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| Next week I'll start a solo road trip to follow the Mississippi River from its headwaters in Lake Itasca Wisconsin to the delta in Louisiana, taking a month to see regional history museums, eat regional food, walk through gardens still in bloom. It's late for flowers in New England where I start, but can anyone suggest gardens worth seeing on my travels? Probably not the Wisconsin/Iowa/Missouri part, but what's to see (and still flowering) in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, then Tennessee and northward? Especially roses, of course. Carol |
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| The headquarters of the American Rose Society is near Shreveport, Louisiana. They should be lovely in fall bloom for the nest couple of months. Also check out New Orleans. Gardens there should be rebuilt by now. Are you coming east? if you get to South Carolina, do not miss the Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg, SC. Wonderful, large collection of roses and other plants. There are many wonderful gardens in Charleston, SC including old garden roses at Hampton Park and Boone Hall. Fayetteville, NC has the lovely Cape Fear Botanical Garden with easy care roses throughout the area as well as the more formal, Fayetteville Rose Garden. Also lovely gardens around the Raleigh/ Durham area. Enjoy your trip. sounds like fun. |
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- Posted by pat_bamaZ7 7 (My Page) on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 12:17
| Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, AL is breathtaking. I haven't been in a long time, but I'm sure it would still be worth the stop. Their rose garden is mainly moderns, but over 2,000 of them. Also a historic home and many other gardens on a 65 acre estate. Below is a link to their website. http://www.bellingrath.org/home/ |
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- Posted by carol6ma_7ari zones 6 %26 7a (My Page) on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 15:20
| I did some online research which I should have done before posting. Anyone heard of, visited, Delano Park in Decatur Alabama? How about Wister Gardens in Belzoni Mississippi? They both feature roses. Also, Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Carol |
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- Posted by pat_bamaZ7 7 (My Page) on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 16:14
| Decatur is only about 30 minutes north of me, but I haven't been to Delano Park in quite some time. It's an old park that has been renovated (i.e. ruined). There is still some old stuff there, but it's no where near as cool as it was before they "improved" the park. They planted about 500 knockouts back in the early 2000s and called it a historic rose garden because they were planted in the same layout as the original rose garden that had been destroyed decades earlier. A couple of years ago RRD spread through the knockouts and they were removed. I'm not sure what was planted to replace them. Even if the knockouts were replaced with something worthwhile, those roses would only be a couple of years old. It's probably not worth going out of your way to see. |
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- Posted by pat_bamaZ7 7 (My Page) on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 16:54
| Reading back over my post, I realized I sounded a bit harsh in my dissing of Delano Park. It is a nice park that has a really great playground for special needs children. They've gone to a lot of trouble and expense to make sure the playground is somewhere special needs and non-disabled children can successfully play together. That, of course, is an improvement seen from their renovations. If you are going to see roses, though, you could go to any big box store and see the same variety unless something has changed since I was last there. |
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| We've been to Capaha . If it's the garden I remember, each local garden club was in charge of each bed; you could tell that the love of roses wasn't uniform amongst the clubs. In the same area, the Mormon Park in Illinois where the Mormons waited for travel west has an interesting feel and real old houses. The St Louis Botanical Garden is huge and has many old and interesting roses; they've also had major RRD problems. They are in a place where winterizing is a necessity, so that might also be interesting. Do visit the USS ironclad Cairo in Vicksburg MS. Also for the biota, a visit to the Reelfoot Lake state park in northwestern Tennessee... caused by the great Earthquake when the Mississippi flowed backwards. Since others have lead you far afield, I'll suggest the Lanier House in Madisonville, Indiana which does have old roses and some really interesting supports for those roses. Also the most northern noisette roses growing established. There had been an old rose collection in Hot Springs Arkansas, but I'm not sure what's happened with it. Also there are roses in gardens in Memphis, but they haven't been blooming when I've been out there. What you will find is lots of flat land, some magnificent bridges, some great people, some scuzzy people, bugs (take mosquito repellant), and if you haven't been in the Delta before, you will be shocked by the humidity. |
