< Previous70 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 (Left to right from top) Roses come in every form and shade. There are more than 100 species of roses and thousands of hybrids worldwide, including Artistry, Knockout, Reve d’Or, Baron Girod de L’Ain, Rise Up Amberness, Duchesse de Brabant, Livin’ Easy, Oso Easy, Mt. Hood, Marmalade Skies, Tournament of Roses and Cramoisi Superieur. PHOTOS: COurTeSY HerMAN Auer COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 71 GARDEN VARIETY LOVE IS A ROSE How to care for and grow these fragrant symbols of adoration story by BARBARA CANETTI A rose is the classic floral declaration of love. So, it’s no surprise red roses are among the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts. But how did Valentine’s Day come to be? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred, according to history.com. “One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome,” according to history.com. “When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.” Valentine then became the martyr of love. But other historians say Valentine might have been a prisoner who developed a reputa- tion for giving very good advice on love. He eventually fell in love himself, performed a miracle, and left his love a note — the first valentine — before he was executed. But it wasn’t until the 14th century, and a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer that depicted St. Valentine’s Day as a romantic day, that King Henry VIII declared it a holiday in 1537. The rose has been associated with this day because the flower is a symbol of love. But not just red roses: white means purity and innocence; pink depicts sweetness; pale pink means happiness and joy; and ivory represents Larry Janzen, owner of Galveston Flower Co., holds Freedom roses in his shop. Red roses are a time-honored way to tell someone “I love you.” Caring for cut roses is easy, Janzen said. With a little effort, the flowers can last several days. PHOTO: b A rb A r A CAN e TTI72 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 GARDEN VARIETY thoughtfulness and caring. Yellow roses send a mixed message. In Victorian times, yellow roses signified jealousy. But in more recent times, they’re a sign of affection and friendship. The number of roses given as gifts also is significant: One rose means love at first sight. Two symbolizes a couple. Five means “I love you.” Nine means eternal love. Ten represents perfect love. And a dozen is a propos- al. More than 100, well that’s devotion and signifies money is no object. “History has claimed this flower as the most beautiful in the world,” Larry Janzen, owner of Galveston Flower Co., said. “I have been in this business most of my life and I don’t see that changing.” Caring for cut roses is easy, and with a little effort, the flowers could last several days, Janzen said. “Keep them in the water and change the water periodically,” he said. Never place the vase in a window or in direct sunlight or under a fan, he said. Keep the climate controlled and the flowers will continue to look fresh. Using the chemicals from the little packet typically provided by florists also adds life to the bouquet, he said. Many flower food packets contain mostly sugar, a little citric acid and a tiny bit of bleach. The citric acid balances the pH level of the water, which means flowers will be able to drink faster, which reduces wilting. If you grow your own roses, Feb. 14 is a good date to start tending to them. Mid-February or after the last frost of the season is the time to cut back on plants, said John Jons, a master rosarian and a Galveston County Master Gardener. “Better advice is to prune roses after we are finished with freezing tempera- tures, usually late February,” Jons said. “The reason being is that pruning a rose will trigger the plant to produce new growth that will be susceptible to freezing temperatures.” How to prune depends on the de- sired shape and style of the landscape, he said. “A simple answer is to remove the dead, diseased and dinky growth and open up the plant to improve air circulation and sun exposure while creating an attractive shape,” he said. Roses generally are pruned by cutting about one quarter above an outward facing bud at a 45-degree angle, which forces the new growth up and out from the center of the plant, Jons said. The Gulf Coast is a challenging place to grow roses because all the condi- tions that produce multiple rose-related diseases are present, plus a host of insects here love to eat roses, he said. “And we have extreme heat that re- sults in the roses needing some form of regular irrigation,” he said. “This is why I recommend that if you want to grow roses in our area, you should purpose- fully select low-maintenance and some- what disease-resistant rose cultivars that have been proven to grow well in our area, and plant them in raised beds.” Jons personally likes Belinda’s Dream and Cècile Brünner, he said. Anyone who wants to learn how to grow really beautiful, large and stun- ning show-winning roses, should join the Houston Rose Society, he said. COAST FIL e PHOTO Master rosarian John Jons with a rose he grew in his backyard in Houston. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 73 PHOTO: CO ur T e SY H er MAN A uer The Belinda’s Dream rose was bred in Texas to withstand hot tempera- tures and is disease-resistant. It was developed by Robert Basye, a professor at Texas A&M University.74 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 HOOKED FRESH THINKING When the coast makes you shiver, chase white bass up a river story and photos by CAPT. NATE SKINNER I t’s always nice to step out of the box, en- joy a change of scenery and do something different. When it comes to fishing on the upper coast, February represents the per- fect time to do just that. That’s not to say there aren’t phenom- enal angling opportunities along our home waters this month. The second month of the year can afford some incredible catches when the conditions are right. But February also can produce some of the most frigid weather, along with gusty winds from various directions. The volatile weather this time of the year in Texas can make fishing our estuaries difficult, but there’s an option for scratching that itch to set the hook on an aggressive strike — white bass. If you’ve never fished the annual white bass run that takes place during the early spring across our state’s rivers, creeks and tributaries, then you’ll definitely want to change that. The migration of these fish upstream during their spawning season causes them to concentrate in certain areas. It can produce some of the most fun you can have on the water with your friends and family, and is responsible for some of my fondest fish- ing memories. The best part about the white bass run is it often results in some of the fastest rod-bending action many anglers have ever experienced. It can be like catching fish in a barrel. White bass, often referred to as sand bass, are early spring spawners. They begin to get the urge to procreate once water temperatures surpass 50 degrees. As this occurs during the early spring, the fish, which spend the majority of the year roaming in schools across our state’s (Above) White bass will hit a variety of lures, include crankbaits like the Bill Lewis SB-57. (Opposite) The white bass run can produce some of the best rod-bending excitement that you’ve ever experienced. