This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

4
Back Porch
It’s Roses, Roses, Roses
by Dena Bisnette
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” unless it happens to be one of the many hybrid varieties lacking a distinctive scent. Roses are surrounded by facts like this one, serenaded in song and sonnet, and steeped in history and folklore.
Show a leaf and a flower from that rose to one of the members of Gather Ye Rosebuds or to someone from one of the area's other American Rose Society chapters, and you'll probably learn a great deal about the plant.
Gather Ye Rosebuds, headed by Melinda Richard of Bay St. Louis, is the newest local chapter of the American Rose Society, a national organization. According to Richard, all chapters are similar because they provide a forum where members can trade information about choosing, acquiring, growing and displaying roses. However, each group has its own individual personality and emphasis.
The personality of Gather Ye Rosebuds is like that of Richard herself, a woman so delighted with roses she wants to share her delight with others. Gather Ye Rosebuds emphasizes the beautification of public places. A rose garden is already in place at the Hancock County Historical Society's Kate Lobrano House in Bay St. Louis.
Gather Ye Rosebuds paid for the garden, and member Jim Bell cares for the plants. The group is willing to establish rose gardens in other public places. One possible location for a new garden is the historic Bay St. Louis train depot, which was recently restored.
The organization participates in an annual Christmas tree decorating event at the Bay St. Louis-Hancock County Library, decorating its tree with both dried and fresh flowers. "We made our reputation on that tree," Richard said. "It lets people know we’re here." Gather Ye Rosebuds was founded in September 1995, and won awards the past two years for its tree roses.
The group had about 60 members by the end of 19%, including some people who belong to more than one chapter of the American Rose Society. Richard, for example, is also a member of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Rose Society, which operates primarily in Harrison County.
Gather Ye Rosebuds, like most American Rose Society chapters, meets once a month. Speakers at the meetings address various aspects of the rose growers' hobby, and articles on current topics are published in chapter newsletters.
With so many varieties of roses available, almost everyone can find something pleasing. TTie Mississippi Gulf Coast is a good place to live for anyone interested in roses. Here, flowers bloom most of the year.
#tr4
• *'' ■ ^ * « ^ - - *
"Roses go dormant in cold weather, so you want to prune them back in February. Down here, that dormant period is just two or three months, so you can't prune them back too early," Richard explains. In the spring and fall, she likes to root cuttings. Also, there is always soil to be prepared in the new beds in the expanding garden in her backyard. Richard keeps herself busy.
How busy a person will become when he or she decides to grow roses depends largely on the choice of varieties. Hybrid roses generally require more care than the older, hardier varieties called old garden roses. For a public garden such as the one at Lobrano House, old garden roses are a natural choice, with care requirements and soil type being the major considerations.
"Growing roses is a seductive hobby," says Richard. "You always see another variety you just must have." Her garden includes bushes,