We're meeting on Saturday morning, October 7th, this month to participate in the Fondren Bottle Tree Garden Tour. We will meet at Fondren Presbyterian Church at 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM to pick up tickets and maps . The tickets were purchased in advance - see one of the board members to purchase yours (pricing and details in email to come). We will begin our first tour at the church's memorial garden - then we will start our self-guided tour of up to 15 gardens throughout the Fondren neighborhood. Fondren doesn't have any HOAs so residents are free to cultivate their gardens in a wide variety of expressions. Many gardens are artistic on a very personal level. Bring your walking shoes, water, and be ready to be impressed! You may park in the Fondren Presybyterian parking lot. Hope to see you there! Location: 3220 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS.
September 18, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Hill Garden Talk & Tour
Join us for our annual June picnic and tour being held Sunday, June 26 at 2:00 pm. Fellow Old Garden Rose member Shay Lipe is opening her lovely reservoir area home and gardens to us for this meeting. Shay’s curated selection of roses and plantings is quite special, and the home was designed so that the outdoors comes into the light-filled interior. You don’t want to miss this one! Shay says there is plenty of seating, so just bring a favorite picnic dish to share and plants to swap if you’d like. We will also have our raffle. This is our last meeting until September, so y’all make plans to come!
Location: 816 Arbor Pointe, Brandon, MS.
February 3, 2024 – Saturday - 9:00 - 11:30 AM, Work Day at Greenwood Cemetery
March 20, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Double Feature! - Fondren Garden Tours
It’s time to talk plants and the latest in landscaping with Karen McKie at Green Oak Nursery! Green Oak is a third generation, horticulturally based retail, and service nursery. Our November meeting affords us the wonderful opportunity to experience their store, fully decorated for Christmas and stocked with gift ideas! Come enjoy one of our favorite meetings of the year and bring your questions for Karen. We will have snacks, so please contribute one to share if you’d like. Location: Green Oak Garden Center, 5009 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS
Winter - Spring 2024
Come hear horticulturist and nursery owner Karen McKie at this month's meeting on Sunday, November 13th. Our meeting is at Green Oak Florist & Garden Center in Jackson. In addition to Karen's interesting presentation, we'll enjoy the store being fully decorated for Christmas. Green Oak is a second generation, horticulturally based, retail and service nursery. Always a favorite meeting place for our group and a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping! If you'd like, bring a snack to share. No plant swap at this meeting.
Location: Green Oak Garden Center, 5009 Old Canton, Road, Jackson, MS.
Our meeting will be on Saturday, February 19th at the Historic Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Jackson. This will be a workday to plant 100 antique roses to continue to beautify the cemetery and to do minimal pruning (removing dead limbs and weeds) on existing plants. The original roses were secured by Felder Rushing more than 20 years ago. He put out a call for volunteers to help plant them and members of the newly formed OGRS and Master Gardeners answered the call. Felder’s intent was to create a repository for own root roses and propagation has proven the success of that goal. Many volunteers are expected to participate, and our role as OGRS members will be to guide and direct less experienced gardeners. Suggested spots for planting will be marked with a pink flag, but other spots may be chosen. Felder has a speaking engagement at Hutto’s that morning but will join us as soon as he’s finished there. We will meet at 10:00 AM. Bring your gloves, pruners, shovel and a garden cart or wagon if you can. And invite a friend or two – no experience required! This is a great opportunity to spread the love for old garden roses and prove that dead people can grow roses! Snacks provided.
We've had to reschedule our tour due to excessive rain. We are thrilled to return on April 23rd to the gardens of Cindy and Tim Riley! With over 1,000 rose bushes, (and they’re always adding more) you’ll want to come and see and smell the lovely roses and their other garden delights. Tim and Cindy are always willing to share their cultivating “secrets”, so bring your questions and bring a friend! We’ll have snacks, too, so please prepare or pick up your favorite one for our group to enjoy together.
