[55TH INTERNATIONAL ROSE TRIALS
MADRID, SPAIN – 20TH MAY 2011]

Have you ever received an email or letter in a foreign language and thought it was spam or junk mail and promptly thrown it in the bin? Me too. But on this occasion, I asked a Spanish-speaking friend to translate it and discovered it was an invitation to judge roses at the 55th International Rose Trials which were to be held on Friday, 20th May 2011, at the Rosaleda de Madrid ‘Ramón Ortiz’, Parque del Oeste, Madrid, Spain.

Although it was short notice, less than two weeks, I decided to do something spontaneous and being in low spirits, lower funds, and lacking all sense, decided I needed a holiday and booked a flight arriving in Madrid on 19th May. A staff member from the Rosaleda, Yolanda López Sanz, greeted me at the Airport and drove me to the Gardens.

On entering the Gardens, which were bathed in sunshine, I immediately recognised three beautiful weeping standard roses lining the walkway to the office complex: New Dawn, Albertine and Ghislane de Feligonde; all roses which we grew back home at Reliable Roses, Silvan, Victoria, Australia, and which here in standard form looked stunning. I was told that the Gardens had suffered a heavy downpour the night before and there had been some damage to the roses but I observed little of that and merely enjoyed the sheer spectacle of massed blooms; a kaleidoscope of colour, shimmering and shining in the bright Spanish sunshine. Our walk led to an avenue of metal arches covered in part with an enormous specimen of R. banksiae banksiae which I paused to admire and was told it had been saved from the builders when some adjoining old buildings had to be pulled down. Further along we came upon another arch draped with American Pillar; her large deep pink single blooms with white centres making an attractive brightly coloured backdrop for photographs.

On entering the office complex, I was introduced to the Director of the Gardens, Rosa Fernandez (who had worked at the Gardens for approximately 20 years) and other members of her staff. Following lunch they had thoughtfully prepared, I took the opportunity to closely study and admire some very fine prints of Species Roses adorning their office walls and remarked on their beauty, pausing to mention the ones which we grew back home. A short time later to my utter surprise and delight Miguel Garcia (the General Manager of the Rose Garden) entered the room and presented me with a large beautifully bound folder of a complete set of those same Species Rose prints which was a tissue-protected collector’s item of the highest standard, received with due reverence, admiration, thanks and humility. Hot, dirty and dishevelled having just arrived from the Airport following a 25 hour flight, I was the surprised but happy recipient of Spanish kindness, generosity and friendship.

A tour of the Gardens followed and I was offered the opportunity to view the roses which were to be judged the next day; these were cordoned off and identified only by number. I wandered along the brick pathways admiring the mainly Modern roses, casting a keen eye over bloom, foliage and plant in anticipation of the next day’s judging and then had an opportunity to take photographs of the Garden in general.

Having spent a relaxing afternoon with my new Spanish friends, I accompanied Rosa to the Airport to meet Sheenagh Harris, a friend from South Africa with whom I corresponded, a fellow rose trial judge, and as most readers would know, President of the World Federation of Rose Societies. I had not informed Sheenagh of my visit as I wished it to be a surprise and so it was – we were both delighted to see each other as English-speaking friends would in a foreign country!

The day of the rose judging – Friday, 20th May 2011 – dawned bright, clear and sunny and full of excitement and enthusiasm and having little idea of what to expect as this was my first trip to Madrid, I headed to the Rosaleda Gardens where the judging was to take place. And what a wonderful day it turned out to be! It is amazing how a solitary day in one’s life can bring so much joy and pleasure to the exclusion of all else. Upon entering the impressive wrought-iron gates a-top which flew the flags of each country competing in the trials, we headed towards the registration tables to collect our judges’ badges and folders. After meeting and greeting the organisers of the event and friends and strangers, most of whom were present for the sole purpose of passing judgment on some 71 roses, we proceeded to follow Mr. Santiago Soria (the Deputy Director General, Green Spaces and Trees of the City Council of Madrid) and Sheenagh who he appointed Executive Chairman of the International Jury. I was one of approximately 80 judges and the only one from Australia.

