Revitalized Huntington Library Rose Garden

'Mardi Gras'
Rosa 'Mardi Gras' photo hrgMardiGras3612_zpsfb26acef.jpg
A visit on Sunday to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California revealed a revitalized rose garden at just about peak Spring bloom.  It was wonderful.  
'Love Song'
Rosa 'Love Song' photo hrgLoveSong3628_zpse1a4c42b.jpg

Huntington Library Rose Garden photo hrg3627_zps0ddcc799.jpg
'Eternal Flame'
Rosa 'Eternal Flame' photo hrgEveningStar3618_zps0bf2be36.jpg
The older 20th century hybrid tea roses were looking wonderful.
'Gruss an Aachen', circa 1909
Rosa 'Gruss an Aachen' photo hrgGruss3610_zpsbfbd9f57.jpg
'Snowbird', circa 1934
Rosa 'Snowbird' photo hrgSnowbird3607_zps422ff25a.jpg
I'm now more convinced that the mystery rose I saw at a bungalow in Santa Ana last weekend is 'Climbing Snowbird'.  The flower looked pretty right, the fragrance was identical.  This is the shrub:
Rosa 'Snowbird' photo hrgSnowbird3603_zpsbc1b9e02.jpg

Rosa 'Snowbird' photo hrgSnowbird3602_zps6a1145c5.jpg
A delight to see old classics healthy and cared for.
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Even dainty little 'Mrs. Aaron Ward' (1907) looked spry:
Rosa 'Mrs. Aaron Ward' photo hrgMrsAaronWard3589_zps1ccf8268.jpg
'Julia Child' usually always looks great.  Here, too:
Rosa 'Julia Child' photo hrgJuliaChild3588_zpsd0f5c0d7.jpg

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Someday, hopefully within my lifetime, they are going to get climbers up those arches.
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'George Burns'
Rosa 'George Burns' photo hrgGeoBurns3567_zps94622e72.jpg

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New labels, mulch...
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'Wild Blue Yonder'
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'Janice Kellogg'
Rosa 'Janice Kellogg' photo hrgJaniceKellogg3557_zps3ed8579b.jpg

Rose Garden, Huntington Library photo hrg3552_zpsb48249cd.jpg
'The Brothers Grimm', a recent Kordes introduction.
Rosa 'Brothers Grimm' photo hrgBrothersGrimm3548_zpsb4dfe959.jpg
One thing I wondered about, who planted ivy in a rose bed?  Yikes. 
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Do they really want ivy messing this up?
Huntington Library Rose Garden photo hrg3544_zpsd6f7de16.jpg
'Winifred Coulter':
Climbing Rose 'Winifred Coulter' photo hrgWinifredCoulter3542_zpsb08bfaa3.jpg
They even managed to lace out the big Cypress trees to get more sun to the roses.  Bravo!
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A hedge of 'Johann Strauss'
Rosa 'Johann Strauss' photo hrgJohan3538_zpsdbe3d94e.jpg
'Johann Strauss'
Rosa 'Johann Strauss' photo hrgJohanStrauss3537_zps72457ef5.jpg
The Austin beds:
Austin Rose Beds, Huntington Library photo hrg3534_zps572bf81c.jpg
'The Prince' was as vigorous as I have ever seen it.
Rosa 'The Prince' photo hrgThePrince3531_zps023081ce.jpg
'Glamis Castle'
Rosa 'Glamis Castle' photo hrgGlamis3530_zps76db740e.jpg
I think this one was 'Alnwick Castle'
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'Queen of Sweden'
Rosa 'Queen of Sweden' photo hrgQofS3525_zpsead7adfa.jpg
'Crocus Rose' looked absolutely stupendous.  Want!
'Crocus Rose' photo hrgCrocus3518_zpscfb70065.jpg
'Crocus Rose'
'Crocus Rose' photo hrgCrocusRose3517_zpsdbda5202.jpg
'White Licorice' looking ethereal.
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'Charles Darwin'
Rosa 'Charles Darwin' photo hrgDarwin3509_zpsf9046326.jpg
A new bed of 'Sparkle and Shine' under planting a group of 'Easy Does It' standards ("tree" roses). 
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'Sparkle and Shine'
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Kind of formal-rose-gardeny for me, but for formal, pretty fabulosa:
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'Huntington Rose'
'Huntington Rose' photo hrgHuntingtonRose3500_zps31acc2a6.jpg
'All Ablaze', a 1999 red climber I'm not familiar with.  It looked great.  No fragrance I could detect.
Rosa 'All Ablaze' photo hrgAllAblaze3498_zps6db51173.jpg

