Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...
owned and operated by The American Rose Society. There are over 20,000 rose bushes of 100 varieties in 65 separate rose gardens on 118 acres of pine forests and
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s.
America's Rose Garden
The center's Mission & Vision statement is "Presenting the Rose, America's National Floral Emblem, in a natural setting of majestic pines and companion plants - for pleasure, education, and for the preservation and understanding of the beauty and significance of our favorite flower, the Rose."
The gardens feature roses of all types: the most modern hybrid tea roses, miniature roses, single petaled roses, heritage roses and species. The gardens are recognized as the largest park in the United States dedicated to roses.
The American Rose Center has supported the development and use of sustainable growing practices that do not degrade the environment; the grounds include a test garden for disease-resistant Hybrid Tea roses to demonstrate that exhibition-form roses can be grown without chemical intervention.
Annual events include an Easter Egg Hunt, Evening of Wine & Roses, horticulture symposiums, Green Thumb seminars, Spring Bloom, Angel of Hope Candlelight and Healing Ceremony annually on December 6, and Christmas in Roseland held in the gardens in December for the past 35 years.
Rosie, a working dog and designated member of the staff, was used for several years to keep wildlife out of the gardens, particularly deer which can cause a lot of damage to the plants.
In 2016, the center dropped their fees for commercial and professional photographers, actively promoting the use of the gardens for proms and wedding photography.
In 2018, the gardens hosted the dedication ceremony for the U.S. Postal Service's newly issued Forever stamp celebrating the Peace Rose.
American Rose Society
The American Rose Society (ARS) is a
nonprofit corporation
A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation may ...
in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
(formerly of Ohio and Pennsylvania) which owns the property of The American Rose Center. The gardens have been the home and national headquarters of the American Rose Society since 1974, when the non-profit organization moved from
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
, and before that, from
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...
. The Society was founded in 1892 in Harrisburg.
According to the ARS bylaws, their objectives are:
ARS held its first
rose show A rose show is a horticultural exhibition focusing exclusively on roses.
History
United Kingdom
Initially in the UK roses were exhibited in general flower shows such as those run by the Royal Horticultural Society. Judges were appointed by w ...
in 1900, and accredits judges for rose shows. Accreditation requires experience with growing roses, successful exhibition of roses, working as a show clerk, completing an accredited judging school, passing an exam, and apprenticing under an accredited judge.
ARS publishes several periodicals including ''American Rose'' magazine and ''American Rose Annual'', and has published or co-authored several books such as ''Encyclopedia of Roses'', ''Handbook for Selecting Roses: A Rose Buying Guide'', ''A Guide to Creating Rose Arrangements'', ''Standardized Rose Names'', ''Guidelines and Rules for Judging Roses'', ''Guidelines for Judging Rose Arrangements'', and ''Consulting Rosarian Reference Manual''.
Since 1955, the American Rose Society has been the designated International Cultivar Registration Authority for the Rosa genus, and maintains an online database called the Modern Roses Database. Guided by the
International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
The ''International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants'' (ICNCP), is a guide to the rules and regulations for naming cultigens, plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. It is also known as Cultivat ...
, the registration process prevents duplicate use of cultivar names, and ARS is charged with ensuring that new names are formally established.
Restoration project
In 2017, ARS created a five-year master plan for the total restoration of the gardens called the ''Great Garden Restoration'' project. The project is a complete makeover for the gardens, consolidating the rambling multiple gardens into one core garden suitable for visitors. The project calls for the cutting back some of the encroaching pine forest and installing deer fencing.
The design for the garden layout resembles the gears of a vintage watch and the theme is "The History of the Rose in America". The design includes the stories of great roses such as
Peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
which has been the parent of many roses through hybridization, and Yellow Rose of Texas which traversed the country with early settlers of America. The story of the Grandiflora and Miniflora classes will be told, and the mission of "Rose Rustlers" who locate and preserve old lost roses found in cemeteries and old homesteads.
Part of the garden is dedicated to the "Father of the American Rose Society"
J. Horace McFarland
J. Horace McFarland (1859–1948) from McAlisterville, Pennsylvania was a leading proponent of the "City Beautiful Movement" in the United States.
Life
McFarland was the son of Union Civil War colonel George F. McFarland. He lived and worked mo ...
, an early leader, editor and publisher for the organization. This area of the gardens was named "McFarland Plaza" and a rose was named in his honor.
The American Rose Society will name the new garden ''America's Rose Garden'', home of America's national floral emblem, the rose.
Other parts of the master plan include reaching
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
status, becoming recognized on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
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World Federation of Rose Societies
The World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) is an umbrella association of (as of 2015) 39-member countries' national rose societies.
Although founded in 1968 in London by 8 constituent countries' rose societies, the WFRS did not have a first mee ...
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...