To commence the judging, Mr. Soria sought Sheenagh’s opinion as to which roses on trial ought be eliminated because for one reason or another they were considered ineligible to be judged (e.g. plants had not grown sufficiently well, or unfortunately were not in bloom). By a general show of hands a unanimous decision was reached to eliminate those roses from the competition. There is something to be said for the high standard set by hybridisers and the maintenance by Rosaleda Garden staff for of the 71 roses on trial only some four were thus eliminated. Despite the recent night’s heavy downpour, almost all of the roses stood up well and blooms were bright and beautiful with foliage clean and healthy (they are sprayed during their two-year trial period; climbers during their three year trial period). It was sheer joy walking amongst the roses judging blooms, overall plant growth, health, novelty aspect, and perfume etc. A professional photographer engaged for the day took numerous photographs of the Garden in general; roses clambering up tripods, roses peeping through arches, roses in trial beds, judges judging roses in trial beds – in fact everything and everyone in sight on that eventful day. Not to be outdone when opportunity arose I did the same capturing memorable moments of this special day.

About an hour-and-a-half later when all judges’ folders had been returned to the organisers for tallying, we were thoughtfully offered refreshments and given the opportunity to discuss with fellow judges the merits or otherwise of the morning’s decisions. There was also time for more photographs before we were ushered into a concert hall where we were entertained by “4+1”, a local orchestral ensemble made up of young musicians. They played works from Georges Bizet (1838-1875) Carmen (Suite para quinteto de viento) and had us all spellbound by their talent. To hear their finalé of Los Toreadores – Spanish music played by Spanish musicians on Spain soil - was to me as a foreign visitor, something truly special, enormously stirring, patriotic and memorable to say the least. Their music was enjoyed by all but too soon or so it seemed the room was re-organised to become a prize-giving venue for the winning hybridisers following that morning’s judging.

Apart from members of the International Jury already present, there were also present about two or three hundred visitors (local dignitaries, officials, rose hybridisers and their families etc.) who had been invited to the Award Ceremony which followed in the afternoon. They all came pouring through the Garden gates and into the concert hall, which quickly filled to over-flowing. The long presentation table at which dignitaries were seated held vases of the winning roses along with Award Certificates and following the presentation of individual prizes and photographs to record the event, speeches concluded that Ceremony.

Unfortunately not all the winning roses were named, most having code names only, but the winner of the Gold Medal was NIRP International of France (Nirpyrose NJ 178); the Silver Medal – Michel Adam of France (Adaborop); the Bronze Medal – Poulsen Roses of Denmark (Kailani); and Certificates of Merit went to Alberici Marc of Italy (Angel Eyes) – Grandiflora or Hybrid Tea Type; Poulsen Roses (Yengo) – Polyantha or Floribunda type; Barni Rose, Italy (Bar6185) – Miniature Type; Poulsen Roses – Climbing, Bushy or Groundcover Rosebushes (Grand Award); Best Perfumed Rose and “Pere Dot” Award – Viva International of Belgium (VISancar); Best Spanish Variety – Viveros Francisco Ferrer, Spain (FE 02156); and, Most Popular Rose of Madrid (People’s Choice Award) – Michelle Richardier of France (Melbonenuy FA-907-MR).

To conclude the programme of events, lunch was to follow and we all headed out into the Garden and under the shade of large cream canvas umbrellas to protect us from the afternoon sun, enjoyed Spanish food and local wine elegantly served by smartly dressed Spanish waiters, while we leisurely chatted to friends and strangers alike on the one topic we all had in common – Roses! It was a bright, beautiful, relaxing time and the day had been just Perfect.

Much later after guests had departed the Gardens, Sheenagh and I accompanied Rosa back to her office where we discussed the day’s success with her and her staff and thanked them for looking after us so well. We chatted about the roses on trial and discussed various aspects of the judging and to our surprise Rosa presented us with a complete two-year photographic record of every rose on trial which we had judged, together with a list of all the hybridisers who had participated in the trial. She also presented us with the official poster advertising the 55th International Rose Trials as souvenirs of the event to bring back home – it seemed her generosity knew no bounds.

