There are many examples throughout the US of rose societies growing and maintaining roses, simultaneously beautifying their communities while offering educational opportunities to the public on pest and disease identification and management, fertilizing, watering, pruning, and dead heading roses, and more. It also serves to preserve rose varieties; many gardens maintained by rose societies have rare and old varieties of roses at risk of extinction.
ARS Consulting Rosarian Nate Fisher designed a garden with 672 roses and 576 bulbs, annuals, and perennials in a 60′ x 120′ rectangular footprint, surrounded by a fence covered in climbing roses and clematis. A gazebo is at the center of the design with four arbors -one at the center of each side of the rectangle – and benches placed throughout the garden.
The site for this garden is at the center of Hopewell Park in Center Valley, PA, adjacent to the pavilion and near a parking lot and restrooms – an ideal spot sure to make it the “crown jewel” of the park.
The rose garden will be paid for (through fundraising), planted, and maintained by Lehigh Valley Rose Society as a gift to the community. This garden will not only benefit the community with beautiful sights and fragrant scents, but also serve as an educational site, a place for the public to learn about caring for roses from members of LVRS with demonstrations on disease and pest identification and management, fertilizing, watering, pruning, deadheading, planting roses, companion planting, and more.