Location: 1142 Rockett Drive, Jackson, MS
February 4, 2023 – Saturday - 9:00 - 11:30 AM, Annual Pruning Party at Greenwood Cemetery
May 19, 2024 – Sunday - 2:00 PM - Garden Tour - Garden of Janell Butler
June 26, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Picnic and Tour - Shay Lipe's Home & Gardens
We have been invited to tour the garden of Carolyn and Francis Ingram for this month's meeting and picnic. This will be the final meeting for the old garden rose year before the summer break. This garden will provide the perfect venue for our party. We will gather at 2:00 PM on Sunday, May 21st. Carolyn has a lovely selection of annuals and perennials, as well as several rose varieties for us to see. Please bring picnic type food or your favorite snack to share.
Location: 115 Ingleside East Drive, Madison, MS
April 24, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Madison Station Botanical Garden Tour
November 19, 2023 - Sunday - 2:00 PM - Green Oak Florist & Garden Center
Can you believe it's almost time for our annual Christmas party? Jane and Dick Allison will be opening their lovely home to us again this year! Festivities begin at 2:00 PM on Sunday December 17th. There will be lots of great fellowship and yummy food so bring your favorite dish to share. We'll have a plant swap, too! Location: 210 Glen Springs Road, Brandon, MS
January 15, 2023 – 2:00 PM - Birds in the Garden - Marcie Lockett
At this meeting, Dr. Allen Owings, LSU AgCenter emeritus professor of horticulture, will give an overview of many rose topics in this fast paced presentation. His presentation will include winter damage and observations on roses - especially warranted following our Dec 22nd-27th cold weather event. Dr. Owings will also discuss some notes on recent American Garden Rose Selections, American Rose Trials for Sustainability winners, and notes on ARS Gulf District Roses of the Year. Included in the discussion will be new rose winners from several rose breeders and some of Dr. Owings favorite personal roses. Don't miss this one!
Location: Pearl Community Center, 2420 Old Brandon Road, Pearl, Mississippi
Date/Time Frequency: Our group normally meets the third Sunday of each month with the exception of June, July and August. Meetings begin at 2:00 PM and last approximately two hours.
It’s a field trip! Join us for a double header in Magee, MS on April 21st. First, we will have a tour of the legendary Hand’s Nursery, given by the owner of 45 years, Mrs. Linda Pruitt. They pride themselves on stocking eclectic plants, gifts and garden accessories, with great prices and a wonderful selection. Then we will scoot up the road to tour a beautiful garden that is included in the Magee bicentennial tour. What a great way to spend your Sunday afternoon! Location: We will meet at Hand’s Nursery, 115 5th Avenue SW, Magee, MS
Plan now to close our rose club year together with a visit to the gardens of Janell Butler on Sunday, May 19th at 2:00 PM. Janell’s garden overflows with roses, perennials and annuals. She is a Master Gardener, and it shows! Wear your sensible shoes. We’ll have refreshments, so please bring your favorite sweet treat or appetizer to share.
Location: 150 Pole Bridge Cove, Brandon, MS
September 17, 2023 - Sunday - 2:00 PM - Kyle Lewis - Hinds County Extension Agent, Meadowbrook Church of Christ Gymnasium
Join us on Sunday, May 15th at 2:00 PM for a tour of Elsie & Bobby Downing’s Grace Gardens in Florence, MS. Grace Gardens was formerly a wedding venue and has multiple areas to admire. There is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the gardens. There’s even a “she-shed”. The tour will include a discussion of Elsie’s unique method for composting. Please bring a snack to share if you’d like. There will also be an informal plant swap and cash raffle. Hope you can come – this will be a nice afternoon in the country! Location: 1736 Cleary Rd, Florence, MS 39073.
Shake off the post-holiday blues and join us for an interesting program on birds given by Cullen Brown, PhD. Cullen is a member of the Mississippi Ornithological Society and the editor of their newsletter. He'll have lots of great information and tips on bird culture. We'll have snacks, so please bring one to share. Hope to see you there! Location: Fondren Presbyterian Church, 3220 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS.
January 21, 2024 - Sunday - 2:00 PM - Birding with Cullen Brown - Fondren Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
December 18, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Christmas Party - Home of Jane & Dick Allison
December 17, 2023 - Sunday - 2:00 PM - Christmas Party - Home of Jane & Dick Allison
October 7, 2023 - Saturday Morning - 9:00 AM - Fondren Bottle Tree Garden Tour
Fondren Presybyterian Church (Note the change to Saturday morning this month)
Please join us this month at the Historic Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Jackson for our annual pruning party. No experience is needed – a demonstration of pruning techniques will also be provided. Expect to have fun and fellowship as we all work to increase the health and beauty of the cemetery’s roses. Plus, as always, cuttings from these roses are yours to keep! Don’t forget your gloves, pruners/loppers/clippers and saws. We will also be putting out fertilizer on the roses – so if you would like to donate a rose fertilizer, that would be greatly appreciated!
