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Valentine’s Day

                  Petals for Pets

Susie Hubbard, whose Tehachapi award-winning rose garden has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset Magazine and many other publications, is down-sizing her rose garden and is generously donating 67 bare root roses to S.T.O.P., aka ‘Save Tehachapi’s Orphaned Pets’ for their first fundraiser happening this Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 16.

Susie believes that roses don’t need pampering. “The idea that roses are fussy and difficult is just the opposite of my experience,” says Susie. “I don’t spray them. I fertilize them. Roses for the garden are a pleasure. They don’t have to be perfect.”

Among the 67 roses are hybrid teas, shrub roses, hybrid perpetuals and miniature roses. Susie chose her roses for several reasons: their long growing season, their resistance to disease (she doesn’t use chemical sprays), and for the number of blooms they produce.

S.T.O.P. is a new nonprofit organization devoted to rescuing, fostering and adopting out Tehachapi’s orphaned, abandoned and homeless pets. The group’s short term goal is to develop a network of foster homes in which to keep animals until their owners can be found or they can be adopted. Their long term goal is to build and staff a permanent facility here in Tehachapi.

Elaine Palance has volunteered to be the celebrity spokeswoman for the new organization and Oscar the rescued Yorkie will be the spokesdog.

A list of rose names, descriptions, history, ratings, prices and pictures of Susie’s garden are available for viewing at www.oscargoescamping.com. Click on ‘Petals for Pets’. After making your rose selection, stop by Radio Shack at 20346 Valley Blvd. and reserve your roses with cash or checks made out to Save Tehachapi’s Orphaned Pets. Orders can not be taken over the phone. Purchases can be picked up in front of the Radio Shack on Saturday, Feb. 16 between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Susie Hubbard will be on hand for planting tips.

Until one has loved an animal, part of one's soul remains unawakened. - Anatole France