Category: Rose Events

Saturday, May 23 – 1-4:00pm – Bowling Green Rose Society Annual Rose Show

Come to the Celebrate America 250 Bowling Green Rose Society Annual Rose Show on May 23, 2026, 1-4 pm! The show will be held at the American Legion Post #23, 208 Dishman Lane, Bowling Green, KY 42101. Doors will open for exhibitors at 6:30 a.m. CDT. Entries may be placed from 7am. until 10am. Judging begins at 10:15am.

Click here to see the Rose Show schedule.

The show is open and free to the public from 1-4:00 pm.

For more information, visit www.bowlinggreenrosesociety.org.

A Message from the Bowling Green Rose Society President

W E L C O M E . . .

As president of the Bowling Green Rose Society, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome each of you to our annual rose show and extend a special thank you to all exhibitors for sharing your beautiful roses with us. The work and dedication needed to produce such beautiful roses is greatly appreciated. For those traveling from out of town, you’ve truly gone the extra mile!

As always, I want to welcome and thank those individuals who through many years of hard work, dedication and training have acquired the skills necessary to become rose show judges. In sharing your expertise, you promote the excitement of competition and further educate exhibitors in the art of showing roses.

Our rose show would not be successful without the cooperative effort of many people in the community. We greatly appreciate the financial support of our sponsors and the use of the American Legion Post 23 facility. I would especially like to thank BGRS members, family and friends for their hours of work before, during and after the show.

For those from the community who have honored us with your presence to view the eautiful display of roses, I thank you and would like to take this opportunity to invite you to become a member of the Bowling Green Rose Society. If you have any questions, feel free to talk with any BGRS member.

Enjoy the show!
Linda Ford, BGRS President

Registration now Open for 2026 ARS Rose Show & Convention

The Medley of Roses – 2026 American Rose Society Convention and Rose Show will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, October 2-5, 2026, at the Sheraton Music City Nashville Airport Hotel.

Registration is now open!

Robin Jennings, Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Heirloom Roses
We have a great line up of speakers including Robin Jennings, Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Heirloom Roses (soon to be rebranded Heirloom since they sell much more than roses). Robin was recently a guest of Teresa Byington on the RoseChat Pod cast. Robin shares “Finding Your Bloomate, Lessons from the Philadelphia Flower Show”.

Listen to Teresa and Robin’s Podcast to get an idea of the excitement and energy that our speakers will bring to the Medley of Roses – 2026 American Rose Society Convention and Rose Show.

For the complete list of speakers, click here. Many of our sessions qualify for ARS Consulting Rosarian credit.

We hope to see you at the convention in October!

Feb 27-28, 2026 – Tenarky District Mid-Winter Workshop & Photo Contest

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!

Registration Form
Schedule of Events and Speakers
Photo Contest Schedule

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

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.