New, low-maintenance rose varieties are introducing rose gardening to new demographic groups, and redefining the schema of the traditional rosarian. After the Rose Knock OutTM was chosen as an All- America Rose Selection (AARS) in 2000, it sold better in the following years than any rose ever before. The disease resistance and hardiness of this plant made it accessible to even the most novice gardeners. Commercial landscapers who normally avoided roses because of the hassle began using them everywhere. This was the start of a different way of thinking about roses.

Change is Good

The breeder who developed the Rose Knock Out , William Radler, was interested in roses from a very young age, and this shaped his entire career. He recognized something fundamentally wrong with the rose industry and set out to correct it. His goal was to “breed the maintenance out of roses.”

Traditionally, old garden varieties and Hybrid Teas dominated the rose market. These varieties were delicate and bred specifically for their beauty. Their diseases, pests, and climate limitations were the burden of the individual gardener– a burden born with great pride, because very few people were willing to make the sacrifice. To have a yard full of roses spoke loudly, touting the reputation of the rosarian. Many people who grew roses grew little else. That is starting to change.

A few die-hard old-fashioned rose gardeners may believe that the experience is cheapened, and they may fear that the doors of an exclusive club have been opened to the whole neighborhood. However, most will welcome the new varieties with a sigh of relief, and will delight in seeing their ranks swell as more and more gardeners successfully incorporate roses into their repertoire.

A Good Idea Goes a Long Way

William Radler developed the first Knock Out in 1989, and it hit the mainstream market in 2000, causing sweeping changes. The Knock Out roses have been unbelievably popular, and Radler hasn’t stopped breeding, with the goal of a maintenance-free rose still in mind. There have been the Pink Knock Out , the Double Knock Out , Ramblin’ Red , Carefree Sunshine , and the Rainbow Knock Out . This year, the Rainbow Knock Out picked up another AARS award for the Knock Out line. The Rainbow is the most floriferous, most disease resistant, and has the longest growing season of any Knock Out so far. They just keep getting better.

The buying public has responded positively to low-maintenance roses. And the popularity of these new roses has changed a lot about the way that roses are marketed and the way they are bred. In the eighties, you would get a full paragraph about the color and maybe another about its fragrance. Now, when you read about roses in a catalog, all of them are “easy to grow”, “sturdy”, and “exceptionally disease resistant.” It’s not just the retailers; the breeders have also shifted their focus. There is a new rose culture, a new generation of breeders out to grow the strongest roses, and our gardens and our backs will reap the benefits.

Thomas Andrews is a Garden Writer for Park Seed and Wayside Gardens.

Are you throwing a carnival party and need carnival games ideas?

Traditional carnival games are usually played at carnival booths. You usually exchange one or more tickets for a turn at a game. Examples of carnival games booths include the Duck Pond game, Hoopla, Toss the Ball, Knock the Can and of course, the Coconut Shy. If you are hosting a Carnival Party, you can hire games booths, or better still make your own. To make a simple carnival game booth, you need a small table, a cloth big enough to drape over the table (brightly colored if possible), a large piece of card and some paints or thick marker pens.

You simply drape the cloth over the table, letting it hang down the front of the table to the ground. Using your paints, or marker pens, write out a fun sign, stating the name of the game- you can be really creative here! Finally attach the sign to the cloth and there you have it- your very own homemade carnival game booth. If you really want to look authentic, buy some cheap, narrow, plastic piping (available from hardware stores), cut into lengths to make a rectangular frame for the booth (you’ll need one long one, just a tiny bit longer than your table length, and two shorter ones (decide how high you wish the frame to be).

Use strong tape to bind the pieces of tubing together to form a three sided rectangle, then attach to the table, again securing with strong tape. You can hang a lightweight sign from this, but be a little careful- the frame won’t tolerate too much weight. You can buy ready made games to use on your booths if you wish. However, you can make your own. Keep food cans, and rinse these out and dry off. Cover these cans with brightly colored paper and use to stack up for the Knock the Can game. Add a couple of bean bags- and your game is ready to play. To play, the guest throws the bean bags, one at a time, at the cans. If they knock all the cans over, they win. For the Coconut Shy, you will need to buy a few fresh coconuts. To make the stands for the coconuts, use empty soda bottles that have been rinsed out and dried. Cut the tops off the bottles and cover them with brightly colored paper. Place the bottles on the top of the table booth, spaced well apart, and put the coconuts on top of the bottles. Have three small balls, or bean bags, per turn, and you are ready to play.

To play, the party guest tosses the bean bags, or balls, one at time, at the coconuts. If they knock one off, they win. Toss the Ball is an easy game to make. Cover a waste paper basket with brightly colored paper, place it at the back of the booth, or on the ground. Place a marker a fair distance away from the basket. This is where the party guests will stand to take their turns. Use any ball you like- for example a basketball or a baseball- it must fit into the target waste paper basket. To take a turn, the guest stands on the marker and throws the ball. If it goes into the basket and stays there, they win. You have two main options for prizes. Either give your guests tickets when they win a game, which they exchange for a prize at the end. Or, give a small prize at the booth to each winner. Have fun!