The Town Hill Rose Garden – September 2023 GCN Meeting

Roses and perennials were originally planted in the rose garden thanks to a generous donation from Mary Gould, a member of the Garden Club of Norfolk, in memory of her relatives. (1998) Following 911, a memorial statue by Michael Alfano was added in 2003.

Over the years, the garden suffered decline. Borders became overgrown and grass and weeds invaded from the surrounding lawns. All of the roses died; the barberry inner border hampered efforts to keep the garden weed free, watering from overhead sprinklers was neither sufficient nor beneficial to the roses and some of the perennials became aggressive.

Several planning meetings took place in late 2016 and early 2017 with a decision to seek a consultation with rosarians Michael and Angelina Chute and Norfolk DPW on watering options to see if a rose garden was feasible for this location and if so, what we would need to do to achieve it.  When we learned roses were feasible for the site, it was decided to apply for a GCFM Grant to help with the costs of renovation., which we received.

Soil testing was done, the spirea border pruned, the barberry was removed by Norfolk DPW; weeds, invasive grasses and alliums were removed. Peony supports were added at each corner and annuals added to provide color while planning continued in 2017. Custom pillars and an arbor were installed, and seventeen new roses were planted in the spring of 2018. Plants from the original garden that remained included the ‘Little Princess’ spirea border, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, six mature peonies, and Salvia ‘May Night’. White Salvia was added, and chives were planted to aid in insect prevention. A drip watering system was installed by the DPW to provide 5 gal of water per week to each rose.

Maintenance by the rose garden team since then includes clean up, edging, pruning and Rosetone fertilizer in late April – early May, followed by mulching and labeling before Memorial Day. Seranade (fungicide) application is made to the peonies biweekly from the time they start growing until fall. Weekly weeding and deadheading is done each Monday evening and an application of Fish oil liquid fertilizer is made in late May prior to the early June main flush of bloom. Following the main bloom, we again feed with Rosetone and more fish oil is added in August to prepare for a fall flush of bloom. No deadheading is done after September 1, to help the roses go into winter dormancy. Once we have had a frost, we meet to cut back the peonies and clean up. Right after Thanksgiving we add a mound of composted manure to the base of each rose. After Christmas evergreen boughs (old Christmas tree branches) are added for additional protection. At this time we add wreaths and bows to the rose pillars to decorate the garden for the holidays.

The GCN members who have worked on the Rose Garden have been a loyal and hard-working group. We enjoy our Monday night meetings to care for the garden (and also the herb garden nearby) and we have all learned so much as we care for the gardens. We love to answer questions and accept compliments from people who stop by as we work on this beautiful part of Town Hill.