In the media ‘Mel Bee’ wins the Rivierenhof Rose Award

Roses from the rose garden in Rivierenhof are the big winners

On Sunday, June 11 during the annual Rose Festival, the winners of the Rivierenhof Rose Award were honored in the Rose Garden of the Rivierenhof Provincial Green Estate. The rose ‘Mel Bee’ won the Rivierenhof Rose Award.

The rose 'Mel Bee' of ILVO Flanders from Belgium won gold. Silver went to a rose from Germany: 'Summer of Love' of Kordes Rosen. Kordes Rosen also cashed in a bronze for the rose 'Alexander von Humboldt'. Those roses scored best at the two judging sites during the entire judging period from 2020 to 2022. The winning growers received a certificate and a gift basket with regional products from the province of Antwerp.

In 2019, the Rivierenhof Provincial Green Estate started organizing the Rivierenhof Rose Award. Delegate for recreation and green spaces Mireille Colson: "The aim of the award is to choose the rose that is most suitable for use in public green spaces. These are healthy, sustainable and low-maintenance roses that can be planted without problems in public green spaces and that benefit biodiversity. This is also in line with the ISO-14001 quality labels, the Green Flag Award and the SDG goals that the park promotes."

Leen Leus of the Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Research (ILVO): "The name gives it away, but the Mel Bee is an insect-friendly rose from Melle. This is not the first award for Mel Bee. Just last year she won the Concours international de roses nouvelles Bagatelle in Paris."

Thomas Proll says: "Both the Summer of Love and the Alexander von Humboldt come from the Nectar Garden collection because they are very insect-friendly. They also previously attend awards, including at the German ADR trial. The Rivierenhof Rose Award is a confirmation for the previous awards."

For this project, the Research Center for Ornamental Horticulture (PCS) in Destelbergen and the Rivierenhof Provincial Green Estate in Deurne, Antwerp, are working together. In 2020, both locations planted 12 participating roses. Five different participants from Belgium and Germany participated in the first round of judging. Participating roses in all shapes and colors, ground cover, bedding and shrub, climbing roses, all submitted from the angle: use in public greenery. The first judging took place in 2021 and the second in 2022. Now, after the judging period of two years, in 2023, the first gold, silver and bronze medals have been awarded.

The jury consists of 20 judges, both professionals and enthusiasts. They look at various parameters such as plant health, flowering, vigor and vitality, among others. At four different times during the summer months of 2021 and 2022, the jury members judged the different varieties in the Provincial Green Estate Rivierenhof and at the Research Center for Ornamental Horticulture (PCS) in Destelbergen. The participating roses are planted in two locations because different soil and microclimate produce different results.

Audience favorite from the Rivierenhof rose garden

"Park visitors can also choose their favorite rose from the Rose Garden" says Peter Verdyck, director of the Rivierenhof Provincial Green Estate. "Everyone can vote for the 'Public Favorite Rose Garden Rivierenhof' until September 17. We value the opinion of our visitors. With the public award, they also get the chance to choose their favorite rose from the Rose Garden." Voting can be done through the website www.provincieantwerpen.be. In addition, each participant has a chance to win a voucher for breakfast at Rivierenhof Castle worth 30 euros.

More about the Mel Bee (BEST-select)