Sad, but lots of people are giving up on roses.

I like the idea of donating a rose in honor of a beloved decedent, provided the donor would have some reasonable choice of variety.

I live in Roanoke and have contacted the director of the project. We discussed various option and I invited her to my place for the fall flush so she can see what sorts of roses do well here. She doesn't seem especially knowledgeable about roses and became excited when I mentioned Noisettes, the southern/USA rose. The old garden was exclusively Hybrid Teas and modern Floribundas and thus high maintenance. The volunteer brigade that looked after it has dissipated and RRD killed off most of what was left. She is very open to other alternatives. I look forward to the project. I also emailed her, throwing out some ideas. We'll see....