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 7576 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 HOOKED reservoirs, begin to migrate into the rivers and creeks that feed those reservoirs, and swim upstream. The smaller males tend to begin their run upstream first, and the larger females follow. They will school up in pools, eddies and along the edges of sandbars, and catching them once you find them is pretty simple. I’ve been taking advantage of the white bass run since I was in college. Growing up on the coast, I thought “freshwater was for drinking, saltwater for fishing.” When my buddy Ryan Welch introduced me to chasing sand bass during their spawning season about 15 years ago, it changed my mind. Fishing for white bass this time of year is an absolute blast. Last spring, I had one of the best trips that I’ve taken during the white bass run in a long time. Welch and I met up with his brother, Aaron Welch, and another one of our compadres, Joe Link, and targeted sand bass in East Texas for two days. The catching was nonstop and the memories made were about as abundant as they come. The first day we fished on the Sabine River. We launched Welch’s boat near Logansport, Louisiana, at the border on the Lone Star State side of the river and ran upstream. We found plenty of fish stacked up along the edges of points and sandbars along bends and turns in the river. The biggest concentration was schooled up in a small creek among the trunks of many flooded cypress trees. We could barely turn the boat around because the creek was so narrow, but the fish were so thick you could almost walk across the water on them. The Sabine River is fairly large, and could be efficiently fished with a bay boat such as many of us use along the upper coast. The same could not be said about the Angelina River, which is where we spent the second day of our trip. Following the success we experienced on the Sabine, we decided to try something dif- ferent, and chased white bass on a branch of the Angelina River outside of Nacogdoches. The scene was much different. Flooded buck brush lined the edges of the tributary. It was definitely the type of scenario where an alu- minum boat gave us an advantage. Almost all the white bass that we caught were found upstream of where we launched, along the mouths of narrow creeks. Throughout our trip, Road Runners, small jigs, spoons and Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps and SB-57 Crankbaits enticed strikes from the sand bass. Filling the cooler with fresh fillets came easy, and the antics and adventures were second to none. Just about every major river, creek or tributary that feeds Texas reservoirs receives a strong influx of white bass during their spawning season. I would highly encourage you to take advantage of this naturally occur- ring phenomenon that results in loads of fun. White bass are aggressive and put up a sporting fight on light tackle. Their table fare is excellent, especially when they’re cooked fresh, and it isn’t uncommon to catch good numbers of them in the 2- to 3-pound range. Now is as good of a time as ever to try something different. Take a break from trying to find the perfect weather window to fish along the coast, and take advantage of the sand bass frenzy that awaits you. You won’t regret it. Aaron Welch shows off a quality sized sand bass he caught on the Angelina River outside of Nacogdoches. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 77 DidYouKnow? 100%ofallindividualandemployeegiving campaigndonationsaredistributedbackinto thecommunitythroughourpartneragencies. www.uwgcm.org|409-948-4211 0%ofyourinvestmentinUnitedWayGalveston CountyMainlandwillbeusedforoperating, supportingorfundraisingexpenses. WhatDoesThisMean? UWGCMoverheadexpensesarefunded solelybyproceedsfromspecialevents. YOU WANT YOUR INBOX THE NEWS DELIVERED TO scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit galvnews.com/ newsletters78 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 Guests in Victorian dress attended the Dickens Soirée on Dec. 2 at the 1892 bishop’s Palace in Galveston. The special event, held in conjunction with the 49th annual Dickens on the Strand festival, featured award-winning performers, a carefully curated food and drink menu and appearance by descendants of Charles Dickens. Photos by Carla Peoples DICKENS SOIREE PARTY PICS PICTURED: 1. Oliver Dickens, Polly Olivia Boyd, T. Stacy Hicks, Lucinda Dickens Hawkesly and Jean Dickens Monk. 2. Clay Cook, Melissa Williams, Morgan Williams and Garrett Williams. 3. Katherine Schroeder, Mitchell Stokan, Oliver and Kathleen Thompson. 4. Candy and Charlie Reynolds. 5. Chris and Mara Goeschel. 6. Michelle Hem with Patrick and Lauren McNerney. 7. Debra Owen, Rachel Brady and Nicki Upright. 8. Taavi Mark and Rachel Brownhill. 9. Glen and Wanda Prewett. 12 3 4 5 67 8 9 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 79 2115 Strand | Open Daily 409.762.7400 Strand Brass for your Beads! FOUNDATION & CONSTRUCTION Specializing in all types of foundation & structural repairs • slabs • pier & beam • Historical homes • beach front homes • all masonry repairs • piling install • carpentry CALL TODAY TO GET A QUOTE 409-655-0505 “Five Star Foundation lives up to its name... Five stars from start to finish!” +PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY +AERIAL/DRONE IMAGERY +STAGING CONSULTATION +MARKET VALUATION Find Your Galveston LIST WITH THE BEST! 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