News and Events

In 2026, the Fort Vancouver Rose Society will be enjoying its 73rd year of growing and celebrating the rose.  All are WELCOMED to attend meetings and events as described below.  In 2025, the Fort Vancouver Rose Society was very proud to have collaborated with the Friends of Fort Vancouver in the 2025 FVRS Rose Show:  200 YEARS OF ROSES AT THE FORT.  The show was our 70th annual and was held Saturday, June 28, 2025, in the Exhibition Hall at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.  This was a new location for the show, and it proved to be an excellent choice!  Working with the Clark County Event Center staff and also with the Friends of Fort Vancouver (our namesake) was a most enjoyable experience.

NEXT MEETING:  THURSDAY, APRIL 2:   Our April General Membership meeting will feature two speakers:

1 - President Kathy Fry and chair of our Photography section for this year's May 30 rose show will give a brief overview of photography competition general instructions, an explanation of the Master and Amateur categories, completion of the entry tag, etc.

2 - FVRS member and ecologist Kim Erion will present a program about soil preparation in the rose garden.  A timely subject for rose growers getting ready for spring rose planting!

     All FVRS meetings are open to the public; everyone is welcomed to attend!  See you 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, in the Parish Hall at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 426 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., in Vancouver.

2026 ROSE AUCTION - BEST EVER!   FVRS held its annual Rose Auction on March 4, and it was tremendously successful.  Watch for details in the April newsletter...posting soon on this website!

FVRS at 2026 Camas Plant & Garden Fair:  FVRS will again have a booth at the annual Camas Plant & Garden Fair on Saturday, May 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This will be our third year, promoting FVRS at this wonderful community fair.  Watch this space for updates as organizers work on booth activities and call for volunteers to help setup, run the booth and cleanup.

LEARN TO PRUNE!

    Consulting Rosarians Jim Swenson and Louis Rossetto completed the 2025 Rose Care Seminars.  We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these businesses, devoted to offering the best products for us to use in our gardens.

   Consulting Rosarian Leslie Mowers, who is also our CR Member-at-Large on the 2026 FVRS Board, will spearhead this effort in 2026.  See below for the schedule of spring 2026 seminars:

Rose Care Seminars - 2026:

     DONE!  Sunday, February 22, at 12:30 p.m. at Tsugawa Nursery

          410 E. Scott Avenue, Woodland 98674

     DONE!  Saturday, February 28, at 10 a.m. at Yard 'n Garden Land

          1501 NE 102nd Street, Vancouver 98686

     DONE!  Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. at Dennis' 7 Dees

          10006 SE Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver 98664

     Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon at Tsugawa Nursery (see note)

          410 E. Scott Avenue, Woodland 98674

          *NOTE:  Seminar is part of Tsugawa Nursery 45th Anniversary celebration

COMMUNITY ROSE GARDENS WORKDAYS

     FVRS had its first workday in the community gardens on Wednesday, March 11.  My word what a bunch of hardy souls arrived at the Esther Short Park Rose Garden to prune and weed in the rain!  A rough count of those participating added up to 13 ... maybe 14?  FVRS Board Consulting Rosarian Member-at-Large Leslie Mowers organized the event and, since it was such a soggy day in the dirt, made the executive decision that we'd not advance to the Covington House Rose Garden to complete our workday of spring pruning the community gardens.  Covington will wait until a dryer day!

     The society maintains the two rose gardens for the enjoyment of all who visit the Esther Short Park and The Covington House.  The public is always welcomed to join FVRS volunteers on workdays to help maintain the gardens throughout the growing season for the community.  Just show up with your questions and pruners.  YOU WILL LEARN ALOT about pruning and deadheading roses if you participate... don't miss this valuable learning experience!

     When announced, additional workdays will be posted on this website as the year progresses to the fall "closing" of the two gardens sometime in November.

     We thank ALL OUR WORKDAY VOLUNTEERS as many hands make light work.  Watch this webpage for the dates of future workdays.

ROSE SHOW INFORMATION:  Until the next rose show book is published interested exhibitors will find the downloadable 2025 FVRS EXHIBITOR Rose Show General Instructions attached below.  The next book will, of course, be revised with details of the 2026 show, but we have left the 2025 book on this webpage so that it can be reviewed for how the FVRS organizes its color-class show.  The General Instructions are for the Horticulture, the Artistic Design and the Photography sections of the show.

NEXT ANNUAL ROSE SHOW

          When:    May 30, 2026

        Theme:    A Rosy Affair

     Location:   Exhibition Hall at the Clark County Event Center

Free and open to the public, the Fort Vancouver Rose Society rose show features competitors from throughout the Pacific northwest who grow their roses at home.  New rose growers are welcomed and encouraged to participate! Members of the Fort Vancouver Rose Society are available to help new competitors.

FREE ADMISSION - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DURING SHOW HOURS  

Show Hours:  1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

EXHIBITORS: 

     The FVRS EXHIBITOR Rose Show Book focuses on information of interest to just the exhibitor.  On the day of the next rose show, the Society will provide a dedicated FVRS VISITOR Rose Show Book to all the visitors who arrive during our show hours (2026 show hours to be announced).

     The FVRS EXHIBITOR Rose Show Book includes General Instructions for the Horticulture, the Artistic Design and the Photography sections of the show.  If there are any differences between the FVRS EXHIBITOR Rose Show Book PDF file website file (below) and the hard copy distributed at the show, the hard copy will be the official book.