

About Carolyn

Carolyn Herriot is author of the best selling A Year On The Garden Path, a 52-Week Organic Gardening Guide. She is a lecturer and workshop leader and regular columnist for GardenWise and CommonGround magazines. Carolyn grows her certified organic seed business Seeds of Victoria at The Garden Path Centre, where she teaches 'The Zero Mile Diet - Twelve Steps to Sustainable Homegrown Food Production' and 'Growing An Edible Plant Business'.

Brad Jalbert, Select Roses, "Growing Roses Naturally" & "Meet the Expert"

Brad will discuss how to use sustainable rose growing. What does this mean? Brad will review the best varieties of roses for no-spray gardens, how to improve cultural methods to grow roses greener and more "sustainably", as well as the options between natural fertilizers/fungicides/pesticides vs synthetic ones.

About Brad

Brad Jalbert graduated top of his class in Horticulture from the University College of the Fraser Valley, BC. He opened Select Roses in 1990 and established a hybridizing program that to date has introduced over 50 roses to the world rose market. His varieties, ranging from miniatures to hybrid teas and shrubs, are recognized for their unique qualities and remarkable colour range. Brad has co-written two books, ‘’Roses for British Columbia’’ and ‘’Roses for Washington and Oregon’’. He has also written for many Canadian garden magazines, contributed articles to various rose bulletins in Canada, and is an international speaker and guest on TV gardening programs. He is the Past President of the Vancouver Rose Society and a member and a regional director of the Canadian Rose Society.

About Steve

Steve Jones is the current President of the American Rose Society, and has been a member of the ARS for over 20 years. Steve is best known as an author, editor, lecturer and judge. He is also well known as an exhibitor, arranger, hybridizer and amateur photographer. Steve grows all varieties of roses but is best known for his knowledge of old garden roses. He grows over 400 rose varieties in his Valencia, California home and has one of the largest private rose book collections in North America.

About Roy

Roy runs his own landscape consulting business and works with residential and commercial clients as well as landscape professionals. Roy is the author of “Garden Sense – Secrets of an Experienced Gardener” specifically written for homeowners and garden maintenance workers. He writes a regular garden column for the North Shore News and has contributed to a variety of garden magazines including “GardenWise”. He has also co-hosted a radio show with Brian Minter and was recently interviewed by Cheryl McKay for the CBC program “North by Northwest”. Roy teaches for VanDusen and UBC Botanical Gardens as well as the Continuing Education Department on the North Shore. Roy and his wife Margaret have two children and three grand-children. His hobbies are gardening, photography and travelling.

About Susanne

Susanne was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2008. Susanne has experience in retail, ran a wedding consulting business for 10 years, served as President for CPFD for 2 years and has taught an accredited floral design program for Surrey College in B.C. She is teaching and demonstrating at various venues in Vancouver and has worked with Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD on numerous floral projects. Susanne is now an instructor and team designer for Design 358 and will start teaching again in the fall. She loves to share her passion for floral design with everyone.

Does your garden look fabulous in the spring only to have its vibrant colours fade with the summer heat? Gary offers advice on how to avoid these summer doldrums and recommends a host of great garden plants to keep colour in the garden through the hot months of the year. At the end Gary will “show and tell” a select group of plants from the talk.

About Gary

Gary Lewis began botanizing his local fields and forests around the age of four, began collecting house plants at the age of 10 and began gardening at the age of 15. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Plant Ecology from the University of British Columbia, training which, with its focus on the botany and ecology of wild plants, greatly informs his horticulture. Gary became the owner of Phoenix Perennials in 2004 on his 28th birthday. Since that time he has greatly expanded the nursery to include one of the largest and most exciting selections of perennials in Canada. He strives to include cutting edge new perennials, tried and true garden stalwarts, and the rare and unusual in his plant offerings. Gary is the Image Bank coordinator for E-Flora BC, an online atlas of BC native plants. He is also a member of the Perennial and Bulb Selection Committee of Great Plant Picks, an educational awards program of the Miller Botanical Garden that works to build a comprehensive palette of outstanding plants for BC and Pacific Northwest gardens.

