Let the Hunt Begin

I would have made an awesome cavewoman, having two things going for me: a genetic predisposition for longevity and amazing hunting and gathering ability.

I’ve long equated shopping with hunting and gathering. I search. I find. I buy. I survive. This has been going on a long time. That mom who managed to find the hottest toy for Christmas? That was me. Cabbage Patch Kids were probably the most challenging. I nailed that.

For years, my sister and I made a December 26 trek to Disneyland. This visit was not for children nor the faint of heart. Back in the day, they had an astounding after-Christmas sale. People would literally wheel flatbed carts filled with Disneyana out the gate at closing time. We were more discerning, but we were among the most obnoxious of shoppers.

Knowing exactly what stores carried holiday merch, we hit them early. One year, we both found four pieces we coveted: Goofy, Minnie, Mickey and Donald adorned with Christmas items. It quickly became a challenge to find two of each. We even crawled on the floor under tables searching for boxes; true hunter-gatherers ensuring survival.

My husband Carl and I recently set out for the Huntington Gardens—our first little adventure of 2020. We planned to have a nice lunch and head for a talk about the Huntington 100 rose. Let me explain. The gardens turned 100 in 2019 and spent 10 years developing a rose to honor the anniversary. I’d seen pictures and was intrigued by the idea of the rose. They’re sold on the most limited basis and if found, the price tag is prohibitive. When we went to tea at the gardens in November, I paused to smell a stunning yellow and orchid rose and was blown away by the strong, fruity scent. The sign beneath the bush identified it as a Huntington 100. My hunter-gatherer instincts kicked in. A bareroot rose sale was scheduled after the talk.

I did a little recon on our way into Rothenberg Hall. Chatting up a volunteer, I discovered there were 199 Huntington 100s for sale. Buckets were filled with other varieties, but I imagined most people attended for the same reason we did—the illusive 100. When over 300 people filled the hall and we were informed shoppers could buy up to 5 Huntington 100s, math was not in our favor.

The talk about rose breeding was fascinating. I was astonished by a slide showing a bed of roses developed from the same parents. They were as diverse and unique as children in any family. The parents of the 100 were selected to ensure four traits: a climbing rose with large blossoms, multi-colored flowers and strong scent. When I thought the 100 was a climber, I was ready to abandon my quest. Turned out it only has two of the traits: strong scent and multi-color. Perfect. Then the speaker, Tom Carruth who hybridized the 100, proceeded to give a brief summary of every rose in their catalog. I was surprised we already had some of those roses in our garden and was attracted to several he described.

It was the hunter-gatherer who asked Carl to leave early. Since he was only there at my behest, we snuck outside. I headed for the cashier to inquire if they would sell me one rose since we had traveled some distance and needed to leave. Nope. They couldn’t sell roses until the talk was over, which was only fair. Hey, I tried. But we managed to get in line early.

As we waited to pay, I grabbed a second, interesting, brand-new variety—Queen of Elegance, bred from the Huntington 100. It’s pink-orange with a strong, classic rose scent. I can hardly wait until our new roses pop out!