Yeah, I know. You read the title and you immediately thought of Andy Williams singing that song and Christmas. I get it.

But around here, make no mistake about it the most wonderful time of the year is this time of the year — in other words, the annual chance for us to show off a little bit called the Rose Festival.

When Thomasville roses start to bloom in late April every year the town literally bristles with life. There is so much going on around here this week you are flat just making a mistake if you sit there on your La-Z-Boy and miss out on it.

In other words, don’t let it pass by and have a case of Rose Show Regret — meaning you find out about something you wish you had done after the fact.

I look around and I guess I’m rapidly becoming one of the old-timers, still remembering well when the Rose Parade was held on Friday mornings and all the kids got the day out of school. 

I’ve been asked many times why that can be done any more, and the explanation is actually pretty simple: the state tightened up attendance regulations for schools, and it just wasn’t feasible to lose a whole day of school anymore. 

But — it sure was fun to be a part of that while that lasted, wasn’t it?

Let me just say publicly that I’m just thankful someone inside the city of Thomasville has success growing the accursed thorny beauties better than I do. I swear, I’ve probably bought 100 rose bushes over the course of my life and somehow or another I’ve succeeded in killing every single one of them (outside of a couple of Cherokee roses I transplanted some years ago that dang near took over my front yard — I call them “kudzu roses”). 

Over the years I’ve had many of my fair Garden Club ladies offering me “rose advice” to try to help me, with such notable insights as “roses don’t like wet feet.” It took me years to figure out exactly what that meant. Even though I’ve tried to follow their words of wisdom, it just doesn’t work for me — or the plants.

Roses are moody, cantankerous, beautiful plants. Although I dare say more Southern belles here have the Midas touch with them, there are a few men who excel at growing them. None, however, are more legendary in rose growing circles than Paul Hjort. 

When I was probably no more than 15 years old, I’ll never forget trying to corner Mr. Hjort to try to find out what I was doing that was killing every rose I tried to grow. After asking the usual questions (where is it planted/how much sun does it get/how wet is the soil/etc), with as cool a poker face as I’ve ever seen, he looked me straight in the eye and said “try feeding them a banana and let them listen to Beethoven.”

I’ve never forgotten it. Of course, I just knew he was kidding. So a few months back, just out of curiosity, I did an internet search for rose growing tips. With God as my witness, the following came up on a page together almost immediately: 

Bananas: A dose of phosphorus promotes flowering. Many rose lovers count on banana peels to provide a bit of phosphorus to plants, using two to three skins weekly per rose plant.

Beethoven: Some gardeners swear that music grows better plants — classical, country or rock ‘n’ roll. The idea is that plants grow in response to the vibrations that comprise musical tones.

I nearly fell out of my chair. 

Now I don’t know if the person who wrote this advice was writing from their own experiences or they had Mr. Hjort tell them the same thing he told me lo those many years ago, but there it was on the internet — which means it pretty much has to be true, right? 

Whether you have a green thumb or not, there is something for everyone around here this week. From the Rosebud Parade featuring the kids on Thursday, to the Rose Parade on Friday evening followed by the street dance, or the house tours (including the Lapham-Patterson House), the museums, art exhibits, the car and truck show, Art & Bark in the Park, the list goes on and on, up to and including several fantastic performances of Thomasville On Stage & Company’s production of “The Secret Garden” (very well done and so appropriate). 

Needless to say, even though it has evolved over the years, the storied and proud tradition of the Rose Festival here is still rich and growing, just like our roses. 

And yes, through it all, all of those wonderful roses are the centerpiece. Have you been by the Rose Garden by Cherokee Lake, where over 600 plants are full of flowers (again, quite clearly not under my care … but I wonder if the city workers feed them banana pudding and sing to them?).

Heck, if nothing else just get out and ride around town. If you can find a prettier city than Thomasville when it’s all dressed up for Rose Festival, I’d like to know where it is so I can see it for myself.

The 96th edition of the festival officially started last weekend and will roll right along until the end of this weekend. Get out there and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year for the official rose city for the state of Georgia.