Brookdale Park Rose Garden is an idyllic park situated in Montclair, New Jersey and part of the Essex County Park System. Here you’ll find various recreational facilities for residents’ enjoyment such as sports and entertainment activities, trails for walking or hiking, expansive lawns, lush groves of trees and flowers – all part of this lovely space!
The Brookdale Park Reserve Gardens (BPRG) are managed through a partnership between Essex County Master Gardeners and Brookdale Park Conservancy. At BPRG, over 500 rose bushes of nearly 150 varieties are grown in 25 separate beds that are cared for by volunteers from both sides – community members as well as Essex County Master Gardeners members.
Established in 1959, the Baton Rouge Recreation Ground continues to thrive thanks to the hard work and dedication of a group of dedicated volunteers from the community who dedicate their time and talents to maintaining this vital area of the park. This year, they’ve planted a Katrina Survivor Rose bush in honor of those who survived Hurricane Katrina which devastated much of New Orleans and its surrounding areas.
Many public and private gardens in the United States have been created to showcase roses. Austria’s Volksgarten, for instance, boasts over 200 varieties of roses; Graythwaite Hall in England (designed by Thomas Mawson in 1886) features a rose garden; Bulla in Victoria boasts all surviving cultivars of famed rosarian Alister Clark; while Graythwaite Hall also features an extensive rose collection.
In April, the Miami VA Medical Center hosted a Rosie the Riveter Memorial Rose Garden dedication ceremony organized by Vitas Healthcare Veterans Liaison Nancy Auster and her colleagues with help from VA staffers. The occasion featured musical performances of “God Bless America” and “I’ve Got A Feeling,” as well as a chaplain’s prayer.
The Miami VA is one of many facilities across America that have created Rosie the Riveter Memorial Gardens to remember and celebrate the women who made a lasting contribution during World War II, regardless of location. Some are located in public parks while others are private and were created solely to commemorate these unsung heroes.
For further details on these gardens, please visit the National Rose Society website.
In San Diego, California, Dr. Fran Carter and her husband John founded the American Rosie the Riveter Association to raise awareness of women’s contributions on the Home Front during World War II for over two decades.
On August 28, 2009, The Veterans Museum and Memorial in Balboa Park held a Rosie the Riveter Memorial Rose Garden ceremony to pay homage to those original Rosies, their families, and invite attendees to place roses in a wreath in memory of these incredible women who made history on the Home Front during WWII.
On National Rosie the Riveter Day, real life Rosies and their families joined members of Spirit of ’45 who planted roses in the Garden as part of this special occasion. A public event will take place later in August when the Garden is in full bloom.
