Her last name may be Rose, but Goleta’s Lauris Hawkins Rose has spent most of her life devoted to a different flowering plant, so much so that she’s dubbed the “Orchid Queen” by her colleagues in the local orchid trade.
She is a mainstay and current president of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, running this Friday through Sunday at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, with associated evening events starting Thursday. It is the longest-running orchid show in the United States, celebrating its 78th year, and features elaborate orchid displays, workshops, shopping and more. For tickets and details, visit sborchidshow.com.
A self-proclaimed “farmer,” Rose overflows with the energy of a woman a third her age. Plain spoken and assertive, she quickly rattled off a concise history of orchids, the major local players past and present, and Latin names of orchid varieties, all peppered with fascinating sidebars…