Photo: Contributed Flowers on display at Summerland Ornamental Gardens
The Summerland Ornamental Gardens is ready to show off its roses now that summer has officially arrived.
The 15-acre historic site features a variety of roses, including the fragrant David Austin roses.
There is also a large dedicated area just for Canadian varieties, plus a thiird area with historic varieties.
“It was only recently unearthed after being smothered by overgrown Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape)!” reads a press release from the gardens.
“Canada has produced many excellent roses over the past century. Many of them originated from breeding programs at research stations similar to the Agriculture Agri-Food Canada facility in Summerland. Locations in Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario have shepherded the introduction of the Explorer Series, the Artist Series, the Morden Series and the 49th Parallel Series of cold-hardy roses. Meanwhile private breeders located in the Fraser Valley have been producing stunning roses for the past few decades.”
The Canadian Heritage Rose Garden was first conceived in 2017 at the Summerland Ornamental Gardnens, and thanks to the work of dedicated volunteers, it has become a robust and beautiful site.
“These roses are as beautiful and fragrant as any of the traditional and more familiar hybrid tea varieties that dominate the home garden market. But they have one key characteristic that makes them even more worthy of consideration for our gardens,” reads the press releases.
“Most of the traditional roses are grafted onto rootstock which allows them to grow faster and more vigorously. Unfortunately this means that a cold winter such as the one we endured in 2024 can kill such plants as the rootstock is not reliably winter hardy. Canadian-bred roses are grown on their own roots, a significant advantage in our erratic winter conditions. While the roses in the garden did suffer some dieback they all survived and grew back nicely to bloom last summer. The same could not be said for many other roses in local gardens.”
First blossoms appear around mid-June and there is colour throughout the summer as most varieties are repeat bloomers.
“The Summerland Ornamental Gardens are open seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm. Mark July 27 on your calendar as it is the date of the next Art and Music in the Garden event. Local artists will be in attendance along with live music,” concludes the press release.
Check the website at http://www.summerlandgardens.org for more details.
Photo: Contributed The “before” picture of the rose gardens at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens
