“Most years they flower from the end of October through to July. The flowers are at their best between November and April.”
Mr Cheetham works as a horticulture and arable specialist for Ballance Agri-Nutrients by day and has been interested in gardening and roses for as long as he can remember.
“Both my sets of grandparents had rose gardens and I would help them gardening — mowing lawns, weeding, emptying the wheelbarrow. One of my grandmothers was also involved in the local rose society in the Manawatu.”
The champion rose title has come as a surprise every time, he says.
“You never know. Everyone enters on equal standing.”
He enters the annual contest to support the Poverty Bay Horticultural Society, which has a small membership.
“The more entered means it is a better show for the public to attend and hopefully draws people’s attention to what can be done in their own garden. Seeing the prize blooms grown in someone’s backyard garden hopefully encourages other people to join the society and it’s a great place to learn from others.
“People are time-poor these days but it does not take a lot of space to have some colour and perfume in a modern garden.”
When he selects his blooms for the competition, it is passed on form and balance.
“First it is the way it looks. Is it pleasing to the eye in the way it is flowering in its natural form and how it is presented on the stem? Also, does the foliage compliment the bloom?”
When it comes to the judging, they are looking for those qualities and use a points system to pick the winner.
Fortunately for the Gisborne show this year, the past president of the New Zealand Rose Society, Eileen Wilcox from Hamilton was judging.
“It was a bit of a coup having one of the top judges in NZ here.”
