Spring '08 :: Run for the Roses

At times, the rose stirs us with beauty, expresses our love, and inspires our spirits.

On the first Saturday in May, these three sentiments—beauty, love and spirit—come together in the running of the Kentucky Derby. The historic horse race held at Louisville’s Churchill Downs is known as the Run for the Roses for a reason.

Sure, there are plenty of gallant thoroughbreds, elegant women wearing stylish hats, and vibrant gentlemen sipping mint juleps from silver cups at the Downs that day. But the ceremony in the Winners’ Circle, when the Garland of Roses is placed triumphantly over the withers of the Derby winner, is the scene that remains in the minds of the owners, trainers, jockeys, and spectators.

It takes 554 deep red ‘Classy’ roses to complete the Garland of Roses that graces the winner of the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports. The roses are sewn into a green satin material with the Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky embroidered on one end and the twin spires of Churchill Downs on the other. It is two-and-a-half yards long and fourteen inches wide. All together, the garland weighs 45 pounds.

A stitch in time…
Before it even reaches the Winners’ Circle, though, the garland has created quite a stir in Louisville.

Like an old-fashioned quilting bee, Carol Belser and three other women sit and hand-stitch the roses onto the garland. The fresh green border made up of bundles of boxwood, coffee, and camellia leaves and the bed of heart-shaped leaves of Smilax have already been stitched to the backing.

Carol is the floral manager for Kroger Company, which has been the official florist of the Kentucky Derby since 1987, and she has worked on the garland every year.

“I sew the first rose on at 4 p.m. of Derby Eve and it is usually completed by 10 or 11 that evening,” she says. Or some years it has been later, she admits with a laugh.

The seamstresses sit across from each other as they begin the process, starting at the middle and working their way toward the ends. Working one row at a time, they insert the roses through holes in the top layer of green Trigger® craft material and into the glued-on water picks filled with water. A simple stitch around the calyx guarantees the velvety buds won’t fall out. Each row contains roses of approximately the same size and height.

Thousands of people come to one of the Louisville-area Kroger stores to witness just a tiny part of the making of the garland, Carol says.

“They line around the store to take their turn to see it. They ask questions and take photos. The number one question is ‘How many roses make up the garland?’”

Back in March, some 6,000 roses were ordered. Not only to make the garland, but also for use in the winning Jockey’s Bouquet (60 matching long-stemmed roses tied with ten yards of ribbon); the six large urns each filled with 300 ‘Charlotte’ roses in the Winners’ Circle at Churchill Downs; and, boutonnières for dignitaries in attendance. And then there are always some for backup.

“We want to make sure we have plenty,” says Carol.

For many years the ‘Royalty’ rose was used in the garland. A couple of years ago, the ‘Classy’ rose was chosen, because of its deep red color, petal shape, longevity, and the fact that it is a slow-opener.

Look for the Spring 2008 issue of flower on newsstands next month for the rest of the making of this famed rose garland.

Spring 2008 | By Lucy M. Pritchett | Photos By Joe May