Brookdale Park Rose Garden is one of Montclair’s most stunning and serene destinations, located a short walk away from most homes and featuring over 500 healthy rosebushes that provide ample photographic opportunities. Their delightful scent will transport your senses away!
Roses have long been used as symbols of love, beauty and war. Additionally, their petals are used in perfume production, celebratory displays and medicinal applications.
Brookdale Park in Essex County, New Jersey spans 121-acres across Bloomfield and Montclair townships and was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s firm to include athletic fields, tennis courts, forested areas, walking paths and even a dog park.
At Park Place Park, there are various trails, a stadium, archery ranges and sports fields which are enjoyed by residents of all ages. It makes the ideal spot for picnics and walks where families can unwind and admire nature’s splendor.
Brookdale Park Rose Garden features many varieties of flowers and plants to see, such as wildflowers that are hard to come by in other gardens, annuals and perennials cultivated specifically in this space, wildflowers native to Brookdale Park as well as more common varieties like annuals and perennials that have been grown here.
Some roses are grown from seeds dispersed by native bees while others are hybridized varieties created to be both hardy and beautiful, frequently blooming repeatedly.
As they come in a variety of colors and fragrances, it should be easy to find the ideal rose for your garden. Choose from fragrant pinks, reds and purples all the way through to white and yellow varieties!
Rose Gardens offer the perfect summertime setting for picnics or simply taking time out to admire these flowers – their fragrance enthralls visitors while the scenery surrounding is simply breath-taking!
Brookdale Park Rose Garden is being cared for by volunteers and Essex County Master Gardeners, who have recently worked to replant bushes, improve soil, and repair any damage from years of neglect.
Volunteer Garden Care volunteers in Essex County care for gardens throughout the county and meet monthly with a committee to plan maintenance needs and discuss maintenance strategies. Working alongside Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs they aim to keep every garden in Essex looking its best.
Brookdale Park Rose Garden features a special rose that was planted to honor those affected by Hurricane Katrina, featuring a soft pink, thornless rambler backed by an iron trellis.
It is part of a nationwide campaign by the Rose Society to plant more than 20,000 roses in gardens damaged or destroyed during hurricanes, and was produced through collaboration with both American Rose Society and National Rose Society.
The Rose Society has also collaborated with the Berks Military History Museum in Mohnton, Pennsylvania to plant a Rosie rose garden and host an official Rosie the Riveter Day ceremony on March 21, 2017. Additionally, an April 26 planting is scheduled.
