I can't thank you enough Sac. Cemetery Volunteers for giving so much of yourselves that the rest of us can experience this beauty. There is something so powerful in these huge, wonderfully grown, roses in full bloom. I was near tears several times. Someone came by and said "Are you having rosegasms"? Of course I was.

Yes, yesterday was truly incredible. It blew my mind. I mean I knew I would be taken with all the roses and the very cool environment but the amazing beauty simply knocked my socks off. Everywhere you turned literally were beautiful old graves draped in breaktaking roses, iris, california poppy and many, many other types of thriving flora. I took a zillion photos and will share those as soon as I get them up into my Photobucket account.

I thought the sale was handled very well. Although everyone was hot for the roses they wanted it was very polite and courteous gentle nudging and leaning in that was never mean or rude. People were focused but not nasty about getting the roses they wanted. I doubt anyone left without at least one rose. I am so totally out of room I bought a good sized International Herald Tribune that I may keep or give to a friend. I wanted Coulterville Red but they went fast. But there is always next year.

My only regret was that I did not meet anyone from GW. I recognized Jeri and Clay but every time I tried to go speak to Jeri there were two people ahead of me waiting for her attention:) It was just an intense kind of day that way. I think we need a GW section for future sales:)

I have one suggestion for the very impressive folks who pull this event together and keep the Cemetery shining. Can we talk about all the wonderful Iris growing around the grounds? Can those be included in the sale next year? The lady who was there thinning the iris yesterday kindly gave myself and a couple of other ladies each one as they were going to be composted evidently anyway. That nearly started a stamped. One person even accused me of yanking it out of the ground so I could have one! I think the Open Garden Sale could easily become a roses/iris event.

Thank you for all the hard work in making the cemetery so outstanding in every way and the Open Garden Sale such fun. For anyone who wishes to go be sure and give yourselves LOTS of time. I only had the morning to be there yesterday and that was a mistake. You need the whole day.

Kate

It really was an amazing day!
One of the best parts of my day was sitting in on Barbara Oliva's "Sex in the Garden". Her sharing of the botany of roses was really interesting. From rose hips to pollination....

Everyone had smiles on their faces! Thank you all of the volunteers for such a lovely day. I have a bunch of pictures. I have to figure out how to use Picassa for posting.

It was great to meet Pattie and other online friends in person. Putting a face to the name. Anita once again was an amazing and gracious hostess in her element, so to say..

Jeri and Clay are the best sales team in the garden - 500 roses sold by almost 12:00! Clay helped me get my number one rose on my list. He is a gentleman. Thank you Clay!

I look forward to this event every year. It was a treat to the senses!

i will echo everything already posted and also add my heartfelt THANK YOU to all concerned for such a wonderful event

although i didn't get to meet jeri (hope to someday) i did have quite an exchange with clay who was extremely helpful in my quest for cemetery musk seedling and also sold me on barbara's pasture rose.

the roses on the grounds looked exceptional this year as did the irises. it made getting up at 5am and driving 2 hours to be at the head of the line well worth it. wish i lived closer to sacramento so i could be more involved.

see you all next year,
diane

Wish I could have driven up to meet you all, too warm here and my babies need water, but delighted to hear your reports of a great day! Hope there are pictures for those of us unable to see in person.

Hey, it's really nice to read everyone's wonderful posts about the Open Garden! I was there, one of the volunteers manning the rose baby-sitting operation in the yellow tent. I thought about adding the words "AKA Organic Tosca" to my name tag, but couldn't figure out how to do it, and it's just as well - we were really busy checking roses in and out. I'm so glad you all had such a wonderful time and got to buy those wonderful roses. This was my first Open Garden, as I've only been a volunteer for about six months, and I must say, I too was impressed with it!!

Laura

All of you who volunteered are rose angels, nothing less! I was so disappointed that I had to head back early to Seattle and missed the highlight of my planned trip but it's really thrilling to hear about what a splendid event you had on such a perfect day. Anita and Jeri, you may not have been the only volunteers but you certainly headed up the event with panache! Please, oh please, keep the photos and stories coming! There's much to be said for vicarious pleasure!

Sue

The friendliness and generosity of the volunteers cannot be overstated. I had a wonderful time and met several GW people I had not met before, or only once. I'm sorry I did not get a chance to meet those I do not yet know. Several times I ran into a good friend, only to lose track of them and not meet back up again.

It was a splendid day.

Rosefolly

Organic Tosca! You are Ironwoman -- I know how hot that sun was. I suggest a lovely shaded spot for you next year. Clay reminds me that I should mention again how important your work was. Without you, we'd have sold a lot less.

The bottom line was that it was an extraordinary day of roses.

Loved it!

Jeri