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- Posted by harborrose 8b-PNW (My Page) on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 0:00
| A place I've wanted to visit is in Jackson, Ms, the reconstructed home and gardens of Eudora Welty. The book, "One Writer's Garden, Eudora Welty's Home Place" shows pictures of how the reconstruction has been done. The book indicates a number of old roses have been replanted in that garden, which were original to the home when Eudora and her mother lived there. I'd love to see Elizabeth Lawrence's home and garden in Charlotte, NC, Wing Garden, mostly because I am a big fan of hers. In South Carolina there is a topiary garden, Pearl Fryar Garden in Bishopville, that I've wanted to visit as well. It seems amazing from what I've seen. I agree with Ann above about visiting the Vicksburg, MS civil war memorial. The cemetery, the grounds and the exhibits are really interesting to see. The wonderful hydrangea gardens in Birmingham, Al, Aldridge Gardens, are worth seeing and should be blooming if you're going soon. I am sorry I never made it to Bellingrath to see the rose gardens there. The botanical gardens in Huntsville and Nashville are worth seeing. The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's homeplace and gardens, is worth a trip if you're in Nashville. I first saw a chestnut rose in that garden there. The Natchez Trace is beautiful, I think. There is also a beautiful garden, or at least was 30 years ago, south of Shreveport, Hodges Gardens. I saw a lot of beautiful camellias at that garden; I don't know what it's like now, but worth checking into if you're going to be in Shreveport. I've always wanted to see the beginning point of the Mississippi River up in Wisconsin. I hope you have a wonderful trip; it's one I'd like to take as well sometime. Take care, travelling solo! |
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- Posted by jeannie2009 PNW 7/8 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 6:37
| Carol, In 2001 I did a 5 week solo auto vacation with 2 large dogs. I had a blast. There is something so relaxing going away with only yourself. You will so enjoy it I'm sure. I envy you. Jeannie |
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| New Orleans is wonderful. Take a tour of the Garden District. A lot of old homes, many with historic significance. And the gardens are beautiful. Also if you want to venture into Faubourg Maringy, the homes there are also old, but of the more funky variety. I saw many old roses on my tours there. They are not labeled, of course, being private homes. But still, the houses, the live oaks, the gardens are very beautiful. |
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- Posted by harborrose 8b-PNW (My Page) on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 10:52
| I happened to think this morning too of another place that may be already on your list or you've already visited, the Lynchburg City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia, which has many old roses. You've probably seen the book, "Once Upon a Time... a cemetery story" which tells how the roses got planted at that cemetery. I've read that Connie and others here do volunteer work at the Hollywood Cemetery, which you probably already know about also. Gean |
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- Posted by carol6ma_7ari zones 6 %26 7a (My Page) on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 15:52
| OK, guys: Jackson MS for Eudora Welty's garden, maybe New Orleans for private gardens tours, definitely Capaha and Nauvoo (if that's the site of the Mormon gardens you mentioned), but I'm staying fairly close to the river. I'd love to visit Reelfoot Lake because the geology of the earthquake area interests me.So NC, VA are out. Years ago I drove to New Madrid, another part of the earthquake area. I was puzzled by the long high earthwork next to the road, and the bits of white stuff on the ground - paper trash? Then I found out I was looking at a genuine levee, and real cotton. A northerner's epiphany! And I was incorrect about the state the river begins in: it is Minnesota. Lake Itasca, the true source, was named from "veritas", truth in Latin, and "capo", head in Latin. Thanks for all the suggestions! Carol |
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- Posted by cemeteryrose USDA 9/Sunset 14 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 27, 13 at 16:17
| Carol, if i'm not too late - wanted to mention that there are many old roses planted by Leo Wattermeier in New Orlean's Armstrong Park. Also the Heritage Rose Foundation planted and maintains old roses in the American Rose Center in Shreveport, along with native and heirloom shrubs and bulbs. Enjoy the trip! Love the way you go on adventures - and so glad that they sometimes bring you to California! |
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| Carol, if you do get to New Orleans, there are several spots where the Mississippi River is higher than the city and is held back by levees. It's an amazing sight. |
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| Hi Carol, hope you have a wonderful trip. Please let me know when you're coming to the Bay Area again. Diane |
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