Thursday, June 17, 2010

Pink Roses in the Cranford Rose Garden


I visited The Cranford Rose Garden division of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last weekend, and as you can see by the photo collage above there were a plethora of pink roses in bloom, one more exquisite than the other! 

In 1927, Walter V. Cranford, a construction engineer whose firm built many of Brooklyn's subway tunnels, donated $15,000 to BBG for a rose garden. Many of the original plants are still in the garden today.

The Cranford Rose Garden has one of the largest collection of rose cultivars in North America. It contains over 5,000 bushes of nearly 1,400 varieties, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, hybrid perpetuals, climbers, ramblers, and miniatures.

"A profusion of pink roses bending ragged in the rain speaks to me of all gentleness and its enduring." ~William Carlos Williams

The Rose Arc Pool

Unfortunately in 2009 a virus caused the demise of many of the cultivars in the southern end of the garden and led to a major renovation, remediation and restoration project. You can read about the problem in the placard below and the solution being used to re cultivate the soil and plans to replant the damaged areas.

(All photos will enlarge if clicked on once, and then again)
Thankfully the major portion of the rose beds were unaffected by the virus and are flourishing.

Roses, roses, sweet roses everywhere!

"The roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones;
they are for what they are;
they exist with God today.
There is no time to them.
There is simply the rose.
It is perfect in every moment of its existence."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Each rose plant is labeled with a name and the date it was introduced.

A young artist was in the garden the day I visited, completing her pink rose painting.

"There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted."   - Henri Matisse

A view of the Cranford Rose Garden from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Overlook area. 

"You love the roses--so do I. I wish the sky would rain down
roses, as they rain from off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white and soft to tread on.
They would fall as light as feathers, smelling sweet: and it would
be like sleeping and yet waking, all at once."
- George Eliot

I have visited the outstanding Brooklyn Botanic Garden many times before, and if you would like to see all the blog posts I've written about it previously you can click this link to scroll through all of them.


I'm linking this post to "Fridays Finding Beauty" event on Claudia's blog "Dippity Road" and "Pink Saturday" event on Beverly's blog "How Sweet The Sound."  Thank you Claudia and Beverly!  It is always so nice to join in on your blog events and I encourage everyone to visit your blogs to see the links to all the other blogs participating today and tomorrow.



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48 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow Pat..... I'd give my left arm (it's in good shape--ha) to see the Rose Gardens.... You know how much we (George especially) loves Roses. He grows Hybrid Tea and Grandaflora Roses --and we have 55 different varieties here at home. I'm featuring more of ours in my blog tomorrow.

Sorry to hear about the virus---and am glad that it only affected a portion of the gardens..

Thanks SO much for sharing the Rose Gardens with us.

Hugs,
Betsy

Sistertex said...

Totally gorgeous! Love the shot with the pond. I bet the scent in the air is just heavenly.

Viruses are nasty things, glad only part of the garden was affected.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

I've been waiting for this post. I love that rose garden and to see it again on your blog is a joy. Your photos are just fabulous.

dianasfaria.com said...

this looks like an amazing garden!
Thanks for sharing this Pat.

Splenderosa said...

I can only imagine what it's like to actually walk through these gardens. Thank you for the lovely tour. xx's

annie said...

Very lovely. Peaceful and sweet.

Joanne Kennedy said...

How beautiful! I couldn't pick out the one I liked the best. They were all so pretty. I bet it smelled like heaven there.

Hugs,
Joanne

http://jackieinsurrey.blogspot.co.uk/ said...

Hi Pat

What a beautiful rose garden. I was at RHS Wisley ( photo's soon on my blog) the other day in their rose garden where there are David Austin roses and Edna Harkness, which are the best British ones! The perfume was divine which I am sure it was for you too.

I think this is the best time of year in the gardens!

Have a great weekend, Jackie in UK.

Allie and Pattie said...

Another place on my list to visit when we can make an extended trip home! And, as always, I learn so much from my visits here. My grandma Josie's roses were her pride and joy- she would have LOVED this
xoxo Pattie

Catherine said...

