Friday, June 26, 2009

Rose Garden Design and Layout - Port Credit Ontario

It's been about a year since the rose garden design and layout began at BRG, and even though it's early days, this wonderful addition to this City of Mississauga park is looking good. Very good. (See how it looks in June 2011.)

Here are a few pictures to show what it was near the beginning and how it looks today. And, since almost every rose was selected for its scent, it smells absolutely wonderful!

Rose Garden - The Early Days Summer 2008

I took this picture of the rose garden from the path at the top of the hill. From the parking lot at Lakeshore and Shawnmarr Roads (see Google Map in sidebar), walk up the hill path, not the Waterfront Trail path to the east. You can see from the green leafy patch at the back left that these roses were planted first.

Stakes Mark Rose Beds, Rose Bush Locations

After many revisions to the original design of the rose bed layout, park staff removed the sod, cultivated the soil and added good top soil. Paths between rose beds were marked out, and delineated with cedar mulch. The plan called for mass plantings of each type of rose for a better show of blooms and colors.

Rose Garden Planting by Design

Each week, more rose bushes were planted, and as a few eager ones started to bloom, we could see that some pots had been mislabeled at the nursery. This is why a bed of peach roses might have a white rose in their midst. And the one mystery rose -- an orange beauty -- is still unnamed. These will eventually be moved to their correct location, likely at the end of summer.

Rose Garden Summer 2008

Already last summer, well before the rose garden planting was finished, the first roses were coming into bloom, and attracting the notice of visitors who came looking for rhodos. Having these early bloomers to look at lessened the disappointment when told that the rhodos had bloomed months ago, and wouldn't bloom again until next May.

Early Scentimental Rose Bed Bloom

Sweet smelling Scentimetal was one such early bloomer last year. For 2009 blooms, see blooming roses page and June 2011 Rose Garden.

Rose Garden Shows Off Its Design Summer 2009

I took this picture today from the top of the same hill mentioned in the top photo. Photographers need a good wide angle lens to get the entire rose garden in the frame in detail, but visitors can enjoy it live, much better! And if the breeze cooperates, you'll get the glorious rose fragrance as well!

Mystery Rose :
Can you identify this rose? Post the name in the comments section below.

Mystery Orange Rose - Can You Name It?

This orange rose is one of the mislabeled ones that came into the garden with Chuckles and appears to be the only orange rose in the hundreds of rose bushed that have been planted. Until June 2011, when another 'Mystery Rose' appeared: a yellow rose in a sea of pink.
--