Knysna Rose Society had its conception through the vision and love of Roses by Alan Tew in 2006. The inaugural meeting was held on 18 February 2006. The meeting was convened by Mr. Alan Tew through the issue of invitations and attended by 28 people, 19 of these people immediately became members. Mr Alan Tew was elected as the first Chairman and two volunteers, Stefanie Seydack and Riekie Louw elected as committee members. Since then our membership numbers have grown to 80.
At our 2023 AGM the Society’s name was changed to Knysna & Garden Route Rose Society, to include our members living on either side of Knysna.
K&GRRS has hosted 2 ROSA National Rose Conventions in 2010 with 2 International speakers and again in 2021 with 3 International speakers.
Save money through KRS partnerships with suppliers. Buy Atlantic fertilisers at an excellent discount. Enjoy discounts from Ludwig’s Roses — Outeniqua
Honorary life members: Sheenagh Harris, Carol Kennedy
Chairman: Joanne Johnstone
Treasurer: Heather Holt
Secretary: Eunice Grobler
Contact Details: knysnarosesociety@gmail.com
Garden Visits
Members’ Rose Gardens
Rose Gardens of places of interest
Rose Shows
Talks & Demonstrations
Pruning
Preparing the soil for a new rose
Preparing for Spring
Organic Rose Growing
Feedback from National &/or International Conferences
Community Connections – KRS has several rosarians who can provide advice and information about growing roses and answer questions you may have. Work with other likeminded NGO’s to uplift the communities of the Garden Route
Newsletters
Monthly
Conferences
Newsletters
K&GRRS 20th Anniversary Celebration
On Thursday, 5 March, thirty-three K&GRRS members and guests gathered for the 20th Anniversary Celebration Lunch at The Cowshed Restaurant, Portland Manor in Reenendal. It was a joyful occasion, going down memory lane with Charlie Tew (widow of the late Alan Tew, founder of the Knysna Rose Society) and Carol Kennedy (a founder and honorary life member). The event was also a chance to reconnect with both old and new members. Joining via MS Teams, ROSA President Gail Birss shared the history of the Knysna Rose Society’s contributions to ROSA and the World Federation of Rose Societies over the past 20 years and gave a brief overview of why individual Rose Societies in South Africa should be affiliated to ROSA.
Summer Pruning Demonstration – Ludwig’s Roses Outeniqua
The Summer Pruning and Rose Care Demonstration held at Rosenhof on Saturday 25th of January once again showed that there is a huge interest in growing roses in the Garden Route. This event was open to the public and over 90 people attended. Tumelo Moyo, Manageress of Ludwig’s Roses – Outeniqua, demonstrated summer pruning, deadheading, and rose care, including watering, feeding, and spraying. She explained that as autumn approaches, roses on bushes become smaller, so it is important to summer prune Hybrid Tea and Antico Moderno bushes, and to only trim Floribunda and Colourscapes for tidiness and shape.
Roses and Bubbles
A fun afternoon was had on Friday , 28 February when forty-five Knysna & Garden Route Rose Society members and guests attended the Rose and Bubbles Lunch at Kay & Monty’s Vineyard Restaurant in The Crags, Plettenberg Bay. Roses from our members gardens were paired with the newly launched ‘Sweetheart’ MCC. The afternoon commenced with a tour of the cellar after which everyone enjoyed a glass of ‘Sweetheart’ and settled down to a scrumptious Harvest table lunch.
The men were then asked to select the finalists of which there were six and the final winner was selected by the K&M Staff. It was a difficult choice and after much deliberating there was a tie between Joy Taylor’s Double Delight and Heather Holt’s Thuli Madonsela.
A Spectacular Tea
In April, forty members and visitors were spoilt by the friendly and helpful staff at Hunters Country House in Harkerville to a spectacular tea after a walkabout in the beautiful garden, with Kim Fichardt, one of our members who is the full-time horticultural consultant at Hunters, and Jill Hunter who answered the many questions from our members. During tea, Jill then shared the interesting history of Hunters Country House and how this Family business is run on ‘Respect’ for one another.
