Information Worth The Price Of Admission
April is National Gardening Month. Wesley Homes is proud to feature Wesley Homes Resident Ed Pawlowski, accredited judge for the American Rose Society.
Ed Pawlowski points to a painting in his apartment, of the roses in his garden. Ed is continuing his life-long passion for growing exhibition roses at the Wesley Homes Lea Hill Campus.
Listen as Ed educates the interviewer on what roses to buy and where, and how to take care of rose plants.[display_podcast]
Ed Pawlowski writes a column “Ed’s Corner (IMOES) for Rain Drops, the newsletter for the Rainy Rose Society of the Puget Sound, Washington area, an affiliate of The American Rose Society.
Ed’s bachelor pad is located on the 3rd floor of Eby Lodge nicknamed “Rose Alley”, because every Friday Ed hand delivers a rose to every lady on the floor. “I get lots home-baked cookies for that,” said Ed.
He keeps his gardening shoes outside his door and everyone knows when the shoes are gone that Ed’s in the garden, a garden that Wesley Homes helped him construct when he moved into the Lea Hill Campus about a year and a half ago. “The Wesley Homes wood shop built the raised garden boxes for me,” said Ed, and now residents can enjoy a hill-top garden area where prize-winning roses - the size of large grapefruits - bloom yearly.”
Ed moved from his home, only about 20 blocks from Wesley Homes’ Lea Hill Campus. At home on nearly 4 acres he cultivated prize roses exhibited at Western Washington Fair, Emerald Downs, and Southcenter Mall.
“I was beginning to feel run down at home,” he said, “trying to keep up with it all. “I moved to Eby Lodge in June of 2008 and feel much better here; more energy and more time for myself.” He is quite pleased with his bachelor apartment. “There’s a lot of beautiful people here,” said Ed.
Ed is exuberant and willing to educate people about growing flowers and particularly roses. He was on his way the evening of this interview to pick up some special chrysanthemum starts with some other Lea Hill residents whose enthusiasm for gardening has been energized by Ed and the Wesley Homes Flower Garden project.
Ed buys roses that grow best in this climate. His first choice is the multi-flora understocks from Palatine Roses in Canada. “In our area we want multi-flora understock because of our damp cold climate,” advised Ed. “I always say a rose will grow in a concrete driveway if you have the proper understock,” he joked.
The rose Ed recommends to most people is Fragrant Cloud, a coral red, fragrant and very vigorous rose. “It’s so healthy,” said Ed, “and it’s easy to grow as opposed to others that you have to baby along – and it seems to be more disease resistant than others.”
Ed buys spray formulas for roses from companies like Rosemania.com that sell only fresh formulas, “because these chemicals age and lose potency and they break down especially in cold weather – so you don’t want to buy something that’s been sitting on a shelf since last season,” said Ed.
For people who want to know what Ed recommends for treating problems common in rose gardens, Click Here on this list suggested by Rich Baer, Vice President of The Portland Rose Society.
–Ilene Little for Wesley Homes
July 13th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Anyone who has not seen Ed’s roses has missed a real treat. They are all beautiful and many are prize winners. What makes them extra special is that Ed is so generous with them. He often surprises people by giving them one of his special roses. For those who haven’t seen them, you should go to the Lea Hill campus where they are grown. It is well worth the trip.
Sten Crissey
July 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I don’t know if it is widely known, but Ed secured another first place prize recently for one of his rose varieties. Though I haven’t seen it, it is reputed to be magnificent with the petals bearing a pink edge that blend into a yellow center. I am sure it also provides that wonderful garden rose fragrance we all admire. Congratulations, Ed!
Sten