Senga Lindsay, Landscape Architect and Horticulturalist will show you how to think like a designer and create eco-chic landscapes that are friendly to the planet. Her seminar will take you through a series of steps including Design 101 and how to think like a sustainable designer, 10 key goals of eco-inspired gardens, breaking it down into the nuts and bolts, and she will bring examples of what a good master plan will look like. You won’t want to miss this remarkable presentation to make your garden “greener” AND more livable.

About Senga

Senga Lindsay of Senga Landscape Architecture has 17 years of experience in landscape architecture, arboriculture, planning and horticultural design to a wide variety of residential, resort, and commercial projects across British Columbia, Washington and California States and China. She has a simple philosophy of landscape architecture that makes good sense: design landscapes that enhance the architecture they surround, to enrich the experience of being there. As a landscape architect, certified arborist and horticulturalist from one of the top horticultural schools in the world, she integrates her training into her regenerative landscapes. She is currently writing a book on sustainable residential landscapes, due to be released in 2009, and is hosting an open house in her own sustainable garden this September (visit her website for more information).

About Heather

Heather is a graduate of the Commercial Floristry program at Kwantlen College. Heather worked for several well know Vancouver florists before deciding in 2007 to purchase Blundell Blossoms Florist in Richmond. In January 2009, She became a member of CPFDA. When she’s not busy designing and creating at work, Heather enjoys gardening, cooking, leisurely walks, reading and spending time with family and friends.

About Gerald

Dr Gérald Meylan is the current President of the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) and is the Honorary President of the Horticultural Society of Geneva for which he was Secretary from 1966 to 1986 and then President from 1986 to 2006. He has also been a member of the permanent judging panel of the International Rose Trials of Geneva since 1967, Secretary since 1971, President of Commission since 2004, and Honorary President since 2009. Dr. Meylan was a founding member of the Swiss Society of Roses, and has been an honorary member since 2007. In addition to his work with roses, Dr. Meylan, formerly Director of the Laboratory of Agronomy of Geneva and Principal of the Horticultural School of Geneva, is now consulting in the areas of environment, horticulture and landscaping. He has also authored many scientific, technical and professional publications in the fields of plant protection, recycling and control of organic matter, and cultivating techniques in floriculture, in particular roses and chrysanthemums. He has a PhD in Natural Science.

Roses like good company... Ciscoe will talk about his favorite “Oh La La roses” and fantastic companion plants. He'll show you why it's impossible to live without these combinations in your garden; plus he'll offer growing and natural pest control tips that will keep both your roses and their companions looking great.

About Ciscoe

You know Ciscoe as the gregarious gardener on Gardening with Ciscoe, appearing on KING5 with Meeghan Black. Gardening with Ciscoe Live can be seen every Friday night on the Northwest Cable News Network, and he makes regular appearances on Gardening by the Yard on HGTV. His book, Ask Ciscoe, was among the top selling garden books across America and he has co-authored a book on roses and a book on perennials. In his off-time, Ciscoe has fun working in his Seattle garden which has been featured in several publications. Dogs and travel are his other passions. He manages to blend travel and gardens as he leads garden tours to countries all over the world.

About Gary

Gary Pellett has a long and colorful history in the world of roses. In the last 5 years he is the North American agent for Kordes Roses and has been instrumental in bringing their disease resistant roses to this continent in the form of patenting, testing and licensing their product.

About Margaret

Margaret has worked in the floral industry for over 20 years in retail, wholesale and teaching. Margaret is well known through her association with the CPFD and teaching through the Burnaby Continuing Education Department. Margaret’s influence in the floral industry is represented by the large number of students who have graduated from her programs and are now active in the floral industry in British Columbia.

