The Rose Garden: Spring Classic
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections on May 23 2012, by Matt Newman
After last week’s press preview of Monet’s Garden, staff photographer Ivo and I took a short hike to see what we could of the rosarians’ handiwork. The mercury was climbing in lieu of an evaporating early morning chill. The tree shade, in turn, had the afternoon wavering in range of a decent spring temperature. We reached the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden a few minutes later.
Spring’s early arrival (in the middle of winter, no less) made an impression on the NYBG‘s roses, pushing them to bloom ahead of schedule and lining up their peak of color alongside the early days of the Monet exhibition. In fact, we’re hovering at around 90% bloom right now, making the Rose Garden a must-see stop over the coming weeks.
The fine geometry of the garden seems arbitrary at first, but you soon realize how carefully everything has been placed–just as the great landscape architect Beatrix Farrand intended. Airy perimeters of climbing roses encompass dense beds of Grandiflora, Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, and other sustainable cultivars. Bobbing in and about the blossoms are bumble bees, more accurate and methodical than their name suggests. The space is landmarked with concentric circle stonework at the corners and entrance, curving stairways, and a trellised gazebo at the center. Altogether a striking place to walk and reflect.
The blushing peach pinks and raucous reds are everywhere. So are the cultivar names–some fanciful, a few honorific, and a number caught somewhere between the non-sequiturs of the horse racing circuit and a spymaster’s code phrase. It’s the bent of a flower that has spent much of its popular life in the hands of tinkering caretakers, always aiming to create the next darling of the hobby.
Did I mention the fragrance? It’s not something to be put into words. Stay tuned as we head into the peak days of our Rose Garden, and maybe circle a date on your calendar to come see it for yourself. I suggest taking the Forest trails when you head back; the cool greens and browns are refreshing after the shouting colors of the roses.
