The Rose Garden
Upon entering the park, you pass by the historic nursery Display Garden (1934), now filled with over 400 roses and other flowering trees and shrubs. From 1934 to 1970, the garden enchanted visitors. Thousands of flowering bulbs filled the beds for the annual spring shows. During the rest of the year, the beds held the roses, shrubs, and trees that filled the pages of the catalogs.
Today, the display garden holds historic roses and blooming shrubs and trees, some of which were planted when the nursery was still in business.
The Roses in the Display Garden
The interactive map below will eventually identify all the roses that are now in the garden. It does not now. We need help.
Look for a number/letter (like 1B) painted on a brick at the ends of a bed. You can click on a bed on the map below using that number/letter and find out which roses are in the bed. Start on the bottom left of the bed and work your way around clockwise or from left to right.
The Rose Naming Project
The Rose Naming Project was officially started April 19th, 2017, with the Facebook posting of the F.J. Grootendorst in Bed 3G. We started with Kate Lipman's rose lists from the initial 1990s installation. Many roses are still there and, of course, there are additions and substitutions over time. [more]
Many of our roses were planted in the 1990s by the Friends of Heirloom Flowers. But some of the roses in the garden may date from before that time, from the last days of the nursery.
Some of the roses that are currently in the rose garden were planted in the 1960s. They are all varieties that were sold at California Nursery (Bruce R. 2013). In the maps, there are roses that are "unknown" and those roses may be the roses planted in the 1960s. The Friends of Heirloom Flowers has scrapbooks with photos of the planting in 1990s and we can perhaps see which roses remained from those photos.
We've had help with the rose identification. Jill Perry looked at our old roses.
Karin P. took up the rose naming in May 2018. Tom Bonfigli spent hours with us finding names. And of course, the regular gardeners know some of them.
See what was planted in the 1990s on flickr
The Historic Roses in the Garden
The roses listed in the original 1990s planting include significant roses that were sold in the John Rock era catalogs and beyond. Here are some of them. If it says 'deceased' after the name, the rose is not in the garden any longer. We will be planting some of these again.
Stanwell Perpetual (catalog 1897-1898) (deceased, reintroduced, and re-deceased)
Joasine Hanet / Glendora, Damask (catalog 1894-1895)
Souvenir de la Malmaison (catalog (1894-1895)
Baronne Prevost (catalog 1897-1898) (deceased)
Hermosa (catalog 1897-1898) (deceased)
Cecile Brunner (catalog 1897-1898)
Banksiae (double white) (catalog 1897-1898) (on the water tower)
Perle d’Or (catalog 1897-1898) (deceased)
Belle Poitevine (catalog 1898) (deceased)
La Reine (catalog 1899) (deceased)
Rosa Mundi (catalog 1899) (deceased)
York and Lancaster (catalog 1899)
White Maman Cochet (catalog 1905) (deceased)
Red Maman Cochet (catalog 1905) which was later more famously known as the "Niles Cochet" having originated here at the nursery.
Our historic hedge is Ragged Robin or Gloire des Rosomanes (1905-1906) and perfumes the air when it is in full bloom.
Tom Liggett's rose nursery donated 50 roses to the Friends of Heirloom Flowers (FoHF) in January of 1996 and many of the climbers ended up at the California Nursery along the fences. Tom Liggett was involved with the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in Guadalupe Park which was established around the same time, 1995. Kate Lipman (FoHF) donated 50 old and special varieties. At one time, the count was 400 roses, not including the "Ragged Robin" hedge along the entrance drive.
Some roses came from Gregg Lowery.
Regan Nursery donated roses early on and has continued to do so over the years.
Historic Display Gardens 1939
Aerial photo from 1939 showing the distinctive formal display beds where our rose garden now sits.
Portion of 1939 Landscape plan courtesy of the Museum of Local History.
A Rose Show ca. 1940
Display Gardens during the Rose Show around 1940. The roses include 'Charlotte Armstrong' which was introduced in 1940. This photo predates the original windmill that stood at the top of the bell-shaped curve. Today's windmill is placed at the center where a flowering tree once stood.
Labels can be seen for 'Charlotte Armstrong' (1940), 'Autumn' (1928), 'Glowing Sunset' (1933), 'Perfection' (?), and Majorca (Majorica?) (1938)
A flowering tree can be seen in the center right of the formal garden. The windmill is in this location today. This is probably beds 2E and 2D.
