Yet More!

Hershey Botanical Garden, Class 10 "A Rose Society or Garden", 1st place in Class and 3rd Best-In-Show!

Ok, now. I've finally heard from the National photography show I enter. The surprise was an ultimate for me. A huge win, I should say and I am really proud of myself now (slap on own back). Of all my photos, this Hershey Botanical Gardens was the one I had hoped would at least place in it's class. I never expected a Best-In-Show with it. It is a really great shot!

Another surprise was again the 2nd place win for Summer Fashion. It took Best-In-Show in the Districts, and 2nd in the Nationals. Again, something to be proud of. And to think that I almost didn't enter this photo in either contest. It was a last minute entry in both. First the Nationals since I had to have them in the mail first. Then I second guessed myself and entered it in the Districts. It did surprise me that it did so well, especially since I took it without props and I honestly thought that there were others that were better.

Chatting with some of the folks at the District Mid-Winter convention, I soon discovered that to get a picture of Summer Fashion like this one is almost unheard of in this area. Apparently the rose isn't considered a good one around here. We have to much humidity and it wilts with our temperatures. Some of the people were telling me that they've tried several and were totally disappointed in it's tenderness. That made me want to think twice about getting it for my garden.

On the other hand, Secret, the rose around the water bearer, has been at Hershey Gardens since I've been going there. This rose has also the reputation of being a fairly good one in this area. In my garden, I don't have Secret, but instead opted for Gemini, another of similar color, but I thought it had more substance in the flower petals than Secret. It is also slightly more salmon where Secret is pink.

So far, I don't think I'll be getting either Summer Fashion or Secret for my garden, though I do love that water bearer and might have to save some pennies to get one of those for my garden. Whenever we go to Hershey, the first place we head for is that water bearer to take pictures. I also have a water bearer fountain in the back garden already.