Latest in a series of posts on the Rose Garden
Wednesday’s Bethlehem Press had an interesting article relative to the Rose Garden that Gadfly cannot find online to which to link for you.
Title: “Valley Rose Society ‘reblossoms.”
Gadfly will link to it later if it shows up online.
The article details the “blossoming” after 22 years of the Lehigh Valley Rose Society triggered by interim president Nate Fisher.
Fisher describes scrolling through Facebook and seeing a message about clean-up at the Rose Garden.
You’ve seen Adam Waldron’s posts here about that.
So, the “LV Rose Society members joined forces with the Mount Airy Neighborhood Association and other community volunteers to start weeding the garden beds.”
Far out — for word had reached Gadfly from several sources that the garden was run down and wondering why the City wasn’t maintaining it.
Perhaps gardening problem now solved.
You know Gadfly is interested in Bethlehem history.
And while browsing the Lehigh Valley Rose Society web site, he found some interesting material on the origin of the Rose Garden.
Such as the May 20, 1956 article from the Morning Call tracing the Society history from the founding in 1947.
Morning Call, June 30, 1931
And a short sketch of the 1931 origin of the Rose Garden itself, it’s hey-day (“The exquisite beauty of the blooms enhanced with the sparkling background of loveliness that the city park affords has sent the many spectators away with bubbling stories of admiration which consequently have reached other ears and brought them to this garden scene of splendor”), and it’s slide down to its present fallen state.
Here’s the goal of the Society:
“It is the goal of the Lehigh Valley Rose Society (LVRS) for the Bethlehem Rose Garden to not just be a garden of beautiful roses, but a place the community can be proud of again. A place where we (LVRS) can host free, public educational demonstrations about roses (identifying, planting, fertilizing, pruning, cutting/arranging, disease/pest identification & management, etc.) for interested gardeners. A space to encourage people to get outdoors where they can walk along the paths, have picnics, and take photos amongst the flowers to mark special occasions. But also, to serve as a crucially needed habitat for pollinating insects.”
Fantastic.
But “Funds are needed to purchase roses, additional plants (native pollinator plants and wildflowers are being discussed), organic fertilizer, and organic sprays (such as copper fungicide and neem oil), etc.”
Funds are needed.
Gadfly hopes that followers familiar with this endeavor will provide information about how to donate.
We look forward to new beginnings at the Rose Garden!