Beautiful. I love old roses. They smell like a rose should smell. Nice post.

Old Kitty said...

Beautiful!!

My screen is alive with their sweet perfume! Really and truly.

This is such a lovely garden and thank you Mr Cranford for starting this all up at the BBG!

I'm glad that virus has been identified - it must have been horrifying to see these magnificent and OLD!! and original roses die off because of this disease.

It's brilliant that the roses are bouncing back. I hope they grow resilient to this virus in the future.

A really perfect fragrant post!! Thank you!
Take care
x

Claudia said...

Hi Pat... What a lovely adventure you took us along today.

I have to admit that roses have never been my favorite flower... but this garden is something to behold.

Nature is such a mystery sometimes and was so interesting to see how they are fixing the problem.

Thanks so much for joining with us. You always bring such beauty.

Have the best weekend.

Claudia

Joyce said...

How lovely and I wish my computer would allow me to smell those glorious roses. I am sorry to hear that there was so much virus in one particular area of the garden. When I lived in CA I was able to grow roses with ease because of the climate and the right amount of fog for moisture in San Francisco. I can only grow knock out roses now as it is so hot in my area of the south. Thanks for taking me along for a fun day out.

A Garden of Threads said...

What a wonderful place to visit, thank you for taking on the tour. Have a wonderful weekend and take care.

RoeH said...

Mmmmmm....I can almost smell them.

Ms. Bake-it said...

The Cranford Rose Garden is absolutely stunning! So sad that they lost some of their historic roses but I am glad that it only affected a portion of the garden. I can just imagine the scents of the garden are divine. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden appears to be extremely large and has so many different gardens. I will definitely add the BBG to my list of places to see.

Thank you for the tour!

~Tracy

Judy said...

How beautiful! Wish I could could a whiff as well.

I'm not a great rose gardener...and so I enjoy appreciate rose gardens elsewhere all the more. We've had a little too much rain for the roses this year.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

BreathTaking!
I would love to wander through those roses on a Friday afternoon.

Laura in Paris said...

How beautiful! I can even smell them!

Vee said...

Amazing rose garden. I've visited Boston's in the heat of summer and confess that I was eager to return to shadier spots with no bees. I'm perfectly thrilled to see these delightful photos, though, and that first mosaic was amazing!

Mary Lou said...

Pat, sometimes I look at a post and basically see the photos and scan the text. This time, I've read and taken in every word. I could almost smell the roses. I love the grandma one! Thank you for taking me with you to such a beautiful place today.

Sara said...

Thank you for sharing all those beautiful roses with us. I love roses - but, I certainly never had a green thumb for growing them...

The Quintessential Magpie said...

How exquisite, Pat! I hope Beverly has seen this!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Avalon's Garden and Mewsings of Garden Cottage Cats said...

Oh How Beautiful! Lucky you to have such a Stunning place to visit & take photoghaphs.
Your Mosaic is Beautiful ~
Enjoy your weekend ~

RNSANE said...

I love roses and your presentation is spectacular,Pat. This is the time of year I most love to vist Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, BC...their rose gardens are majestic.

When I was working at San Francisco General, there was a fabulous rose area, just outside our CASARC office that delighted me every summer. I always found it such a welcome respite after some of my most difficult child sexual abuse cases.

Unknown said...

So gorgeous! And what a great time of year to look at roses! I LOVE your blog! I love New York, and sure do miss living up there! Thank you for the virtual snapshots, I'm happy to be your newest follower, and will be back many times to visit! Cheers!

Carol said...

What a gorgeous post! The roses are stunning! You really get out and about, pat, and take such great advantages of what NY has to offer! Thanks for sharing it so beautifully on every post!

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

My goodness! They are all gorgeous! It must smell heavenly when the roses are all in bloom! Thank goodness the virus did not wipe them out.

Blessings & Aloha!
(Thank you so much for stopping by! :o)

Shirleyanne said...

