Author: NRS Webmaster

NRS moves Rose Study Garden to make way for the new Cheekwood Parking Pavilion

by Liz Louie, Co-President, Nashville Rose Society

Layout of new Rose Study Garden (thanks to Karin Bailey)
Since 1981, Cheekwood has had a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to use Metro Parks land for overflow parking. The MOU will no longer be renewed after December 31, 2027.

As a result, the two rose beds that comprise the rose study garden needed a new location. Earlier in the year, Cheekwood reached out to inform the Nashville Rose Society (NRS) about the plans for the new Parking Pavilion and Welcome Plaza. Jane MacLeod, Cheekwood’s President and CEO, came to the September NRS meeting to present an informative history of Cheekwood and discuss the new plans for the Parking Pavilion.

The new location for the Rose Study Garden will be three smaller beds behind Massey Hall. However, the area is not new to roses, as there was a time in Cheekwood’s history when roses grew there. It is a beautiful, serene spot with benches that overlook the distant Bevins Japanese Garden.

The move was planned for the first day of December, which turned out to be a chilly morning. The NRS gathered at the Cheekwood Rose Study Garden to dig up, pot, and relocate about 60 roses. At least 20 members arrived bundled up with gloves on, pruners in their pockets, and shovels in hand, ready to dig up the roses. Participants brought their spare large pots, ranging from 7 to 20 gallons. Ron Daniels, past president of the NRS and founder of the Rose Study Garden, directed the group—from labeling and tagging the roses to bagging up cuttings from pruned bushes nearly five feet tall. The roses were pruned to about 12–18 inches before the rosarians dug around the roots and potted them in the large containers. In the end, the NRS moved and lined up 55 roses; some had to be “shovel pruned” due to disease or poor health. The newly potted roses were well watered and placed near their new home.

On December 15, with temperatures starting in the lower twenties and lots of sunshine, Ron rallied a group of 18 NRS members and some employees from Cheekwood to replant the roses in the new garden. The three new beds were laid out by rose color, type, and size. Holes were dug then amended with Holy Cow and Mills Mix. Once the roses were planted, they were mulched in order to protect them through the winter. Two of the Old Garden Roses, ‘Old Blush’ (1793) and ‘Caldwell Pink’ (1928), would have been available when the Cheek family lived at Cheekwood. By the time the garden was planted, the temps were in the upper 30s – a perfect day for working in the Garden.

See photos of the garden being moved, click individual photo for slideshow (escape to exit):

2025-12-01 Digging up old garden
2025-12-01 Staging roses for move
2025-12-01 Make sure they are labeled correctly
2025-12-01 Make sure they are labeled correctly
2025-12-01 Digging up old garden
2025-12-01 old garden cleanup
2025-12-01 Digging up old garden behind the building
2025-12-01 All cleaned up
2025-12-01 All cleaned up
2025-12-01 New RSG home
2025-12-15 New RSG
2025-12-15
2025-12-15
2025-12-15
2025-12-15

Sandra Frank awarded 2025 Bronze Honor Medal at NRS Holiday Party

Janie Hagan, NRS Co-President, presents the 2025 Bronze Medal to Sandra Frank
The Nashville Rose Society Holiday Party was held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

NRS Members and their guests enjoyed a banquet of holiday food, including yummy desserts. Gene Meyer gave us a new insight on how to look at our gardens and to choose new roses. If you have trouble getting help in the Kroger meat department, call Gene and he can talk you through how to help yourself (as he recently had to do).

The highlight of the celebration was for Co-President Janie Hagan to present the 2025 Bronze Honor Medal to Sandra Frank. Sandra is a long-time member of the Nashville Rose Society, including serving as 2009 President. Sandra is a team player and is the first to show up whenever anything needs to be done. She makes certificates for the Nashville rose shows and works in the Cheekwood Rose Study Garden. She is a volunteer for Cheekwood and is a member of both the Herb and Perennial Societies. She is very deserving of this medal. Congratulations, Sandra!

