Roses Rebound in the Garden
By MSV Director of Gardens Perry Mathewes
This summer, everything is coming up roses in our new Rose Garden.
Lee Taylor loved roses. He loved them so much, he actually had 3 different rose gardens. With time,
two of the spaces were overshadowed by trees and shrubs, creating less than ideal conditions for rose cultivation. The roses in the last garden were so crowded, they desperately needed more space to grow. It was time to make a change. Last spring and summer we extended the garden 95 feet to the west, adding more planting beds and an arbor. We installed a wider, more accessible brick walk and drip irrigation. We then transplanted the roses into this new space and added even more plants. However, by the time the infrastructure was completed, we were planting in July. Not the best time for roses to make a move. To repay this ill treatment, most of the roses just sat there for the rest of the summer, not growing very much and not blooming. A few rewarded us with a sporadic blossom every now and then, hinting at the possibilities to come, but for the most part they just sat there. Our brand new rose garden was not too exciting in its first year.
This summer has been a different story. In early June, the first flowers began to pop open. Then a few more. And more. Just like when it begins to rain, with a slow plop, plop gradually picking up speed before the sky opens up, the sporadic flashes of color soon gave way to a torrent of flowers in bloom. After that first burst of bloom, the garden has now calmed down to a slower but steady stream of new flowers. 
The forecast is sunny or cloudy with a good chance of roses for the rest of the summer into the fall.
Many of Lee’s favorites are still found here – hybrid teas like Mr. Lincoln and grandifloras like Queen Elizabeth. We have added more hybrid teas and grandifloras, but also floribundas, climbing roses and many old garden roses such as bourbon and hybrid musk roses. And for you Downton Abbey fans, we have even acquired some of the new Downton Abbey series of roses: Anna’s Promise, Violet’s Pride, and Edith’s Darling. There are red, pink, white, yellow and purple roses. We have several bi-color roses and they are all mixed together, creating a tapestry of color.
So come on out and enjoy a nice afternoon amongst. You really should stop and take time to smell a few of them.
Join Perry Mathewes for the next FREE Garden Walkabout on Wednesday, July 6 at 10 a.m. and see what’s blooming in the MSV’s seven-acre Glen Burnie Gardens. Get more info here.
Top row: Hybrid Tea Rose Good as Gold, Grandiflora Rose Anna’s Promise, Floribunda Rose Ebb Tide. Top Inset: Polyantha Rose Caldwell Pink. Middle row: Floribunda Rose Ketchup and Mustard, Grandiflora Rose Queen Elizabeth, Grandiflora Rose Twilight Zone. Bottom inset: Hybrid Musk Rose Ballerina. Bottom: Rose Garden. Photos by Director of Gardens Perry Matthewes.
Previous Posts
1/7/16 Making the Allee Grand Again
Blogs from 2015
11/24/15 Gardening in November