ROSE
FESTIVAL APRIL 26-27
Thousands of roses will be at the peak of their fragrant bloom during a two-day Rose Festival April 26-27 at The Huntington. Hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days. The event is free with museum admission. |
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| The three-acre Rose Garden at The Huntington showcases
nearly 1,500 different varieties of roses—approximately 4,000 individual plants—in
a picturesque landscape of trees, statuary, and rolling green lawns. Visitors
can stroll among a profusion of spring flowers and enjoy guided tours of
the Rose Garden, demonstrations, informal talks, and one-on-one advice
from the experts on practical rose care and culture. All the plants in
the garden are labeled for easy identification and reference. “It’s
like a living library,” says Clair Martin, the E.L. and Ruth B. Shannon
Curator of the Rose Garden. “Visitors can study the different types
of roses, take notes on color, size, shape, and fragrance, and find their
own favorites.”
To top it all off, visitors can enjoy a delightful
English tea, served in the Rose Garden Tea Room. (Reservations required
for tea.) |
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TOURS, PLANT SALES, & DEMONSTRATIONS Tented pavilions will be set up on the Rose Garden lawn during the weekend for an ongoing series of informal talks on a variety of rose-growing topics. Scheduled topics and times for both days are: How to Plant a Rose (11 a.m.), Selecting the Best Roses for Your Garden (1 p.m.), Making Cut Flowers Last Longer (2 p.m.), Training and Pruning Climbing Roses (3 p.m.), andTools of the Trade: Selecting and Caring for Garden Tools (4 p.m.) |
| Docent-led tours of the Rose, Shakespeare, and Herb gardens will be offered
throughout the weekend. The roses displayed in these three areas trace
the history of the flower for over two thousand years, from the pre-Christian
era to the present day.
A plant sale area in the parking lot will offer
a wide variety of roses ready to plant and enjoy at home, and rose
books and related gift items
will be available in the Bookstore & More. |
| ABOUT THE ROSES A stroll through the Rose Garden can be a journey back through time to rediscover some of the roses of days gone by. Walking along the paths and arbors, visitors can see classical blooms of Greek and Roman antiquity; early European roses from Medieval and Renaissance times; Tea and China roses introduced into Europe around 1800; showy hybrid teas, floribundas, polyanthas, and climbers; David Austin’s modern “Old English Roses;” and new French shrub roses. |
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| Many of the roses in the garden have names that
bring to mind The Huntington’s
renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts: some pay tribute to
characters out of Shakespeare (‘Sweet Juliet,’ ‘Fair
Bianca,’ ‘Prospero,’ and ‘Othello’) or from
Geoffrey Chaucer’s 15th century masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales
(‘Wife of Bath,’ ‘The Yeoman,’ and ‘The Nun’).
The Rose Garden, created in 1908, was originally
part of Henry Huntington’s
private San Marino estate. The garden was designed primarily for display,
but was also used as a source of cut flowers for the large and elaborate
arrangements favored by his wife, Arabella. Household records indicate
that in one year alone over 30,000 flowers were used in floral arrangements,
and 9,700 of those were roses. Today, this former private bower is a
public favorite, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. |
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Admission to The Huntington, which includes all Festival activities (except English tea), is $10 for adults, $8.50 for seniors, $7 for students 12-18, $4 for youth 5-11, and free for children under 5. Members are admitted free. For Tea Room information, Click Here Questions? publicinfo@huntington.org |