A Turning Point: The American Rose Society & American Rose Center Chart Separate Paths

In a week that has sent ripples through the rose community, the American Rose Society and the American Rose Center announced that they will move forward as two independent organizations. The news has sparked curiosity, concern, and plenty of questions about how this decision came to be, and what it means for the future of both institutions.

To bring clarity to this pivotal moment, Teresa Byington of the Rose Chat Podcast sits down with two leaders at the heart of the transition: Marilyn Wellan, Chairwoman of the American Rose Center, and Carrie Berg, Vice President of the American Rose Society. Together, they offer a candid and deeply informative conversation about the origins of the separation, the motivations behind it, and the long‑term vision guiding each organization as they step into a new chapter.

Listeners will gain insight into:

* Why the decision was made now
* How the transition will affect members, volunteers, and visitors
* The strategic goals each organization hopes to pursue independently
* What this means for the broader rose‑growing community

This episode is thoughtful, transparent, and full of the kind of context that helps everyone—from longtime ARS members to casual rose lovers—understand the road ahead. It’s an essential listen for anyone invested in the future of America’s rose heritage.

Click here to listen.

December 13, 2:00pm-4:00pm – NRS Year End Holiday Party

Enjoy the holiday spirit with your fellow Rose Society members and guests at the 2025 Nashville Rose Society Year End Holiday Party! The party will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 2:00pm-4:00pm. The party will be held at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, located at 3421 Belmont Blvd, Nashville. The Community Foundation is located at the corner of Belmont and Woodmont – easy to find and parking is great. Enter the parking lot from Belmont Blvd. The lobby of the bldg and our meeting room is directly in front of you. There will be a sign on the door.

NRS will provide turkey, ham, rolls and drinks, and dinnerware; members are asked to bring their favorite dish.

There will be a short program with end of year items.

We have the room from 1-4:30 for those of you who help set-up, and we have to return the tables, etc. when we finish at 4.

Please see Marty’s email to RSVP by Friday, December 5, if you plan to attend.

Happy Holidays!

Stay informed! Medley of Roses – 2026 ARS National Convention & Rose Show

Members of the Tenarky District and the Nashville Rose Society are working hard on the 2026 ARS National Convention & Rose Show, hosted by the Nashville Rose Society, to be held October 2-5, 2026. The Convention and Rose Show will be held at the Sheraton Music City Nashville Airport Hotel which is conveniently located to the airport, downtown Nashville, and Opryland. Hotel information can be found at MedleyOfRoses.org/hotel.

The Rose Show will be held Saturday morning and will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon. On Monday, we will have a bus tour that even some of us locals may want to participate in. The schedule for the weekend can be found at MedleyOfRoses.org/schedule. The Rose Show schedule will be published soon.

We have well renowned international and national speakers on both Saturday and Sunday. For the full list of speakers, their bio and a description of their talk, visit MedleyOfRoses.org/speakers.

We do need your generosity to guarantee a successful Convention and Rose Show. Your donation may be tax deductible and will go toward funding accommodations and meals for our speakers, A/V equipment rentals, rose show judges breakfast and lunch, liability insurance, printing services, rose show supplies, and the list goes on…. No amount is too small. Donations are tax deductible as charitable contributions under IRS code 501(c)-3. You may be eligible for a qualified charitable donation (QCD) if you are over 70½ years old or older with a traditional IRA by giving directly from your traditional IRA. For any donation, we will provide a receipt and include your name as a donor in the convention pamphlet and website. For more information on ways to contribute to the Convention and Rose Show, see the donations page at MedleyOfRoses.org/donations.

If you have a flower club, florist, or you are just a lover of roses, please download our promotional files and flyer from the MedleyOfRoses.org homepage to share them on your social media. While you are there, click on our Facebook and Instagram pages and Follow Us!

Stay tuned! Lots of information will be coming!