|
| Except that there are a few small plants here and there . . . We've been visiting this beautiful white rose, in a Northern California cemetery, for several years. The image in the lower right shows it in 2011. It grows from a narrow space between the 1896 grave of George Washington Richardson (d. Age 32) and that of his son, Albert, d. 1945, in WWII. Its placement indicates that it may have been planted between 1896 (when George died) and 1945 (when Albert died). I suspect it is an early Hybrid Tea Rose. Kim Rupert has a plant, and says that it wants to climb. I've never seen any sign of disease on the rose, and I've found it in bloom in both spring and Fall, in hot weather and cool weather. I was distressed to learn last month that it is gone. Over the years, the "maintenance gardeners" have eliminated as many as 20 roses from that cemetery, but I had thought this one was big enough to be relatively safe. Guess not. Now, I'm worried about this: I was distressed to hear in April that it is gone. I'm happy that our young plant is growing well -- and so is Kim's. So "Legacy Of The Richardson Family" isn't extinct. It's just down to one or two young plants. The "maintenance gardeners" have managed to eliminate almost 20 once-healthy roses from this cemetery, over just the past few years. I had thought that Richardson was big enough to be safe. Guess not! And now, I'm worried about this: and even this: |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Scary stuff, certainly! Unless it can weed whacked, macheted, sheared with hedge trimmers and require nothing else, these things are doomed. String trimmers used to keep the bases free from grass are often deadly, too. I'm glad you've succeeded in keeping these things around, Jeri, thank you! Who knows what might still reside somewhere forgotten? IIRC, the yellow one is what I thought was Golden Showers, isn't it? Though there have been older, "lost" things reclaimed from older spots like these, I'm sure many are plants obtained from stores and used to decorate the graves, like the modern HTs and floribundas planted in many of those older cemeteries. Climbers are often what you find, as those images demonstrate. It doesn't take long for them to generate enormous "trees" like you've shown. Kim |
|
| Wouldn't it be possible to work with the company that is responsible for upkeep? Can't people contact whatever organization that's in charge of the cemetery and explain the damage that is being done? I keep reading reports of the roses that are lost in cemeteries. Couldn't the Heritage Rose Foundation organize a national registry of roses in cemeteries and reach out to the churches etc in charge to educate them to protect the roses from the mow and blow crews? This makes me very angry. Diane |
|
| Diane -- I had hopes of something like that, once. Dealing with members of the Cemetery Board disabused me of that idealistic thought. Experience has taught me that, since we never abuse a plant, we must just go DO IT. In just one case of which I am aware, a rose propagated from one old cemetery, which was subsequently lost, was replaced a few years later, when a local group began to care for the neglected roses. So that is something we can do, but only if there is someone there to DO IT. In the meantime, we can each serve as a refuge for a few of these Lost Roses, and share them with others. |
|
| Kim -- Yes. I think you're right about 'Golden Showers.' God it was beautiful! |
|
| Ha, our local cemetery - a green lung for this very urban part of the city, is gradually being eroded by the family history group who have prioritised upkeep of the gravestones ABOVE ALL ELSE including any green maintenance whatsoever. One of the few benefits was a failure to clear the brambles and swathes of cotoneaster and elder, thereby leaving a terrific resource for wildlife....and they practically foamed at the suggestion that we (the wildlife committee) leave the grass to grow throughout the summer (there are 131 species of wildflowers and grasses in a small space - I know, I logged every single one).....until some officious type demanded regular grass cutting. This has now extended into extensive clearing since they won lottery funding. Sadly, every penny of this lottery money was spent on 6 disgusting blobs of granite (oops, sorry, urban art) and a massive spraying session removing numerous nest sites. I guerilla planted a lovely Pleine de Grace (having misread the eventual size) and even that has been cut down (although cuttings were taken,) Whilst I fully understand and respect the heritage of family gravestones....there have been no burials since 1932....moreover, most of the fuss revolves around those fancy graves belonging to rich Cambridge families and first world war army and airforce graves ........while the common proletarian graves which have always been situated in a separate part of the cemetery are falling down, chipped and vandalised. So yep, in order of priority, it seems the wealthy dead trump the living, either animals or plants in every way. One of the really nice things was the endless children and adults foraging for blackberries - a particular Himalayan variety had spread throughout the area - truly superb fruits and an excellent jelly, especially if added to the cherry plums and rowans which colonised the margins. The battle is still ongoing..........with the local butterfly group adding dissenting voices to the clean-up brigades. |
|
| I tried pointing out to a Cemetery Board member that the Old Roses -- and other heirloom plants -- that they were spraying with Roundup . . . were, in fact, part of the history of the places they claimed to be preserving. Who, I asked, do you think PLANTED those things? It was the families of the dead who memorialized their lost loved-ones with living plants (sometimes, the only "marker" they could afford). Removing them disrespects the people who made the place. They were not impressed. |
|
| Oh Jeri, I should have known that you tried and were met with closed minded people. You are right of course to preserve by cutting and propagating these mystery roses and saving them for the future. ROUNDUP. Now there's something that's going to kill all of us and the bees in the near future. Diane |
|
| We are fortunate, in a way, that our normally nonsensical mayor decided that mowing the neutral grounds was too expensive and the city would do it less. Now we have many wildflowers and bees, although my citrus trees haven't been properly pollinated lately. The mow-and-blow brigade has been up in arms. Landscaping public spaces like strip malls is not only tacky as hell, but expensive and detrimental to the environment. If they won't listen, hit them where it hurts. Demand that the money be spent elsewhere. |
|
| It's a beautiful rose and I'm glad to hear the you and Kim have plants of it now. It least it isn't completely lost forever. If they were "collectible" tchotchkes they'd get more respect. But they aren't considered valuable because somebody can't make money on them and they may cost somebody money to maintain. Sad world we live in... |
|
- Posted by jill_perry z9 CA (My Page) on Sat, May 24, 14 at 22:16
| Jeri, the plant you gave us will be planted next week. And we found another plant of it in the nursery! Guess I managed to propagate one, too. We'll hang onto that until the other is established. Jill |
|
| The more, the better! |
|
| So sad this has happened. The Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta has worked hard to preserve many of it's older roses, many from the Victorian Era. I bought two cuttings from there that were original plants, Mutabilis and Cramoisi Superior. If you are ever in the Atlanta area, it's worth a visit. About Golden Showers, it's an extremely vigorous rose. I bought it as a body bag over 10 years ago. The trunk it about 3 inches in diameter and it grows up around my porch. I despaired of ever getting new canes from the base, since it's planted at the foot of the porch and is now in almost all shade. But this year, of all years, after that horrendous winter, GS first put out two new canes from the main trunk about 2 feet from the ground. If that wasn't amazing enough, I just noticed two more new canes from the very base, which is so old and woody, I didn't think that could ever happen. So there is always hope. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Oakland Cemetery
|
| Buford, Yes, what IS it about this past winter. So many plants with near death (or death) experiences and yet all the surviving, which is a surprising number, seem healthier. Camps, Maybe you can make a truce with the family history people. Let them create the sterile environment that they crave around the graves of the wealthy and maybe you can create the environment you prefer around the graves that are vandalized, clothing them with vital living creatures. Cath |
|
| Cath, it does seem that whatever roses didn't die, came back even more glorious than before. Maybe they like the cold, or the very hard pruning I had to give most of them. Who knows? |
|
| Camp. "six disgusting blobs of granite" LOL. In the USA, we call that the Turd in the Plaza school of urban art. Here, I would suspect that someone's lame relative, "artiste", needed a commission. These vile excrescences infest public spaces everywhere. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Antique Roses Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
