Author: NRS Webmaster

April 7, 1:30-4:30 pm – Jason Reeves, “Garden Heroes – Top Performing Easy to Grow Annuals and Perennials”

The April meeting of the Nashville Rose Society will be held on April 7, 2024, in the Massey Auditorium of Botanic Hall / Visitor Services Building at Cheekwood Garden and Estate. We will have refreshments at 1:30 and the program will start at 2:00 PM.

Jason Reeves – Garden Tours, Garden Lecturer & Writer, Photographer, Landscape Designer and Consultant with more than 20 years experience in the green industry.
Our guest speaker will be Jason Reeves. Since 2002, Jason has been a research horticulturist and curator of the University of Tennessee Gardens located at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee. He grew up on a farm in West Tennessee, where he fell in love with the plant world. Jason received his Master’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Let’s face it: some plants are just better than others! In the plant world, new is not always better. With his extensive experience in gardens and landscapes Jason focuses on dependable new and older, but underutilized, good garden performers may of which attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to your domain. This talk will have you racing to the nursery to try out these champions of the garden.

Jason’s colorful plant combinations and unique garden art, made by recycling everyday objects, draws several thousand people each year 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 and his signature garden art. He does all this and manages to find time to garden at home. You can follow him on Facebook at Jason Reeves – in the garden.

The Cheekwood Campus Map shows the location of Botanic Hall.

Note: Admission to Cheekwood is not required – let the gate attendant know that you are attending the NRS Meeting in Botanic Hall.

March 3, 1:30 – 4:00pm – “A Blooming Success Story”

Ricky Lockhart
The March meeting of the Nashville Rose Society will be held on March 3, 2024, in the the Massey Auditorium of Botanic Hall / Visitor Services Building at Cheekwood Garden and Estate. We will have refreshments at 1:30 and the program will start at 2:00 PM.

From just one bed of roses planted over thirty years ago, Ricky Lockhart’s passion and love for roses has grown to nearly 250 rose plants. While he grows multiple types, he mainly focuses on exhibition-style roses including Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses, as well as Floribundas. He is planning to build two new beds this spring.

In addition to tending his beloved roses, Lockhart manages 98 acres of land, cattle and crops, which he says “makes a great hobby for retired folks and is an excellent way to pass the time.”

Ricky and wife Mary Ann, Team Lockhart!
An active member and former president of the Bowling Green Rose Society, Lockhart regularly participates area rose competitions and often wins. During the Southeast TENARKY District Rose Show in Knoxville, Tennessee last year Ricky was awarded the prestigious McFarland Rose award for the second time. This top award, named after the famous rosarian John Horace McFarland, is the highest award to be achieved at our regional show. Ricky consistently places in a variety of classes when he shows.

To ensure that his roses are properly grown and cared for, Lockhart has developed a specific watering and fertilizing system for his rose beds and a tried and true method for transporting and showing roses. We are excited to have him share his tips and tricks with the Nashville Rose Society at our monthly meeting on March 3.

The Cheekwood Campus Map shows the location of Botanic Hall.

Note: Admission to Cheekwood is not required – let the gate attendant know that you are attending the NRS Meeting in Botanic Hall.

Learn How to Maintain your Pruners

A virtual presentation by FELCO General Manager, Ryan Amberg

Baby, it is cold outside! It is a good time to get ready for the spring weather that will come to Middle Tennessee soon. One item that you may have on your TODO list is to sharpen your pruners. Ryan Amerg, General Manager of FELCO North America, joined Diane Summer, President of the American Rose Society, to teach us the basics for maintaining our pruners.

Ryan Amberg began his career at his family’s nursery, where he first got his hands on FELCO red-handled tools. After attending Cornell University to study business management, marketing, and agricultural science, he was recruited by the FELCO team in Switzerland to further develop the business in North America.

Ryan worked his way up through various facets of the company, from product management to marketing and business development. He has traveled around the world working for FELCO, developing different markets from Australia to South Africa. Today as the company’s General Manager, he continues to work on and develop the FELCO business in the USA, striving to introduce more consumers to the iconic Swiss brand.

Click here to watch Ryan’s virtual presentation on the American Rose Society YouTube channel.

Looking Forward to the NRS 2024 Program Year!

The Nashville Rose Society Programming Committee is working hard on our monthly meeting calendar for 2024.

A few programs to look forward to in the next few months include our first meeting on February 4, which will be a fun and informative roundtable discussion, “Buzz Session: Rose, Thorn and Bud”, led by our own Consulting Rosarians. On March 3, Ricky Lockhart from Morgantown, Kentucky, and Consulting Rosarian member of the Bowling Green Rose Society, will share his 25-year rose story – which has been a blooming success! Bette Fields will share her tips and tricks for creating beautiful flower arrangements for family and friends on April 7. We are excited to announce our “Rose Garden Crawl and Progressive Picnic” on June 2, starring our very own rose gardeners and their beautiful gardens in East Nashville!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the coming year!