Posted 11:49 pm Monday, August 16, 2010
Famous Garden Has Long, Rich Local History
All East Texans know about the Tyler Rose Garden and its vast array of blossoms. It has been hailed as the largest public collection of roses, with more than 40,000 bushes and 500 varieties, in the country.
But the sprawling garden holds a cache of interesting facts you might not know.
The city of Tyler's communications department produced a video of the garden's history, the "crowning jewel" of Tyler's most recognizable and enduring symbol -- the rose. The video will go on sale this fall during the Texas Rose Festival.
Keith Mills, who served as superintendent of the Rose Garden from 1984-2000, and Jill Ramey, former Tyler Rose Queen and Rose Garden historian, are featured on the 15-minute video.
Mills said the main reason residents began growing roses in Tyler and East Texas in the mid-1800s was because of the sandy acidic soil here, moderate temperatures and usual adequate rainfall.
The property now home to the garden was bought by the city of Tyler in 1912 for the future site of a park and fairgrounds. After several years and the urging of former American Rose Society President Dr. Horace McFarland, an application was made to the Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1938. The $181,255 federal grant received for the project was believed to be the largest for a park or garden approved by the WPA.
The city turned to Henry Thompson, a Tylerite and son of local rose growers, to design the garden before he went off to serve in World War II as a fighter pilot. The project was put on hold because "everybody's effort was for the war effort" at the time, Ms. Ramey said. Unfortunately, Thompson wouldn't get to see his designs come to fruition; he was killed in action, failing to return from a flight over the English Chanel in November 1944.
Nothing happened with the garden's plans from 1941-45. Then, in 1946, came Robert "Bob" Shelton Jr. After serving in the war as a Navy officer, Shelton moved to Tyler. He loved roses and gardens and decided to continue the pursuit of the Rose Garden, Mills said.
Cynthia Boles, narrator of the video, said Shelton worked to turn the "eyesore into a lush rose lover's paradise." He began to create a catalogue of all the roses grown in Smith County.
Shelton repeatedly told professional horticulturalists that the site off Front Street was where the rose garden was going. They told him roses would never work there, Ms. Ramey said.
But Shelton's response was something along the lines of "watch me," Mills said.
The topsoil, which wasn't conducive to growing roses, was removed from the plot and dumped onto local baseball fields, leaving only clay for the base of the garden. A cemetery backhoe was used to dig 36-inch-wide beds.
A mixture of sandy soil, sewer sludge from the city's water and wastewater department and leaves gathered by street sweepers, was collected to fill the beds. But because people were very concerned about diseases at the time, the soil was taken in dump trucks to a local dry cleaners to be sanitized first. Shelton was always fond of telling the story about how a hose was pushed out the window of the dry cleaning business and connected to pipes on the dump truck. Steam was pumped through them to sterilize the soil before they were put in the flower beds, Mills said.
Ms. Ramey said the purpose of the garden was not to be gorgeous and landscaped, but to be a living catalogue of roses "to give people an opportunity to see the vast variety of roses."
In 1952, the Tyler Rose Garden was officially opened. Its first roses, nearly 3,000 bushes, were donated by local nurseries.
Since its opening, the Rose Garden has grown to more than 40,000 bushes and about 500 varieties, Ms. Boles noted. It is one of only 24 All American Trial Gardens in the country.
The garden features 16 distinct garden areas, "each with a character and a beauty all its own," she said.
Two fountains date back to 1912 and were plucked from the old Smith County Courthouse after it was demolished in 1953. A wagon wheel fountain is from an old wagon yard in downtown Tyler and an original yellow brick wall, constructed by the WPA, still stands with a plaque in memory of Thompson. There are three ponds in the Reflection Garden and a bridge built by Amish in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
The IDEA (Innovate, Demonstrate, Educate and Apply) Garden displays underused varieties of roses; the Camellia Garden was designed by Brian Thompson, Henry Thompson's son; the Shade Garden consists of more than 25 varieties of Japanese Maple trees; the Heritage Rose Garden is there to educate the public about antique roses; the maze area is comprised of 100s of modern roses in a variety of colors; the Main Fountain and Queen's Court Lawn is the site of the annual Queen's Tea during the Texas Rose Festival, as well as many weddings.
The garden is the result of the passion and tireless work of some of Tyler's most influential leaders, Ms. Boles said, calling it a "one of a kind treasure in Texas history that exemplifies the spirit, ingenuity and perseverance of the Tyler Community."
The garden is open 365 days a year and has seen visitors from around the world.
Talking about Shelton, Ms. Ramey said he was "a can do man" who was joyful and loved by everyone. She said she'd like to see another plaque placed in the garden dedicated to him.