What beautiful gardens Pat. Roses are such a lovely flower, particularly if they have a fragrance aswell. Loved your photo of the young artist, looks like shes doing a great job in capturing her subject aswell.
Also enjoyed your collection of quotes. Roses can be such a personal flower with the variety of names that they are given.
Also enjoyed your previous post with the pastry shop, a great idea with the photo menu cards. I felt I was putting on inches just by looking at all of the choices! But I'm sure I could have managed at least one of them! Enjoy your weekend!

GardenOfDaisies said...

The roses are beautiful!!! So sad about the virus that is affecting some of them. Hope they are eventually able to restore new disease free plants for all of them.
And to respond to your comment about the Presidential paper dolls... there are a large number of them and I suppose that most of are in undies or swimwear. (this is the only president doll that I own though.)

Anonymous said...

So very lovely--and I loved reading about the history of the garden as well. Thank you for sharing!
Happy Pink Saturday :)

Naturegirl said...

Pat what an post showcasing all these exqusite roses! "I wish the sky would rain down roses" what a delicious thought!As a gal who LoVes and posted roses..this post filled with beautiful roses spoke to my heart!
I was to Monet's garden in France and as you stand on his front porch looking out at
"the Clos Normand"..it is very similar looking to your last image!
Different planting but certainly many roses in front of the house!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Just dropping back by, Pat, to wish you a very Happy Pink Saturday!

XO,

Sheila :-)

suesueb said...

What a beautiful pink tour! Thanks so much for sharing all these pictures with us- I loved them. Happy pink week!!

Marina Capano said...

Happy pink saturday!
you have cute garden!

what a nice pink post!


xoxo

Debbiedoos said...

Hi Pat....that botanical garden is breathtaking. I have visited some nice gardens since living in the Carolinas.....you can see all the hard work and love put into it. That is a shame about the virus...but thankfully just a small part. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos with us:) I felt like I was there. Debbie

Trotter said...

Hi Pat! Gorgeous pinks, wonderful post!!

Blogtrotter Two has arrived in Sardinia, a true hidden gem in Mediterranean waters! Enjoy the views and have a great week ahead!!

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

Holy Toledo, Pat! That was some strikingly beautiful collection of photographs!!!!!

Lisa@GrandmasBriefs said...

That first shot of roses just GRABS ya! These photos are beautiful. I'm not only impressed by your photo skills, I'm impressed by how much you do and get around town ... where do you find so much get-up-and-go? I want some of that!

My name is Riet said...

Oh my goodness Pat, this is BEAUTIFUL, what a garden, those roses and that garden are stunning. What a joy to be able to go and visit there.
Thank you for sharing.

S and O said...

Ooooo I love those roses :D

Xoxo
Sarah

Sheila said...

Hello Pat - your pictures of these heritage roses are beautiful. They remind me of the rose bush that blooms annually on my husband's family farm. They brought it with them when they traveled from Minnesota to Homestead in Alberta in the late twenties. Thanks for sharing your forays into special places in New York!

Anonymous said...

Oh, my gosh..I'm visiting a day too late again, but I'm here..that's what counts doesn't it? So, Happy Belated Pink Saturday to you and I hope you'll visit my PS-post and enter my give-away! Love, Esther XX

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic place Pat. I hope they find a green method to deter that mite. Roses are so wonderful. I still have some with me which have travelled all over when we have moved house.

Just a little something from Judy said...

I just cannot imagine how gorgeous it was to walk through these gardens. I would love to grow some healthy, vibrant roses. What a generous and thoughtful contribution that gentleman made many years ago. Talk about money blessing others, his certainly did.

GailO said...

I feel very fortunate that I have seen these beautiful gardens twice...I won't be seeing them this year but I will be sure to see them again in the future...

Lorrie said...

What a delightful post Pat. I love seeing these beautiful gardens. They remind me a bit of the Portland Rose Gardens in Oregon. I would love to put a blanket on the grass in a quiet corner and read a book there.

Beverly said...

Happy Pink Saturday, dear Pat. I finally made it here.

Girl, you know I would think I had died and gone to heaven in this beautiful garden. Oh, my!

And, your mosaic and photos are breathtaking.