Rosa 'All Ablaze' photo hrgAllAblaze3496_zps649ec89d.jpg
The Tea and China bed looked better than I've ever seen it look.  It was a joy to see it come back after years of zero budget neglect.
'Francis Dubreuil' ('Barcelona'):
'Francis Dubreuil' aka 'Barcelona' photo hrg3493_zpsfb1bb722.jpg

Rosa 'Francis Dubreuil'  (two plants) photo hrg3490_zpsc78094d7.jpg
'Hermosa'
'Hermosa' at the Huntington Library April 2013 photo hrgHermosa3489_zpscfba960c.jpg
Coming back strong!  Yay!
The Tea And China Rose Bed, Huntington Library photo hrg3486_zps438ae88a.jpg

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Sorry for the length of the post, but as I warned yesterday, it's going to be a flowery week.  








Comments

  1. Oh my - a veritable carnival of roses! What a valuable resource you have close at hand there. Thanks for sharing the tour!

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  2. I wonder if a bird planted that ivy? They do that in my garden sometimes, even though I don't much appreciate it.

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    Replies
    1. No, there were 5 plants in a straight row... :(

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  3. Thank you for sharing! It's been too long since I've been to the Huntington. I must tell Tom Carruth how his rosarian voice is booming!

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  4. Ooh, ooh, we're going to the Huntington next weekend! I remember reading they were refurbishing the roses (maybe I read it on your blog?) Glad it's complete for our visit. I do love the Austin roses - does Glamis Castle have much scent? Oh, wait, I can check for myself in a few days! Thanks for getting me more excited than I already was about our visit!

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    Replies
    1. You will enjoy it--there is plenty more to see besides roses. Spend the day. Yes, Glamis has a strong myrrh scent--kind of like licorice.

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  5. Beautiful! Thank you for the tour.

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  6. Thank you for the foretaste; I am looking forward to seeing it soon.

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  7. Wow! There are now About half a dozen more roses I have to get: White Liquorice, Crocus Rose, Snowbird, etc. I did get to visit the Huntington gardens once, hope I get to again. Thanks for the tour!

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    Replies
    1. I was very impressed with 'Crocus'--never have seen it in person before. Huge, healthy, loaded with buds. 'Snowbird' has a wonderful fragrance.

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  8. Thank you for guiding us around Huntington Library Rosarium. Lovely roses in full blloom of which many are unknown to me.

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  9. I was there last week and the spring flush - it was awesome.It's been about 4 years since my last visit and the roses really did look great. I took alot of shots of 'Altissimo' (up on the building wall). I also found a nook with 3 or 4 'Mutabilis' just going nutso. I love that rose but cannot grow it where I live so I tend to swoon over it a bit more. The 'Don Juan' climber (on the same pergola as 'All Ablaze' was quite nice too.
    Thanks for the great images!

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  10. As one of a few dozen volunteers in the Rose Garden, I thank you for both sharing some of the highlights of the reinvigorated garden and for recognizing the enthusiasm and great ideas of the Huntington's Rose Curator, Tom Carruth, in turning the garden around. Just think what he's likely to accomplish during his second year on the job!

    And for those of you who haven't been to the Rose Garden in a while, you just have to come right now - it's at its peak, truly. Come on a Wednesday and enjoy music played at the Chinese garden in the afternoon.

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    Replies
    1. Everyone is doing a great job--I'm so happy to see the place looking so good again! Looking forward to see it even better. Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. WONDERFUL! I'd given up going to the Huntington because the roses were in such sad shape. Thanks for a fantastic view of the rejuvenated garden. I'm a little surprised how much is already in bloom.

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    Replies
    1. It's really come back strong. Hope you get to see it again.

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