McKeesport's Renziehausen Park Rose Garden thrives with help of volunteers
The sweet fragrance of thousands of blooming roses hangs in the humid summer air at the Renziehausen Park Rose Garden in McKeesport.
Strolling through the beds allows visitors to enjoy the scent of each variety. Some release a mild, fruity perfume, while others produce a strong, intoxicating scent.
“It's glorious, just glorious,” says Georgie Papale of the pleasant smell. Papale, president of the Pittsburgh Rose Society, started tending the garden in 1989. She's one of many volunteers who spend every Wednesday in the garden.
The area was originally constructed in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. As far as anyone knows, the garden was filled with annuals. The stone benches and steps harken to another era.
In the 1950s, the garden was converted to roses and was heralded as one of the finest displays in the country. Maintenance workers for the city of McKeesport first provided upkeep for the garden.
“They had the manpower; they had the money,” Papale says, while overlooking the myriad roses. “As the steel mills closed and the tax base went down, they could not afford to maintain the garden. They did nothing to it.”
In the late 1980s, women from the Garden Club of McKeesport contacted the rose society for help in bringing the garden back to its former glory.
It took several years to renovate the garden. Some of the roses were saved and then others were added. After the garden was pristine again, it was selected as an All-America Rose Selection Garden, receiving some of the award-winning plants to display every season. An economic downturn and the loss of many rose growers have since ended the All-America program, but the beautiful winners are still on display at the garden.
The average age of the volunteers from the garden club and rose society is 70. And even though temperatures on this day are stifling, there are a couple of women in their late 80s pulling weeds and deadheading roses.
“It becomes an obsession, I guess. They inspire me,” Papale says.
“They are dedicated. They love what they do,” says Jane Miller, president of the garden club. There's also something else special about these gardeners, she says. “I just love coming; I like the socializing, too. We've all become good friends.”
Papale agrees: “It has become like a family,” she says.
They worry about what's next for the garden. Even though they have tried to find new members, it's hard to interest gardeners.
“That is a scary thing,” Papale says. “Who is going to carry it on?”
There's no official funding for the garden. The groups apply for grants when they can be found, solicit donations and hold events for other garden clubs. Members who can't work in the garden anymore make floral crafts, cards and pressed flowers to sell to help raise money.
Besides the roses, Renziehausen has a water garden, butterfly garden, perennial border, herb garden and mature specimen trees.
Out among the roses, Father Gervase Degenhardt, a member of the rose society, is finishing up his work and occasionally taking time to literally smell the roses. He reflects on what makes this place exceptional to him.
“The roses draw you. And definitely all the people who work with roses are very special. They so easily become friends. You can share your woes, your joys in growing them.”
Degenhardt has been a rose lover much of his life and was inspired by blooms he saw in the 1960s.
“We had some beautiful ‘Peace' roses down in Washington, D.C.,” he says. “Just to go out in the morning and see the dew on one of those blossoms, that's enough to captivate you.”
The Renziehausen Park Rose Garden is free and open to the public from dawn to dusk daily.
Details: pghrosesociety.org
Doug Oster is the Tribune-Review home and garden editor. Reach him at 412-965-3278 or doster@tribweb.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at triblive.com/lifestyles/dougoster.
Rose care
Roses have a reputation of being hard to grow, and rosarian Father Gervase Degenhardt agrees.
“I think they are somewhat difficult,” he says. “They will take more care than planting a marigold, but if you know a few of the tricks of the trade, they are not the dainty prima donnas that people generally consider them to be.”
Degenhardt likes to start with bare-root plants and soak them overnight before planting, although he says it's fine to plant potted roses, too. The key is starting with good soil or amending what's there with organic matter such as compost. Most roses are grafted, so there is something called a bud union at the bottom of the plant. That should be planted 2 inches below the soil to protect it during the winter.
For the first season, the rose needs to be watered when rain is scarce, at least 1 inch of water per week.
“It also needs to eat in order to thrive. Rosetone is one of the best fertilizers,” he says. Applying it monthly will make the plants more vigorous and grow better blooms.
“You don't spray for insects unless you have a big infestation you can't deal with another way,” he says.
One of the biggest problems with roses is a fungal issue called black spot. It usually doesn't kill the plant, but it looks terrible. Black spots emerge on the foliage and then the leaves fall off. Degenhardt recommends Natria or Serenade applied every seven to 10 days. They are both organic controls to deal with the disease.
At the end of November, the base of the plant should be mounded with soil 10 to 12 inches deep.
Article by Doug Oster,
Everybody Gardens
http://www.everybodygardens.com
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