Location: Greenwood Cemetery, North West Street at George Street, Jackson, Mississippi
In addition to our monthly meeting, you may be interested in attending the ARS Gulf District's Early - Spring Workshop & Rose Festival and Garden Marketplace at the American Rose Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. Download the file below for details.
May 19, 2024 – Sunday - 2:00 PM - Garden Tour - Garden of Janell Butler
Join us on Sunday afternoon, September 18 at 2:00 pm at Hill Garden in Brandon. Our speaker and guide will be Donna Beliech, who is Area Extension Agent for multiple counties, including Rankin. The garden adds beauty and interest for the community. Both students and area residents come by to tour the garden, which is maintained by the Rankin County Master Gardeners. We are excited to begin our new year with this opportunity! The garden has some benches, but you may want to bring a lawn chair. Bring a snack to share if you would like.
Location: Rankin County Extension Service, 601 Marquette Road, Brandon, MS
March 25, 2023 – Saturday - 9:00 AM - Martinson's Garden Works Greenhouses & Nursery Tour (Note the change to Saturday morning this month)!
We know her as the director of the Historic Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Jackson, and a fellow Old Garden Rose Society member. Now, Cecile Wardlaw is inviting us to tour her home garden for this month’s meeting! She and husband Colonel Wardlaw moved to their Fondren property 20+ years ago. During the meeting, Cecile will share with us a photograph of her yard when they moved in, and we’ll get to see the amazing improvements she has made since, and there are many. You don’t want to miss this one! Bring a snack to share if you’d like. You’ll need to bring a folding chair. We’ll also have a plant swap.
Location: 4242 Brookdale Street in Jackson (Cecile’s home is on the corner of Meadowbrook Road and Brookdale Street).
Join us for a behind the scenes tour of Garden Works Nursery at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning, March 25th. There are eight greenhouses on the property, and our guide will share interesting stories as we walk the premises. Many if not most of the plant starts will be in bloom and a sight to see! Gather to have coffee and donuts at 9:00 AM, then enjoy the tour (in your sensible shoes). The store opens at 10:00 AM for shopping, but you can scoop up flowers along the way.
Location: Martinson's Garden Works, 650 US-51, Ridgeland, Mississippi
Rescheduled To: April 23, 2023 – Sunday - 2:00 PM - Cindy and Tim Riley’s Home Tour of “Leigh Gardens”
Location: The location may vary each month. See below.
This month our meeting will be at the Madison Station Botanical Garden, located at the historic Montgomery House on Main Street. Our late friend and rose society board member Miriam Ethridge had the vision for this garden, securing grants and support to carry out her dream. Miriam was instrumental in selection of the plants for the garden and monitored its progress through construction.
A garden staff member will guide our tour and give a brief history of the home. This will be a lovely tour! There will be limited seating on the porch of the Montgomery House, so you may want to bring a lawn chair. Brink a snack to share, if you’d like. Hope you can come! Location: 2069 Main Street, Madison, MS.
This month we'll tour two gardens in the Fondren district of Jackson. We will begin at the home of Suzie and Phil Cranston. Suzie has a delightful mix of more than 100 bird houses, perennial plantings, and garden art. This garden has developed over the last 30 years. She has created a happy space that attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Suzie also makes ceramic art to benefit Catholic Charities with the help of volunteer friends. The latest offerings – including Easter items - will be on display and are available for purchase.
Next, we will visit the greenhouses at the home of Becky and Don Potts. Becky propagates coleus, begonias, artillery ferns, plants that grow in a partially shaded greenhouse. She also works part time at Lakeland Yard and Garden, where she “lives” in the greenhouse caring for tropical plants, annuals, and perennials. Becky loves to share her knowledge of plant life with others.
