Category: Rose Events

by Howard Carman, Tenarky District Director

Another year of growing roses has passed and what a year it was for the local rose societies of Tenarky. There were nice rose shows in Bowling Green, Nashville, Louisville and a GREAT 2025 Tenarky Convention and Rose Show in Memphis. The Memphis Rose Society did a fantastic job with providing an outstanding venue for our members to show our roses. These shows are important for two reasons, showing new people how nice roses can be and the opportunity for rose growers to show and get rewarded for all their hard work tending their roses throughout the year.

Our Tenarky Mid-Winter Workshop & Photo Contest is to be held in Bowling Green on February 27-28, 2026. I have reserved a larger room so that we will be able to have the vendors in the same room as the meeting. We have speakers lined up for great programs.

Sonja Lallemand, Editor of Illinois-Indiana District, will be speaking on Old Garden Roses, and you will enjoy her French pronunciation of rose names. Natalie Carmolli from Proven Winners is joining us virtually as well as providing some roses, then we also have Joe and Carrie Berg as our last speakers of the day presenting a program called “He says, she says”.

I will be bringing some potted roses for auction and selling with all the proceeds going to Tenarky, I have a couple of Dave Bang roses that I bought from K & M Roses when they had them discounted that I will donate to Tenarky also. I look forward to seeing everyone.

The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn University Plaza at 1021 Wilkinson Trace, Bowling Green, KY 42103, phone 270-745-0088. The hotel has provided a link here for reservations. The room block name is “Tenarky District of the American Rose Society Winter Workshop”. The hotel cutoff for reduced rate is January 27, 2026.

Here is the information you need!

Register Now!! We hope to see you in Bowling Green!

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:

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.