The Dirt Diaries

Back in 2013, I went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to work on an article about the first International Rose Trials that had recently taken place there.

That year, an amateur hybridizer, Mike Athy of Gisborne, New Zealand, walked away with top honors for his ground cover/climbing rose Athyfalaa. The article included an interview with Athy, and a history of the Biltmore rose garden.

Since then, I have been honored to become a member of the permanent judging panel for the trials, so I get to visit the gardens four times a year and evaluate all the roses entered in the competition. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!

This year, the judging and gala awards event will be held in September instead of May. (And The Dirt Diaries will dish dirt on all the winners!) So I went up last week to complete my spring judging and see how the roses were coming along after a tough winter and some late freezes.

To say everything looked spectacular would be an understatement. Emily and her crew are doing a splendid job and the roses have never looked prettier.

I had two cameras with me to take advantage of any photo ops. I was not disappointed. After I got home, I went back and revisited the pictures I’d taken each May since 2013. Boy, talk about changes!

For example, look at the Maypole in 2013 and 2016. Those little Rural England bushes have taken off in the past three years!


The Maypole was pretty in 2013

But baby, look at her now!

The climbers were also gorgeous. And so were the perennials accompanying the roses. So if you can’t visit yourself just now, sit back and enjoy your private tour courtesy of The Dirt Diaries.

Sadly, the photos aren’t scratch and sniff. But take my word for it, the fragrance was intoxicating.