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Fall announces itself in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden with a flush of foliar color, as the flowers gently fade away.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Who minds a little rain when it makes the roses this pretty?
Shrub rose Rosa ‘Belinda’s Dream’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
It is a very special rose that bears the same name as a very special rose garden.
Hybrid Tea rose Rosa ‘Peggy Rockefeller’ in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Even the roses of May are beautiful in September.
Floribunda rose ‘Cinco de Mayo’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Many people think of June as the month for roses. And while it’s true for many, here at The New York Botanical Garden we generally have two peak seasons for our roses. They first come into their glory in late-May, with both the repeat flowering roses and the one-time blooming old-fashioned types exploding with color and fragrance throughout June.
The repeat blooming roses take charge for the rest of the season; some of them flowering almost continuously, while others take a four to six week hiatus before re-flowering.
We expect a lot from the roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden so we pamper them as much as possible. They are fed multiple times during the growing season with an organic rose fertilizer in April, again in late June immediately following flower, and one more time in early August. Compost tea is used as an additional foliar feed throughout the season.
Cow manure and Epsom salts are added to soil in the spring, and compost and worm castings are added later in the season to create a fertile growing environment. A loyal troop of volunteers come to the Garden every week, and under the careful supervision of the Rose Garden Curator, Peter Kukielski, they weed, deadhead, mulch, water, and fertilize the flowers in this beautiful, historical garden.
Another beautiful pinhole photograph of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden from NYBG Member and horticulturist Joel Kroin.
Click to enlarge image (Photos by Joel Kroin)
We’re so lucky to have such creative and enthusiastic visitors! Do you create art at the Garden? We would love to see it! If you would like your Garden-themed art featured on Plant Talk, email an example of your work and a little bit about yourself to blog@nybg.org.
Did you know that there’s a second rose garden at NYBG? It’s much smaller, but it’s even less pampered: It’s the EarthKind™ Rose Trials beds, just south of Daffodil Hill. The goal of the EarthKind™ program is to identify cultivars that combine beauty with proven durability in the landscape. These roses get no water other than what falls from the sky. In fact they get almost no attention at all (other than an occasional trim), and yet they thrive. If you think roses are fussy and hard to grow, check out these beds for some great choices for your own yard.
Check out this short video on the subject hosted by the rose garden curator Peter Kukielski himself.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Three of our intrepid visual specialists (aka photographer Ivo M. Vermeulen, photo editor Mark Pfeffer, and videographer Rustin Dwyer) spent last Friday morning at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, taking turns going up in the bucket truck to snap some truly stunning photographs and video of this spectacular garden at peak bloom.
Here’s a shot Ivo took from the bucket of Mark, Rustin, and our new Web designer Eduardo Almonte.
A little perspective.
Mark in the bucket.
And the results? Gorgeous!
The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden (photo by Mark Pfeffer)
Stay tuned for video footage from Rustin.
Have you been looking for a good reason to visit the Garden this June? Well, if you need some motivation to visit New York City’s greatest garden, consider us your motivators: This weekend is going to be spectacular! We have flowers, food, dancing, music, poetry, and so much more in store!
Start in the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where the best-smelling exhibition in New York City–complete with flowing fountains and elegant arches–is housed in the Victorian elegance of this landmark building. Be sure to visit the beautiful reflecting pool and its resident koi in the Conservatory Courtyard. A docent-led guided tour of the exhibition is available Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Meet at the entrance to the Conservatory.
My Lorca Poetry Series – 4 p.m. in the Perennial Garden
Hear American poets read their favorite Federico García Lorca poems and discuss the poet’s influence on their own work as part of Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra. Poets: Christopher Maurer, Jaime Manrique, and Mark Statman. Co-presented with the Poetry Society of America.
Flamenco Among the Flowers – 1, 2, and 3 p.m. in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall
The Garden comes alive with the sounds, rhythms, and movements of flamenco. Flamenco: Inside/Out introduces this traditional Spanish art form using live music and performers from various ethnic, cultural, and artistic backgrounds.