About Thomas

Thomas was born in 1967 in the town of Barmstedt, not far from the premises of W. KORDES’ SÖHNE where he started apprenticing in 1987 as nursery gardener. In 1995, he qualified in Horticultural Sciences at the University of Hannover, producing his diploma on “Resistance and susceptibility of Rosa species and hybrids to Powdery Mildew”. In 1996, Thomas began working for Kordes-Roses and is now head of the breeding department, responsible for the development of new garden and pot rose varieties. In 1990, Kordes-Roses completely stopped using fungicides in garden rose selection and trials. For the last 13 years, Thomas has worked towards his goal of creating new rose varieties that combine beauty and fragrance with a high level of disease resistance.

About the Quin's

Tony and Carol have operated Old Rose Nursery on Hornby Island since 1987, having begun their extensive now-mature garden in the early 70s. They propagate, grow and sell own-root roses (as opposed to grafted roses) of many varieties, most from their collection of over 1000 “mother plants” in their display garden. Included in their collection of fragrant and disease resistant roses are many old garden roses (albas, damasks, gallicas, moss roses, etc), David Austin English Roses, climbing roses, rugosa roses and many varieties of species and modern shrub roses. In addition they have a large collection of old and new large rambling roses, many imported years ago from England, which climb trees and cover large pergolas and drape over fences and old buildings. Having propagated and grown their roses for over 22 years, Carol and Tony are now attempting, reluctantly, to retire (for health reasons) and have decided to sell their five acre home and nursery to new folks who would like to carry on, with or without the rose business. (see www.oldrosenursery.com).

About Cecilia

Cecilia Roa, better known as “CC”, found her path to the floral industry after spending most of her life caring for people during her career as a health-care professional in Nursing Administration. Her passion to flowers led her to a new vocation as a Floral Designer. CC received her training from instructor Margaret Peters, CPFD, at the Professional Florist program in Vancouver, Event Planning program in Vancouver and also the school of Bridal Consulting program in Atlanta, Georgia. This combination of passion and education had led CC’s company, ROA Floral and Event Designs in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour to become a successful and sought after floral design firm. She also is a member of the CPFDA and the World Flower Council. To see more of her design work, visit www.RoaDesigns.com.

About Shari-Lyn

Shari-Lynn is proud to serve as national President of the Canadian Rose Society as well as President of her local chapter The Greater Toronto Rose and Garden Society. Her passion for roses has led her to become a rose judge and consulting rosarian as well as her overall love of gardening a Master Gardener. She adores Old Garden and David Austen roses.

James will talk about 3 different ways of composting effectively including the use of worm bins, bokashi buckets, and regular composting. The benefits associated with each of these and an in-depth look at the soil food web and its plethora of micro-organisms and how we can re-mediate our soil to get the best looking (and tasting) plants and flowers will be discussed. Incorporate composters into a new design and making it look attractive. He will also touch on sheet mulching (composting in place) as another alternative.

About James

James came over from Zimbabwe, Africa, where he grew up on a 16,000 acre farm. He learned at an early age how to effectively manage the “waste” that the farm was producing, and turn it back into beautiful soil, teaming with microbes, beneficial bacteria and fungi. James arrived in Canada in December 2002, and moved into assisting homeowners to establish their gardens through organic landscape practices, and hasn’t looked back since. He is the founder and president of Ladybug Landscaping & Services, a company that bases its mandate in the words “organic” and “natural” and has since been specializing in assisting its clientele to create sustainable landscape designs, incorporating food and native plants into the garden wherever possible. His passion has lead him down the organic path and he has recently attained certification as an Organic Master Gardener.

Cary will speak about the appetite for New Roses from a breeder, consumers and nursery wholesaler perspective, with a focus on the Flower Carpet Roses series, which has experienced $50 million in sales globally with domestic gardeners and commercial applications. When “Flower Carpet” was originally introduced it was the single largest new branded plant or roses promotion that Australia, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, U.K. and USA has ever experienced.