The rose judging complete and following a couple of very pleasant days of shared Madrid sightseeing, Sheenagh returned to her home in South Africa, and I took the opportunity to make the two-hour flight across to Florence, Italy, for a brief visit. Sheenagh had suggested I visit her friend, Beatrice Barni at Barni Roses, a well known nursery located in a small historic town called Pistoia. Beatrice generously gave of her time and took me on a tour of her nursery. She told me that she personally carries out the hybridising and their nursery produces approximately 350,000 plants for sale per year. Her trophy room was indeed impressive and testament to her hybridising skills. I had just been witness to some of that success at the Madrid Trials where she won a Certificate of Merit for a miniature rose – a very clean, bold yellow rose with healthy, shiny foliage – a plant that stood out from those around it. The views from her production fields located at the rear of her family home stretched far and wide and were not at all unlike the views back home at Silvan – colourful fields of roses in the foreground with a range of mountains as a backdrop – hers though on a much grander scale! Beatrice kindly allowed me to take photographs and I spent a very pleasant and relaxing time photographing her beautiful two-storey home, display gardens of Old and Modern roses, and rose arches etc. before bidding her farewell and returning to Florence. A couple of days followed checking local florist establishments and photographing plant stalls at local markets while along the way taking in a few places of interest on the tourist trail which quickly ate up the time. Of course one cannot visit Florence and not see the magnificent statue of David – Michelangelo’s masterpiece and masterpiece it was – waited in 35° heat in an almost stationary queue for an-hour-and-a-half until finally allowed to enter the (Uffizi) Galleria dell’Accademia to drink in the beauty and magic of this great piece of hewn and chiselled marble and to wonder at the extraordinary young talent which created it. I walked round in quiet awe and deep admiration considering myself indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to do so. A late afternoon stroll across that famous historic bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, was to follow and then much too quickly I was heading back across the water to Madrid.

On return to that City, Rosa took me for a visit to the centrally located Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid) to see its Old Rose Garden. Some of the Species Roses and Old Roses seen growing in the Gardens were R. filipes, R. moschata, some excellent specimens of Raubritter growing as a shrub and also on a tripod, Mrs. John Laing, Ferdinand Pichard, Honorine de Brabant, to name just a few. But by far the highlight of this Old Rose Garden was a most magnificent specimen of R. cymosa looking like a waterfall from afar with cascading canes flowering in profusion in one cool shaded corner of the Garden. Having never seen this rose before, the very size of the plant was breathtaking and its perfume filled the air. I walked around drinking in its beauty, gently touching a few delicate blossoms here and there and thinking how very fortunate I was to be here at the precise moment when hundreds of its tiny florets were open and looking their most delicate and beautiful – a sight to behold – in fact not unlike my admiration of Michelangelo’s masterpiece seen a day earlier; one created by a young artist, the other by the world’s oldest. I guess only a rose enthusiast would see as much beauty in a rose as they would in a statue!

All in all, my trip to the Madrid Rose Trials had been a most enjoyable experience and the short sojourn to Florence, Italy, a special delight.

Flying back on the journey home and noting progress of our flight across the world map first over the wide expanse of Europe and then over India, the lone city of Kanpur was highlighted and drew my attention. It doubtless made no impact on the other passengers but to me it had a very special place in my heart as that was where I went to boarding school in my early years when I lived in India. I was to learn recently from a relative that my Grandfather who had died when I was two years’ old (my father three months before him; both of whom sadly I never knew) worked at The Residency in Lucknow, a city close to Kanpur. The Residency was the site where an Indian mutiny had taken place during the time of the British occupation and later was to become an historically significant site. I learnt that my Grandfather had been Superintendent of The Residency Rose Gardens and was in charge of some 40 gardeners and used to win prizes for his roses! I took to musing and wondered what he would have thought of me winning prizes for my roses in Australia and travelling the world as a rose judge? I couldn’t help but feel my life had come full circle.

So the next time you receive a letter in a foreign language you may consider following the advice of the poet Horace who suggested: “carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero” – seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future – you never know where it might lead and along the way you may actually have a lot of fun!

Jean Newman
Reliable Roses
Website: www.reliableroses.com.au
Email: info@reliableroses.com.au