Bring a lawn chair and a snack to share. We will meet first at Suzie Cranston’s home, 1016 Avondale Street, where we will tour and have our snack. Then, we will move to Becky Potts’ home at 4083 Robin Drive. Park on the street for both tours. Hope to see you there!
Meeting Information
Our Greenwood Cemetery Rose Work Day is this coming Saturday, February 3rd at 9:00 AM until finished. Help is needed to remove dead and damaged canes, and to weed and mulch 300+ roses. Bring your gloves, sharp pruners and weeding tools. MSOGRS members are asked to bring pine straw and a garden cart or wheelbarrow if possible. MSOGRS members will be available to answer questions and provide tips.
Location: Greenwood Cemetery, North West Street at George Street, Jackson, MS. Park outside the fence on West Street, or across West Street in the parking lot.
October 16, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Garden Tour - Cecile & Bill Wardlaw
Come ring in the new year with a presentation by Marcie Lockett of Wild Birds, Unltd.! This is the time to plan for the arrival of bluebirds, and Marcie will give us tips and ideas for attracting them as well as hummingbirds and other bird species to our yards. We will meet at the Meadowbrook church of Christ gymnasium. You may bring a snack to share if you’d like, and we will have a plant swap, too.
Location: Meadowbrook Church of Christ Gymnasium, 4261 I-55 North (on southbound frontage road)
Directions: Access the church’s gym by traveling south on Frontage Road, (passing Banner Hall and Broad Street Restaurant). Then turn right onto Druid Hill Drive, then turn left into the (steep) church parking lot. The gym is straight ahead.
April 21, 2024 – Sunday - 2:00 PM - Field Trip - Hand's Nursery & Bicentennial Garden Tour, Magee, MS
February 19, 2023 – Sunday - 2:00 PM - Allen Owings - Rose Notes, Considerations and News
March 17, 2024 – Sunday - 2:00 PM, "The Redneck Rosarian" speaking on "Roses in the Real World" - Fondren Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
November 13, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Green Oak Florist & Garden Center
Welcome back for a new year of rose meetings! Please plan to come to our kick-off meeting on Sunday at 2:00 PM and hear Kyle Lewis, Hinds County Extension Agent. We’ll gather at the Meadowbrook church of Christ gymnasium. Bring a snack to share if you’d like. Hope to see you there!
Location: Meadowbrook church of Christ Gymnasium, 4261 I-55 North (on southbound Frontage Road), Jackson, MS. The gym is located behind the church.
Directions: Access the church’s gym by traveling south on Frontage Road, (passing Banner Hall and Broad Street Restaurant). Then take the third right turn onto Druid Hill Drive, then take the second left turn into the (steep) church parking lot. The gymnasium will be straight ahead.
Saturday, February 19, 2022 – 10:00 AM – Rose Planting & Pruning
March 26, 2022 - American Rose Society - Gulf District Early-Spring Workshop & Spring Rose Festival & Garden Marketplace
May 15, 2022 – 2:00 PM - Grace Gardens Tour
We are excited to announce that the featured speaker for our March meeting is Chris VanCleave, nicknamed, “The Redneck Rosarian”. Chris VanCleave is passionate about gardening and growing roses. A grower of roses “most of his life”, he is an active member of the Birmingham chapter of the American Rose Society, serving two terms as President.
In 2007 he created the Rose Chat Podcast and has reached over a million listeners with news and information on growing the world’s most beloved flower, the rose. He has appeared on gardening television shows and has written numerous articles for gardening publications. Chris has quite a following on his popular website: RedneckRosarian.com, where he chronicles his gardening adventures and explores an intrinsic mix of life, faith and gardening. Hope you will join us for this special meeting! We will have snacks, so please bring one of your favorites to share!
Location: Fondren Presbyterian Church, 3220 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS
Garden Tour & Picnic - May 21, 2023 - Sunday - 2:00 PM
Home of Carolyn & Francis Ingram
Join us this month for our annual Christmas party! Bring your favorite party food to share. In addition to enjoying fellowship and good food, we’ll be treated to a talk by our own Renate Hunt. While many of us know Renate as an expert on attracting and raising butterflies, this day she plans to share a light talk with us on facts and myths of roses. It will be a fun afternoon! Bring your lawn chair. We'll have a plant swap, too.
Location: 210 Glen Springs Road, Brandon, MS 39047