About Cary

Cary van Zanten has been in the nursery business and the North American rose market since 1972. He is president of a family owned third generation Canadian wholesale nursery, Pan American Nursery Products Inc., with locations in both Surrey B.C. and Millgrove, Ontario. Pan Am prides itself as the largest rose supplier to the Canadian market. Brand names include Windmill, Roses by “Pan Am”, Clematis by “Pan Am”, “Only the Best “ and the rose in the pink pot “Flower Carpet”. This year's show display will feature the unique series of Flower Carpet and the phenomenal world success of this series will be highlighted in his presentation. Cary is also proud to be the current president of the Canadian Nursery & Landscape Association, which represents more than 3500 national retail, landscape and grower members in Canada.

About Alex

I was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. I have no memory of roses in my mother’s garden. I remember wisterias, iris and oleanders. My first contact with a rose was explosive. It was in 1955 in Mexico City. At the time I was fascinated by detonations. I went to a downtown pharmacy and bought a kilogram of potassium chlorate. At a nearby hardware store I secured its equivalent in aluminum powder, which was used in the industry to make aluminum paint. I buried the mixture tightly in a large can under a rose bush that had never bloomed. I wired the device (a little filament from my mother’s kitchen steel wool between the positive and the negative) and at about a hundred yards I connected it to a large 6 volt battery. The rose bush went flying into the air and there was huge crater in the ground. Even though I was 13 my mother gave me a whipping. The rose bush bloomed for the first time a few weeks later. I fell in love with roses when I went to visit Janet Wood in her Southlands rose garden. I saw a single yellow rose. Its young stems were a deep maroon. I told Janet, “I am going to go home now to prepare myself a strong pot of Earl Grey tea. I am going to toast two slices of bread; I will then butter them and slather them with apricot jam.” The rose that induced me to all that was Rosa ‘Mrs. Oakley Fisher’. I am a freelance photographer and writer. I love old roses and English Roses. I don’t like orange ones. But I admit to having both All That Jazz and Westerland and I would not part with them.

About Patrick

Patrick is a retired family physician, now working in peer review/quality assurance for the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also an accredited horticultural judge, consultant rosarian, and is Vice-President of the CRS. He enjoys presenting both at home and abroad on the subject of roses. One significant task has been introducing the first Canadian EarthKind project (Victoria). Patrick enjoys a seaside garden (Victoria - zone 8 b (cool Mediterranean), landscaped with all types of roses, sustained organically) with physician wife Diana, and dogs Obi and Dawson.

About Janet

Janet was given a Lifetime Membership to the Vancouver Rose Society in honour of her huge contribution to the society. She is a Past President, Treasurer and Director, and is a Canadian Rose Society Consulting Rosarian. She has created an outstanding garden in the Southlands area of Vancouver where she grows a few hundred roses, including massive ramblers on a trellis reminiscent of Giverny. Every year in June she generously opens her garden to visitors who come to admire, savour the fragrance and learn. Janet's enthusiasm for roses is contagious and she is one of the greatest ambassadors the Vancouver Rose Society has.

About Donald

Donald works as a freelance designer and a feature designer on many planes, as a show designer, design consultant, personal trainer and mentor. He is featured at various wholesale shows across North America and Asia. He also participates in internationally renowned shows such as the Philadelphia Flower Show and the AIFD National Symposiums. Donald won 1st place at the Peoples Choice Awards in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He also won the high profile Flowers Canada Industry Choice Award during 2001 and 2002. To see more of Donald’s designs, visit www.donaldyim.com.

About Kevin

Kevin has been in the floral industry for over 26 years. He is currently a freelance designer and instructor. He has been very involved in his local industry at large and can be found at any floral function, either on stage or behind the scenes. He has been a feature designer at many wholesale shows across Canada and the USA, and his work has been featured in publications, art galleries and social events. Kevin was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 1991 and is a past President of the CPFDA. He is highly committed to the promotion of education and design awareness in our industry and the appreciation of flowers in our daily lives. His diverse background and exposure to different cultures may be part of the reason for his creativity and interpretive design work. His work is known for creative, and sometimes, daring use of color.