The Food and Culture of the Alhambra – 4 p.m. in the Perennial Garden
Join chef and culinary historian Maricel Presilla for a fascinating, and delicious, exploration of the cuisine and culture of the al-Andalús region of Spain, home to the Alhambra. Presilla, who holds a doctorate in medieval Spanish history from New York University, has received formal training in cultural anthropology, and is a Beard Award-nominated chef, will be talking about several aspects of Islamic agriculture and cooking in al-Andalús. She will focus on vegetables, grains, nuts, olive oil, fermented condiments, aromatic spices (and spice mixes) and flowers, particularly scented roses. Her cooking demonstration may include: a spice mix or sauce; an eggplant dish called alboronía or another thirteenth-century dish with eggplant served with aromatic lamb meatballs (albóndigas), and a rose-scented dessert that shows the connection between al-Andalús and the New World. She will also be talking about the Islamic roots of the popular sweet and sour Spanish dish known as escabeche.
Tour of Library Exhibition Historical Views: Tourists at the Alhambra – Meet at 1 p.m. in the Orchid Rotunda at the entrance level to the Library Building
Join a Garden Docent for a tour of Historical Views: Tourists at the Alhambra.
Flamenco Among the Flowers – 1, 2, and 3 p.m. in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall
The Garden comes alive with the sounds, rhythms, and movements of flamenco. Flamenco: Inside/Out introduces this traditional Spanish art form using live music and performers from various ethnic, cultural, and artistic backgrounds.
The award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden one of the world’s most sustainable and beautiful showcases for America’s flower, and it is in full bloom right now! Set aside ample time so that you have as many minutes as you need to stop and smell the roses. In the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, the roses smell as good as they look.
Book Signing with Peter Kukielski – 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Shop in the Garden
Meet the man behind the sustainable rose revolution. Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, Peter Kukielski, will be signing copies of The Sustainable Rose Garden at Shop in the Garden, a volume of essays he co-edited with Pat Shanley and Gene Waering.
Rose Garden Tour – 12:30 p.m. in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden
Immerse yourself in the fragrance, color, and beauty of the award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on a tour with a Garden Docent offered each day in June; and with an ASL interpreter on June 18. Learn the differences between heritage and modern roses, and between floribundas and hybrid teas, as well as facts about rose history, cultivation, and folklore.
Q&A Sessions with Rose Experts – 1-4 p.m. at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden pergola
Our rose experts will answer your questions on caring for roses, cultivars to try in your garden, the history of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, and more.
Home Gardening Demonstration: Life is Rosy – 1:30 p.m. in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden
Tour the sumptuous, award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. Learn standard rose-care practices, from fertilizing to pruning.
The Garden is a great place to get outside and enjoy nature: families can explore the natural world in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden; gardeners can gather inspiration for their own gardens throughout the Garden’s 250-acres, and learn about plant varietals in the Home Gardening Center; and naturalists can spot a variety of migratory and year-round birds throughout the grounds.
Bird Walk – meet at 11 a.m. at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with our bird expert, Debbie Becker. On your walk you will look for the species that live here year-round as well as those just migrating through: owls, hawks, songbirds, and more. Learn about the bird-friendly plants and habitats that provide food, shelter, and nesting sites. Learn more about birding at the Garden in this short video.
Global Gardens Spring Harvest Celebration – 1:30-5:30 p.m. in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Travel globally while eating locally! Celebrate the end of spring with our Global Gardeners. Travel to China, Korea, Ireland, Italy, and the Caribbean by visiting each Global Garden plot and earn stamps in your Garden Passport as you learn and explore.
Peter Kukielski is on a mission to rescue the rose’s reputation.
In transforming the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden into one of the world’s most sustainable and beautiful showcases for America’s flower, Peter is preaching a new rose gospel: Roses don’t need to be bathed in chemicals, they don’t need tons of water, and they can smell as beautiful as they look. 
Meet Peter this Sunday, June 12, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Shop in the Garden, where he will be signing copies of The Sustainable Rose Garden, a volume of essays he co-edited with Pat Shanley and Gene Waering.
Peter is a wonderful evangelist for this misunderstood flower; he’s full of knowledge and always willing to share it. Stop by the Shop to meet Peter and pick-up your copy of this essential volume, then head to the Rose Garden to gain inspiration for your own home. Copy this list of all the garden’s roses onto your phone or iPad (try Evernote or print it out if you must), and mark your favorites. When your head is full of rose-scented dreams, head home, and with Peter’s wonderful book, turn your garden into your own rose-tinted paradise.