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Tour of the Sacramento Cemetery Historic Rose Garden

17 years ago

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit at the Sacramento Cemetery Historic Rose Garden last Saturday, April 21st and purchased some old historical roses. The cemetery was est. in 1849 and by the 1970's it was a wasteland, and much vandalized! A group of citizen got together to change all this and as luck would have it Fred Boutin (a chapter devoted to him in the book entitled In Search of Lost Roses) of the Huntington Library was collecting old roses and needed a place to grow them. So three acres of this cemetery were devoted to growing these old roses. Most of the roses you see here were planted around 1992. People adopted the various plots and contribute to the maintenance of the area they adopted. What are basically grown on the three acres are roses from 1850 to 1915. You would be surprised to know that these roses other than being watered hardly get fertilized! Almost all are on their own roots. The only requirements are to be able to see the headstones and clear the paths. There are about 440 roses. Pruning is very light.

Thanks to the countless hours of dedicated volunteers, these roses are beautifully maintained and preserved for future generations. I have tried to be as accurate as possible in the names of these old roses. Please forgive me if I am not completely accurate.

There is so much history here and I suppose that is what it is like if one explores any cemetery. The headstones sometimes tell the whole story. I have taken pictures of a couple of stories about the people buried here and I hope you will take the time to read them. It is fascinating. There are over a hundred pictures here and I hope you will enjoy the tour of the cemetery as much as I did!

http://picasaweb.google.com/maechandran/SacramentoCemetery

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Comments (9)

cemeteryrose
17 years ago
Wow! Thanks so much for all of your work! This certainly captures the Open Garden, and the cemetery in general.

You did an incredible job of capturing the info, but there are a few errors on the names of the roses and other info -if you'd like to correct them, I'll email the info to you directly.

I wish that everybody could have seen the Sacramento cemetery in person, but this comes close. Thanks again!
Anita
bloominganne
17 years ago
malibu rose,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't seem to get enough of seeing OGR's, especially the whole bush covered in blooms. The fragrance must have been fantastic.

bloominganne
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I've just submitted a response in the comments section below the article (currently awaiting approval), and would encourage everyone who cares about this issue to do the same. Those in charge need to know how many people around the world, as well as locals and dedicated volunteers are devastated at the way this World Heritage Treasure is being vandalised - apparently clandestinely to avoid the inevitable outcry - in what I believe to be the misguided pursuit of 'historical accuracy'. If we had only known about this we could perhaps have organised something - no doubt the reason it was done without informing anyone. Jeri, I'm so sorry. I know many of these roses must have been almost like family members to you; discovered, collected and lovingly preserved by you personally and by others, many now departed. I guess we'll just have to wait a while to see whether or not Mr Liggett's 'rejuvenation' theories are correct - and see what survives this brutal attack. As for the decision to remove the arches over the pathways, if as seems to be the case they they are not to be replaced by something similar but 'safer', this is surely a senseless retrograde step for both the aesthetics and functionality of the garden, and one which I sincerely hope will be reconsidered. Even if there were few if any arches there in the original scheme, that is no reason arches should never be added, if it is an improvement. The cemetery is a living Museum, and any Museum undergoes periodic changes to make it a more convenient and pleasant space for visitors, and to better display the treasures within.
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roselovr_in_eh
17 years ago
Thanks for the photos and especially your captions, it brings the tour to life for those of us who weren't there.

George
jean
17 years ago
This is very cool and definitely on my list of places to see. I love your pictures and am smitten with the Buff Beauty draped just so.

Jean
michaelalreadytaken
17 years ago
What the volunteers and the city have done together is remarkable.

Thank you for the panoramic shots! They do indeed capture the feel of the entire place and make it real.

MichaelAT
jerijen
17 years ago
Jean, that Buff Beauty was one of the highlights of this spring's Open Garden, IMHO. You could smell that beauty from anywhere in the vicinity.
Of course, Reve d'Or was no slouch, either!

It's a beautiful place, and I'm so glad Malibu Rose did this lovely tour, so more people can see it.

Jeri Jennings
cemeteryrose
17 years ago
Thanks again to Malibu Rose, who has updated the names of a few of the roses. If we could just add the scent, it's very close to the overall experience of being there! Vina banks - Tylor Carll - Aunt Sally - Renae - North Bloomfield Raspberry - Buff Beauty - the list goes on. They are so beautiful. I wish that everyone else could see them, if not grow them for themselves -
Anita
jbfoodie
17 years ago
Malibu--Thank you so much for your slideshow! I have sent the link to a couple of friends, one of who went to the Sac Cem Rose Garden with me. These pictures bring the whole wonderful day back. There is no place like this garden.
rosie
17 years ago
Thanks for stirring memories. For anyone who loves roses, it's a wonderful place to visit. I came up on a "rose rustling" tour from the Huntington some years ago and had a love time. Another place well worth a side tour for anyone putting this on their list is the Empire Mine State Park, including its gardens. And then there are the old roses found in many of the old cemeteries in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, final resting places for people who long ago spent their new Gold Rush riches on roses brought in from around the Horn.

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