ANN ARBOR, MI -- George Hewens wants you to stop and smell the roses.
Hewens, 94, has been cultivating his rose garden since moving into his Ann Arbor home 55 years ago. Starting with just a handful of rose bushes, Hewens now takes care of a rose garden he estimates is roughly 400 blooms.
“It’s American. It’s the national flower,” Hewens said. “They’re amazing plants to watch develop. The colors will probably affect some people. The fragrances alone are interesting.”
Hewens, a father of four daughters married his wife Nancy, who died in 2016, in 1953. He was a member of the Huron Valley Rose Society.
“There was a rose fever in the ’60s and ’70s,” Hewens said.
One of the most popular events hosted by the Huron Valley Rose Society was the Rose Show, which was packed “elbow to elbow” around Father’s Day each year, Hewens said.
“It was the thing to do on Father’s Day,” Hewens said. “We didn’t need a traffic cop, but it was a steady flow all day.”
Although some competitors would preen and prod at their blooms — plucking petals and washing leaves with milk to make them shine — Hewens said he preferred a natural look.
“I always believed, go out the night before the show or the morning of the show,” Hewens said. “Pick off the insects, maybe.”
Hewens is vague about the amount of awards his blooms have pulled in, but said he “got my share.” He said medical professionals, who comprised a notable part of the Rose Society, were the most competitive.
“They’d work all day cutting people’s livers up and they’d sit quietly and grow their five or six roses,” Hewens said. “They’d do anything to get a blue ribbon.”
For Hewens, growing roses is a delicate art, although simplified mightily by defeating the rose’s most fatal enemies: red spider mites and black spot. Once a gardener has full sun and fertile soil, getting roses to grow requires minimal care, he said.
Gardening was also a family activity. Hewens’ daughters would participate in non-member classes at the Rose Society and have continued gardening themselves.
“Gardening seems to be in our blood,” said Janice Flinn, the oldest of the daughters.
Flinn said her father prefers his rose garden “to anything and anyone else” and frequently gives away blooms.
“It’s like another child, the way he nurtures it and takes care of it,” Flinn said.
Flinn also grows roses.
The public appreciation of roses has waned since their heyday, Hewens said, something he blames on the rise of technology.
“It’s been all downhill since then. People simply don’t have the time to spend with outdoor activities like gardening,” Hewens said. “But I’m hardcore.”
In addition to roses, Hewens also grows hydrangeas and lavender.
Hewens, who has dealt with health issues as he gets older, said cultivating a garden helps people take their minds off the troubles of life, in addition to adding “little bits of color here and there.”
“It will add a dimension of pleasure to their lives they might otherwise not experience,” Hewens said.
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