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Wilson
Rose Garden - Wilson, North Carolina
1800 Herring Ave
Wilson, NC.
(252) 399-2261
Visit Their Website
Or
Email
The Garden
Two additional links you may
find useful
Wilson Rose Garden on Help Me Find Roses
Wilson Rose Garden on Yahoo Travel
All photos courtesy of the Wilson
Rose Garden
Located in Eastern North
Carolina the Wilson Rose Garden was born from a
response by Rufus Swain in April 1992, to a public
request for citizen input to a "Master Plan for
Parks and Recreation" at a Town Meeting. The
idea was enthusiastically approved and Mr. Swain was
asked to chair the project. Under
his guidance the Garden was born.
Plants for the first
four beds were donated by Zelenka Nursery, a member
of AARS. The first 120 plants were planted in the
spring, 1995, followed by another 200 in 1996, 600
in 1997 and 100 in 1998. Since that time many
non-rose additions have been made to the garden
including a gazebo, benches, picnic tables,
wrought-iron arbors, seven trellises, a small pool,
and the main fountain. A 25 foot tall Whirligig by
local and internationally recognized folk artist,
Vollis Simpson.
 The
Rose Garden Board has continued to incorporate
original art into the garden in the tradition of
Grand Gardens & Parks. Another example besides
the Whirligig Fountain is 10 foot tall Georgia
marble fountain sculpture by internationally known
sculptor Horace Farlowe. Too many rose gardens
contain only roses and to me this is a shame.
Gardens should be alive and and the Wilson Garden is
a wonderful example of a Rose Garden that is lovely
and useful on many levels.
A festival, "Sunday in
the Rose Garden," is held each year on the third
Sunday afternoon in May. Activities include music,
art contests for youth and
adult artists, refreshments, garden tours, May pole
dances, etc.
The Garden currently
contains over 1200 rose plants consisting of 180
different varieties, ranging from old garden to
modern hybrids. Types include Old Garden Roses,
English Roses (David Austin roses), hybrid teas,
floribundas, grandifloras, climbing roses,
miniatures and shrub roses. They continue to
add new roses in an effort to show the Rose in all
it's diverse forms.
Public Rose Gardens are
perhaps the best bridge between rose lovers and the
general public. As more gardens like the
Wilson Rose Garden are created in the
 United
States hopefully that same public will begin to
realize roses are not only beautiful but also quite
easy to grow.
The diversity of the
roses grown here also make it in invaluable
reference for rose growers in the eastern part of
the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic States.
Hopefully someone visiting the garden will see a
rose they like, buy it, plant it in their yard and
begin to enjoy roses
If you find yourself in
their part of the Country make a visit to the Wilson
Rose Garden. Their website contains additional
information on where to stay, eat and other
attractions in the area.
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