Deep South District Convention
West Palm Beach, November 4-5, 2001
by Margie Brown
Margie Brown, Carole Scarlett, Jean Webber, and Elaine Ellman traveled to West Palm beach to attend the convention held at the Sheraton Hotel. The afternoon tour began with a parade of rose enthusiasts loaded into white mini-vans through the wealthy residential areas of West Palm Beach. The homes were hidden behind huge hedges. We were shuttled past the stately homes of the Kennedy's, Estee Lauder, John Lennon to name a few.We were however, allowed to tour two gardens of the "rich and famous" but saw only one ore two OGRS. The rest were rows of Hybrid Teas standing at attention like soldiers. The homes and the people were very interesting to say the least!
That evening we attended a Banquet and met rose growers from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The next morning, we had a lovely breakfast at the Breakers. We also discovered a beautiful herb garden on their grounds along with unusual shrubs and plants. We checked out some great consignment shops and found many bargains discarded from the rich and famous. Speaking of discarded items, we rescued some beautiful Bromeliads from a dumpster behind the famous Worth Ave. We went dumpster-diving with the utmost style and class keeping in mind that these prizes were to wind up at our society's raffle!
We then continued to view a beautiful rose show where one of our long distance members, Norma Bean, won a prize for her beautiful old garden roses. We hope to visit Norma's garden this spring.
Next was an excellent speaker on landscaping with roses where many OGRS were spotlighted. Another speaker on old roses was very good but she talked of roses from the north but it was still interesting. All agreed that it was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed the friendship.
We then continued to view a beautiful rose show where one of our long distance members, Norma Bean, won a prize for her beautiful old garden roses. We hope to visit Norma's garden this spring.
Next was an excellent speaker on landscaping with roses where many OGRS were spotlighted. Another speaker on old roses was very good but she talked of roses from the north but it was still interesting. All agreed that it was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed the friendship.