Almost the same location. The photo was taken in between rows 1B and 1C
Todo's
Future labeling project: Mt. Diablo Rose Society has created labels many years. They buy labels from here. They buy stakes from Seefine Flower Marker Co..
On the Lookout! Vintage AARS roses before 1970
This List is from Our Garden Gang. It may disappear without warning, so here are the names of the roses without their additional descriptions. It also may not be totally accurate. So check with Helpmefind to make sure.
Please help us find those AARS rose winners that were probably sold by the California Nursery. You can check the catalog list to be sure. The roses sold by the nursery often are in movies, in photos with models, or are on the covers of the catalogs. We want those so we can show off our history.
If a rose is in bold, we have it already. The asterisk denotes that it is difficult to find.
1970
First Prize
1969
Angel Face
Comanche
Gene Boerner
Pascali
1968
Europeana
Miss All-American Beauty
Scarlet Knight
1967
Bewitched
Gay Princess
Lucky Lady
Roman Holiday
1966
American Heritage
Apricot Nectar
Matterhorn
1965
Camelot
Mister Lincoln
1964
Granada - very fragrant
Saratoga
1963
Royal Highness
Tropicana
1962
Christian Dior
Golden Slippers
John S. Armstrong
King's Ransom
1961
Duet
Pink Parfait
1960
Fire King
Garden Party
Sarabande
1959
Ivory Fashion
Starfire - this is the Queen for a Day rose! We gotta get it!
1958
Fusilier
Gold Cup
White Knight
1957
Golden Showers
White Bouquet
1956
Circus - ailing
1955
Jiminy Cricket
Queen Elizabeth - we have lots
1954
Lilibet* - cover rose
Mojave
1953
Chrysler Imperial - cover rose
Ma Perkins
1952
Fred Howard* - a famous rose grower
Helen Traubel - cover rose
Vogue
1951
None
1950
Capistrano
Fashion
Mission Bells*
Sutters Gold - waiting to be planted
1949
Forty-Niner
Tallyho*
1948
Diamond Jubilee
High Noon
Nocturne
Pinkie
San Fernando*
Taffeta
1947
Rubaiyat
1946
Peace
1945
Floradora
Horace McFarland* - well known rosarian
Mirandy
1944
Fred Edmunds
Katherine T. Marshall
Lowell Thomas
Mme. Chaing Kai-shek * - San Jose Heritage has this rose
Mme. Marie Curie*
1943
Grand Duchesse* Charlotte
Mary Margaret McBride
1942
Heart's Desire
1941
Apricot Queen*
California*
Charlotte Armstrong - want this because we have its picture in the show gardens.
1940
Dickson's Red
Flash*
The Chief*
World's Fair
For reference only - the newer AARS roses. Please focus on those before and including 1970 in the list above.
This List is from Our Garden Gang. It may disappear without warning, so here are the names of the roses without their additional descriptions.
The roses that we have in the garden are in bold.
2002
Love and Peace
Starry Night
2001
Marmalade Skies
Glowing Peace
Sun Sprinkles
2000
Knock Out
Crimson Bouquet
Gemini
Betty Boop
1999
Fourth of July - waiting to be planted
Candelabra
Kaleidoscope
1998
Fame!
Sunset Celebration
First Light
Opening Night
1993
Solitude
Sweet Inspiration
Child's Play
Rio Samba
1992
All That Jazz
Pride 'n' Joy
Brigadoon
1991
Shining Hour
Sheer Elegance
Perfect Moment
Carefree Wonder - ailing, so if you can find this, please buy it
1990
Pleasure
1989
Class Act
Debut
New Beginning
Tournament of Roses
1988
Amber Queen
Mikado
Prima Donna
1987
Bonica
New Year
Sheer Bliss
1986
Broadway
Touch of Class
Voodoo
1985
Showbiz
1984
Impatient
Intrigue
Olympiad
1983
Sun Flare
Sweet Surrender
1982
Brandy
French Lace
Mon Cheri
Shreveport
1981
Bing Crosby
Marina
White Lightnin'
1980
Love
Honor
Cherish
1979
Friendship
Paradise
Sundowner
1978
Charisma
Color Magic
1977
Double Delight
First Edition
Prominent
1976
America
Cathedral
Seashell
Yankee Doodle
1975
Arizona
Oregold
Rose Parade
1974
Bahia
Bonbon
Perfume Delight - ailing tree rose
1973
Electron
Gypsy
Medallion - ailing AARS rescue
1972
Apollo - possibly one of our yellow AARS rescue roses.
Portrait
1971
Aquarius
Command Performance
Redgold