Rose Day Celebration Brings Out Blossoms, Crowds, TV Cameras

Beautiful weather, gorgeous blooms, an enthusiastic crowd, and a visit from VStv made this year’s annual Rose Day Celebration a truly special event. The annual affair attracted over 100 people over the course of the day, which included a talk about the rose industry, a tour of three area rose gardens, and a reception party. Along the way, the new area news outlet VStv was there to capture the moment.

The day began with a crowd of more than 40 people in the Hexagon where Merryspring Vice President Glenn Jenks greeted the group with a talk about the rose industry. Glenn discussed how the industry has changed since the economic recession, how to select good roses for Maine’s difficult climate, and how to care for roses to ensure that they overwinter properly and continue to bloom each June.

After participating in a short question and an-swer session, attendees took a short walk through the Merryspring rose garden before carpooling to three renowned rose gardens in the area, including the home garden planted and tended by Jenks himself.

After the tour, VStv was waiting at the Nature Center with a garden party reception. Hats for ladies and bowties for men were encouraged. While not everybody showed up in costume, plenty of food and drink was available, with donations from Merryspring members, a cheese and fruit platter from Megunticook Market, and a keg of beer from Rock Harbor Pub & Brewery.

The event drew a crowd of more than 70 people over the course of two hours, with a healthy mixture of seniors, young adults, families, longtime Merryspring members, and new friends visiting the park for the first time. Guests could not help but notice a large tent sitting in the center of the gardens area. From there VStv ran its operations for the day, including shooting footage of the gardens, interviewing members, and even shooting an episode of its daily news talk show Soup du Jour.

Jenks and Program Director Brett Willard had previously been on the Soup du Jour show earlier in June, shot at VStv’s studio in Rockport. This time, however, Merryspring was
the soundstage, with the afternoon sun, the special lighting, and the blossoming gardens providing the set. Show host Vicki Doudera interviewed Jenks and Willard
about the Rose Day event and other educational pro-grams sponsored by Merryspring, while Garden Manager Cindy Gerry and Heron Breen, a plant researcher and area coordinator for FedCo Seeds, spoke about the gardens and promoted Merryspring’s new collaborative heirloom kale garden with FedCo, which will be planted this summer in the place of the former children’s garden. The two also touted Merryspring as a community resource for all to learn about horticulture and growing their own gardens.

Both episodes of Soup du Jour can be viewed here and here.

Such a successful event would not have been possible without the new and beneficial collaboration between Merryspring and VStv. The two organizations are working together this summer to cross-promote each other as sources for new information and community involvement. In addition to the Rose Day Celebration, VStv has been active at Merryspring this year, including filming a bee hive opening with resident beekeepers Holly and David Edwards. We very much look forward to continue working with VStv this summer. Community events such as this one are the essence of what Merryspring is about bringing people of the Midcoast together to learn, to appreciate the beauty of nature, and to foster healthy relationships in the community. The summer season at Merryspring traditionally begins with Rose Day and will continue to bring people together this year through a variety of programs, including two weeks of summer ecology camp, the always interesting Tuesday Talk series, free family programs, a new children’s garden, peaceful walking trails, and of course the blossoms, foliage, scents, and color of our wonderful gardens.