In the Garden

From the press folks at the NY Botanical Garden:

“Sustainable Rose Garden to Receive Prestigious Award

World’s Foremost Rosarians Gather in Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on June 12
Roses in Flower Through Fall

(TJN file photos)

In 2008 Peter Kukielski, Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden Curator at The New York Botanical Garden, set out, full steam ahead, to lead a mission of increased disease-resistance and decreased chemical dependence in what has long been lauded as one of the most beautiful rose gardens in America. Now, just two years later and in time for an anticipated two-week early glorious peak bloom and Resplendent Roses, the Botanical Garden’s annual five-month-long showcase of America’s national flower, Kukielski can proudly proclaim, “Mission accomplished!” The Rockefeller Rose Garden has been transformed into one of the most sustainable public gardens in the world.

The Great Rosarians of the World (GROW) will acknowledge this tremendous accomplishment on June 11, by bestowing its 2010 GROW Rose Garden Hall of Fame Award, to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, the only American garden to be so honored. In announcing the selection, GROW officials noted, “Through the vision of Curator Peter Kukielski, the Rose Garden has undergone a tremendous renovation and transformation. The Great Rosarians Award recognizes the significance of this renovation, which has resulted in creating a sustainable public garden, representing an outstanding collection of roses that provides the public the necessary knowledge to choose roses that can be grown without harming the environment.”

Following the Hall of Fame Award presentation, the Great Rosarians of the WorldTM will convene the East Coast session of its Lecture Series at the Botanical Garden on June 12. Kukielski will be a featured speaker, along with co-GROW honoree, author and world-renowned English rose hybridizer David Austin, and antique rose connoisseur and rose rustler Mike Shoup. The daylong program will address recent progress in the emerging world of no-spray, sustainable rose gardening and offer information on disease-resistant rose varieties currently available, as well as cutting-edge, environmentally friendly techniques to grow great roses. A post-lecture reception in the Rose Garden will offer attendees an opportunity to experience the Hall of Fame garden firsthand. To register or for more information, visit www.nybg.org/edu or call 718.817.8747.

“It’s time to move toward a disease-free environment,” Kukielski stated at the start of his mission. “It’s the wave of the future.” Yet the endeavor was often viewed as bittersweet for the entire team of gardeners. Roses have a reputation of being among the most chemically dependent flowers in existence. Nearly 1,400 high-maintenance rose plants had to be removed at the end of the 2008 flowering season, in order to lay the groundwork for achieving the ultimate goal of displaying predominantly low-maintenance roses in the garden, which is just over an acre in size.

That winter Kukielski contacted hybridizers from around the world requesting their opinions on what they would rate as the top disease-resistant roses they worked with for possible inclusion in the Rose Garden. The response was phenomenal, with the growers donating their hundreds of recommended plants—many of which are not yet available to the American market.

Today 3,659 rose plants in 607 varieties are thriving here—the greatest number of roses ever to be displayed in the Rose Garden, which was designed in 1916 and is the only surviving New York City garden designed by eminent landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand.

During the Rose Garden’s “environmental makeover,” the size and depth of the collections have been increased and the garden has been reorganized to educate visitors more effectively about the world of roses while immersing them in the beauty of roses. Increased interpretive signage, tip sheets, and multiple curator-narrated audio tour stops located throughout the garden inspire rose lovers with the knowledge that the rose can again be a great garden plant. Additionally, on weekends June 5–6 and June 12–13, Home Gardening Demonstrations will be held in the Rose Garden providing basic rose care how-to.

For those seeking to learn how they might introduce roses in their garden or transition to more environmentally friendly plants at home, Peter Kukielski, who is also an instructor in the Botanical Garden’s Adult Education program, will lecture and teach courses on several dates in June at both The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and its new Midtown Education Center at 20 West 44th Street in Manhattan:

Going Green with Roses
Saturday, June 19, 1–5 p.m., NYBG

The Sustainable Rose Garden: Exploring 21st-Century Environmental Rose Gardening
Monday, June 21, 6–7 p.m., Manhattan

The Joy of Roses
Wednesday, June 30, 6–7 p.m., Manhattan

To register or for more information, call 718.817.8747 or visit www.nybg.org/edu

Audio Tour sponsored by Bloomberg

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   The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is easy to reach by Metro-North Railroad or subway. The Botanical Garden is open year-round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays. The best way to enjoy the Garden is with the All-Garden Pass, which includes admission to the grounds as well as to seasonal gardens, exhibitions, and attractions such as the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Rock Garden, and Tram Tour: $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students with ID, $8 for children ages 2–12, children under 2 are free. A Grounds-Only Pass is available: $6 for adults, $5 for adult Bronx Residents; $3 for seniors, $2 for students with ID, $1 for children ages 2–12, children under 2 are free. Grounds-only admission is free all day on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Discounts available for groups of 15 or more; contact Group Tours, 718.817.8687. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit nybg.org Read the Botanical Garden’s popular blog, Plant Talk: Inside The New York Botanical Garden

   The New York Botanical Garden is located on property owned in full by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. A portion of the Garden’s general operating funds is provided by The New York City Council and The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Bronx Borough President and Bronx elected representatives in the City Council and State Legislature provide leadership funding.

    
    
    
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