Village Condominium Association

The Last Rose of Summer
by J. F. Weiler

Roses in the fall are a special gift; their fragile beauty is intensified by the shortness of their life. Boston’s Kelleher Rose Garden provides a close-up look at 150 varieties of roses.

Some of my favorites are the red Fame, white Whisper, the Chicago Peace Rose with a tint of pink-yellow, red Veteran’s Honor, the Fragrant Hour and the Julia Child. Julia Child chose her own rose. The blossoms start out butter-yellow, fade to rich-cream and smell of anis!

The name of the rose has always made me curious. The American Rose Society registers names submitted by rose breeders. It takes about ten years for a breeder to develop a new rose. There are roses named for J.F.K., Barbara Bush, Bob Hope & Eva Gabor. My favorite name is “A Better Tomorrow” registered in 2008 and hybridized by William Millington.

Rose growing tips: more sun equals more blooms! Roses like well-drained soil and need weekly watering. Organic mulch will help maintain moist soil. Use natural fertilizer several times throughout the growing season.

Rose pruning: dead wood can be pruned at any time. Early spring is the best time for pruning live branches.

Directions: The Kelleher Rose Garden is located on Boston's Emerald Necklace in the Back Bay Fens, opposite the Museum of Fine Arts. www.EmeraldNecklace.org

News: Seventy-seven percent of Somerville is paved over. Somerville Climate Action is working to de-pave back yards so that people can have gardens. The group has been inspired by Bill McKibben’s www.350.org to join a nation-wide movement to create new gardens.

Chicago Peace Rose	Olympiad Rose	Julia Child Rose
Photos by J.F. Weiler

Written for the Nov. 2010 Village Newsletter.

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