Author: NRS Webmaster

Sandra Frank awarded 2025 Bronze Honor Medal at NRS Holiday Party

Janie Hagan, NRS Co-President, presents the 2025 Bronze Medal to Sandra Frank
The Nashville Rose Society Holiday Party was held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

NRS Members and their guests enjoyed a banquet of holiday food, including yummy desserts. Gene Meyer gave us a new insight on how to look at our gardens and to choose new roses. If you have trouble getting help in the Kroger meat department, call Gene and he can talk you through how to help yourself (as he recently had to do).

The highlight of the celebration was for Co-President Janie Hagan to present the 2025 Bronze Honor Medal to Sandra Frank. Sandra is a long-time member of the Nashville Rose Society, including serving as 2009 President. Sandra is a team player and is the first to show up whenever anything needs to be done. She makes certificates for the Nashville rose shows and works in the Cheekwood Rose Study Garden. She is a volunteer for Cheekwood and is a member of both the Herb and Perennial Societies. She is very deserving of this medal. Congratulations, Sandra!

A Turning Point: The American Rose Society & American Rose Center Chart Separate Paths

In a week that has sent ripples through the rose community, the American Rose Society and the American Rose Center announced that they will move forward as two independent organizations. The news has sparked curiosity, concern, and plenty of questions about how this decision came to be, and what it means for the future of both institutions.

To bring clarity to this pivotal moment, Teresa Byington of the Rose Chat Podcast sits down with two leaders at the heart of the transition: Marilyn Wellan, Chairwoman of the American Rose Center, and Carrie Berg, Vice President of the American Rose Society. Together, they offer a candid and deeply informative conversation about the origins of the separation, the motivations behind it, and the long‑term vision guiding each organization as they step into a new chapter.

Listeners will gain insight into:

* Why the decision was made now
* How the transition will affect members, volunteers, and visitors
* The strategic goals each organization hopes to pursue independently
* What this means for the broader rose‑growing community

This episode is thoughtful, transparent, and full of the kind of context that helps everyone—from longtime ARS members to casual rose lovers—understand the road ahead. It’s an essential listen for anyone invested in the future of America’s rose heritage.

Click here to listen.

December 13, 2:00pm-4:00pm – NRS Year End Holiday Party

Enjoy the holiday spirit with your fellow Rose Society members and guests at the 2025 Nashville Rose Society Year End Holiday Party! The party will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 2:00pm-4:00pm. The party will be held at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, located at 3421 Belmont Blvd, Nashville. The Community Foundation is located at the corner of Belmont and Woodmont – easy to find and parking is great. Enter the parking lot from Belmont Blvd. The lobby of the bldg and our meeting room is directly in front of you. There will be a sign on the door.

NRS will provide turkey, ham, rolls and drinks, and dinnerware; members are asked to bring their favorite dish.

There will be a short program with end of year items.

We have the room from 1-4:30 for those of you who help set-up, and we have to return the tables, etc. when we finish at 4.

Please see Marty’s email to RSVP by Friday, December 5, if you plan to attend.

Happy Holidays!

Stay informed! Medley of Roses – 2026 ARS National Convention & Rose Show

Members of the Tenarky District and the Nashville Rose Society are working hard on the 2026 ARS National Convention & Rose Show, hosted by the Nashville Rose Society, to be held October 2-5, 2026. The Convention and Rose Show will be held at the Sheraton Music City Nashville Airport Hotel which is conveniently located to the airport, downtown Nashville, and Opryland. Hotel information can be found at MedleyOfRoses.org/hotel.

The Rose Show will be held Saturday morning and will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon. On Monday, we will have a bus tour that even some of us locals may want to participate in. The schedule for the weekend can be found at MedleyOfRoses.org/schedule. The Rose Show schedule will be published soon.

We have well renowned international and national speakers on both Saturday and Sunday. For the full list of speakers, their bio and a description of their talk, visit MedleyOfRoses.org/speakers.

We do need your generosity to guarantee a successful Convention and Rose Show. Your donation may be tax deductible and will go toward funding accommodations and meals for our speakers, A/V equipment rentals, rose show judges breakfast and lunch, liability insurance, printing services, rose show supplies, and the list goes on…. No amount is too small. Donations are tax deductible as charitable contributions under IRS code 501(c)-3. You may be eligible for a qualified charitable donation (QCD) if you are over 70½ years old or older with a traditional IRA by giving directly from your traditional IRA. For any donation, we will provide a receipt and include your name as a donor in the convention pamphlet and website. For more information on ways to contribute to the Convention and Rose Show, see the donations page at MedleyOfRoses.org/donations.

If you have a flower club, florist, or you are just a lover of roses, please download our promotional files and flyer from the MedleyOfRoses.org homepage to share them on your social media. While you are there, click on our Facebook and Instagram pages and Follow Us!

Stay tuned! Lots of information will be coming!

November 2, 1:30-4:00pm – Jason Reeves, “Color Me Happy: Plants that Brighten Winter’s Gloom” & Silent Auction

Even in the South, winter can seem like an eternity. Plants with winter interest can make gray days more bearable by adding a spark of color and life to an otherwise dormant landscape. There are so many underutilized plants on the market today that not only flower, but have interesting bark, great winter leaf color, and tantalizing textures. Not only do many of these beauties look good in the winter, they look great in the spring and summer, too! With some new additions to your landscape, your enjoyment will extend through all the seasons.

The Sunday, November 2, 2025, meeting of the Nashville Rose Society will be held at the Ellington Agriculture Center Ed Jones Auditorium, 416 Hogan Road, Nashville, TN 37220. Our program will be presented by Jason Reeves. Jason has presented to the NRS in the past and is always a crowd-pleaser.

Jason grew up on a farm in West Tennessee, where he fell in love with the plant world. He received his Master’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2002, he became a research horticulturist and curator of the University of Tennessee Gardens located at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee.

Jason’s colorful plant combinations and unique garden art, made by recycling everyday objects, draws several thousand people to the Center’s annual lawn and garden show, Summer Celebration. His past experiences include work at the Opryland Conservatories in Nashville, Missouri Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and in private gardens in New Zealand. When he’s not bringing the grounds to life with his imaginative garden displays, he’s evaluating hundreds of new and unique plants for the state’s green industry; speaking at gardening symposiums or traveling the world leading gardening tours, and serving as a contributing editor to Fine Gardening magazine. He is also a landscape designer and consultant whose influence may be seen in landscapes across Tennessee in the form of distinct plant combinations. You can follow him on Facebook at Jason Reeves – in the garden

NRS Silent Auction Fund Raiser

Start planning now for what you will bring for the NRS Silent Auction Fund Raiser. Suggested items include baked goods, garden produce, gardening items such as gloves, trowels, etc., flower arranging items such as vases or Kenzan/frogs, flower arrangements, and plants. Arrive for the meeting about 1:00pm if you have items for the silent auction. Bidding will begin at 1:30pm and will close at 3:30pm. Payments for purchased items can be made with cash, check or Venmo (a 3% surcharge will be added).

We hope to see you!

Click here for more information on how to find the Ellington Agriculture Center, Ed Jones Auditorium.