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Katrina survivor to highlight rose festival
INDEPENDENCE — The remarkable story of a rose that survived two weeks immersed in brackish salt water pushed inland by Hurricane Katrina will highlight The Antique Rose Emporium’s 20th annual Fall Festival of Roses here Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Peggy Martin, whose home was destroyed and her parents killed by the massive hurricane, will be among Sunday’s speakers at the festival.
Martin will present “The Peggy Martin Story: A Hurricane Katrina Survivor” at 2:30 p.m.
Saltwater poured over 20-foot high levees when Katrina slammed into the New Orleans area in 2005, swamping Martin’s home, including the 450 old roses she had planted there.
When her family was finally able to return to their home after the water receded, they found their home had been destroyed. But amazingly, Martin found a tiny bit of green growth on a rose she had planted by a shed.
“When I realized it was still alive, I thought, ‘My God, how did this live through the storm? Did God do this for me because so much was gone,” Martin told Southern Living magazine in an interview.
The rose that had survived was an unnamed cutting from a garden in New Orleans. Martin had planted the thornless rambling rose 18 years earlier and had shared it with friends.
Among those receiving a cutting was Dr. Bill Welch, a rosarian and horticulturist at Texas A&M University who came up with the idea to use the rose to help restore gardens on the Gulf Coast.
Welch proposed his idea to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, which manages the Peggy Martin Survivor Rose Fund. For each Peggy Martin rose sold, $1 goes to the fund, helping rebuild green spaces along the Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
Among those selling the rose is Antique Rose Emporium.
The Rose Festival, which annually brings in top horticulturists from around the world, is free and open to the public. The schedule of events is:
Friday
10:30 a.m. — Glenn Schroeter and Mike Shoup, Antique Rose Emporium staff, “Propagating and Breeding Your Own Roses.”
1:30 p.m. — Jennifer R. Bartley, Granville, Ohio, “Designing the Kitchen Garden.”
3 p.m. — David Wills, New Braunfels, “Texas’ Easiest Flowers: Bulbs You Must Have.”
Saturday
10 a.m. — Christopher Carley, Washington, D.C., National Arboretum, “Plant Gems for Texas Gardens.”
11:15 a.m. — Stephen Scanniello, New York City, “Tales My Roses Told Me.”
1:30 p.m. — David Whitinger, Bryan, Garden Watchdog, “How the Internet Can Make You a Better Gardener.”
3 p.m. — Jerri and Clay Jennings, Camarillo, Calif., “Rose Rustling: A Tradition of Preservation.”
Sunday
10:30 a.m. — Christi and Regan Bond, Brenham, “The World Coffee Tour 2007: From Soil to Cup.”
1 p.m. — Debbi and Jim McDonald, Brenham, “The Wonderful World of Lavender.”
2:30 p.m. — Peggy Martin.
Peggy Martin, whose home was destroyed and her parents killed by the massive hurricane, will be among Sunday’s speakers at the festival.
Martin will present “The Peggy Martin Story: A Hurricane Katrina Survivor” at 2:30 p.m.
Saltwater poured over 20-foot high levees when Katrina slammed into the New Orleans area in 2005, swamping Martin’s home, including the 450 old roses she had planted there.
When her family was finally able to return to their home after the water receded, they found their home had been destroyed. But amazingly, Martin found a tiny bit of green growth on a rose she had planted by a shed.
“When I realized it was still alive, I thought, ‘My God, how did this live through the storm? Did God do this for me because so much was gone,” Martin told Southern Living magazine in an interview.
The rose that had survived was an unnamed cutting from a garden in New Orleans. Martin had planted the thornless rambling rose 18 years earlier and had shared it with friends.
Among those receiving a cutting was Dr. Bill Welch, a rosarian and horticulturist at Texas A&M University who came up with the idea to use the rose to help restore gardens on the Gulf Coast.
Welch proposed his idea to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, which manages the Peggy Martin Survivor Rose Fund. For each Peggy Martin rose sold, $1 goes to the fund, helping rebuild green spaces along the Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
Among those selling the rose is Antique Rose Emporium.
The Rose Festival, which annually brings in top horticulturists from around the world, is free and open to the public. The schedule of events is:
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
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