The Elizabeth Park Conservancy
If you’re planning to be in or around Hartford, Connecticut this summer, and want to see some of the most beautiful roses, I encourage you to visit the Elizabeth Park Conservancy.
Elizabeth Park is on the national register of historic places and offers more than 100-acres of formal gardens, green space, recreational facilities, and walking loops. The centerpiece of Elizabeth Park is the country’s oldest public rose garden. It was designed by Theodore Wirth in 1904. The Rose Garden is two-and-a-half acres with 475-beds and more than 15-thousand rose bushes and arches.
Earlier this week, I asked my gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, to attend Elizabeth Park’s pruning workshop to sharpen their pruning skills and to learn some valuable tips from master rosarian, Stephen Scanniello. I learned about the workshop a couple of weeks ago, when I delivered the keynote speech for The Elizabeth Park Conservancy 2017 Garden Lecture Series. My talk was entitled "Two Very Different Gardens: A Mountain Landscape and a Rural Farm”. I spoke about restoring my Bedford farm, about the work I did to Skylands to preserve its historic detail, and about the gardens at both properties. I also conducted a book signing for "Vegetables: Inspired Recipes and Tips for Choosing, Cooking, and Enjoying the Freshest Seasonal Flavors" and briefly toured the Rose Garden with Stephen.
Enjoy these photos from my talk and visit, and from the pruning workshop attended by Ryan and Wilmer.
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- Here I am with gardener, rosarian, historian, and author, Stephen Scanniello. He is the Chief Rosarian at the NYBG. He is also best known for transforming the Cranford Rose Garden of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden into one of today’s most acclaimed rose gardens. We’ve known each other for many years.
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- I spoke at the Hartford Golf Club, not far from Elizabeth Park Conservancy in West Hartford, Connecticut.
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- Christine Doty, Executive Director at the Elizabeth Park Conservancy, welcomed all the guests to the event.
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- After my keynote, Stephen gave me a rose – a climbing rose, ‘Flying Kiss’, created by rosarian, Ping Lim – perhaps one of the best rose hybridizers of today.
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- More than 100-guests attended the Lecture Series – it was so nice to see such an enthusiastic crowd.
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- For lunch, we were served several dishes from my book “Vegetables: Inspired Recipes and Tips for Choosing, Cooking, and Enjoying the Freshest Seasonal Flavors”. This is Steamed Asparagus with Mint Butter – one of my Steamed Asparagus, Three Ways recipes.
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- This is Steamed Asparagus with Eggs Mimosa.
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- And, this is Steamed Asparagus with Lemon Aioli.
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- Here is another recipe from “Vegetables” – a delicious mix of greens topped with pancetta.
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- Everyone’s plate was filled with healthy, tasty vegetables. I was happy to see everyone enjoying the dishes from my book.
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- Dessert was also from “Vegetables” – cornmeal shortcakes and corn ice cream with blueberries. The chef embellished it with a white chocolate bark with corn and blueberries.
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- Here I am with Arline Croce – she’s the grandmother of our PR manager, Alexa Stark.
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- After the talk and lunch, I conducted a book signing for “Vegetables” – it was a great way to end the event. This little girl is a big fan, and she made this gift for me.
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- This week, my gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, along with our intern from the School of Professional Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden, went to Elizabeth Park to participate in a rose pruning workshop led by Stephen.
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- It was a cloudy and rainy day, but the group enjoyed the workshop and learned many useful rose care tips.
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- Stephen is also a raconteur – a good storyteller – and shared many tales on the history of various rose cultivars.
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- Stephen showed the group how to properly cut dead, or dying canes – by cutting at a 45-degree angle about 1/4-inch above the outward-facing bud.
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- Here are Ryan and Wilmer – Stephen gave them one of the more challenging beds – one that also needed lots of weeding.
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- Always prune with clean, sharp equipment. Wilmer is an excellent tool sharpener.
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- Here is our intern, Wambui – she spent some time working here at the rose garden as part of her NYBG rotation curriculum.
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- In the end, the bed Ryan and Wilmer pruned was clean and well-weeded.
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- The rose garden is the oldest municipal rose garden in the United States and the third largest rose garden in the country. This gazebo is in the center of the rose garden.
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- This is a view from under the gazebo looking up into the roof. This gazebo was built in 1903 and rebuilt in 2005.
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- The original main garden, the “square,” is an acre in size and has 132 rose beds.
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- The North and South gardens, which are semi-circular sections, were added later to make up a total of 2.5 acres of roses, 475 beds, and the eight grass pathways.
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- There are more than 15-thousand rose bushes and 800 varieties of old and new roses in the garden.
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- Ramblers grow on arches that radiate from the “gazebo,” The arches are in full bloom in late June, early July.
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- In mid-October, the Conservancy oversees the planting of more than 11-thousand tulips. The tulips are in bloom in early May.
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- When the tulips die back, they are dug up to make way for the Annual Garden. The bulbs are sold in bags to the public.
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- For formal gardens, it is better to replant new ones in the fall, as tulips do not always rebloom. This allows the Conservancy to change the colors and patterns of the garden beds.
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- These tulips are just about to bloom – there are some tulips that are already blooming in my garden at Bedford.
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- Here are some beautiful bright yellow tulips.
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- Not far from the tulip garden is this giant Metasequoia glyptostroboides, or dawn redwood. I also have dawn redwoods at my farm.
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- And this is a Japanese red cedar tree, Cryptomeria. Cryptomeria japonica wood is extremely fragrant, weather and insect resistant, soft, and with a low density.
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- Stephen took the group to Heritage Garden, where exceptionally old varieties of roses are located, including some that predate 1867. Here is an old variety rose that was protected through the winter under cut branches.
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- In the Heritage Garden, there are five raised beds edged in stonewalls that form the outline of a five-petal rosette. The rosette symbolizes a centifolia, a 100-petaled rose, which is typical of heritage roses.
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- Stephen showed the group how to use marker stakes to pin down long rose canes.
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- Stephen also talked about feeding roses. The Conservancy uses this Sanctuary fertilizer for all their roses – it is sometimes hard to find, but a favorite among professional gardeners.
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- Everyone had a great time. Here are Josh, Stephen’s assistant, Wambui, Wilmer, Stephen, and Ryan. At the end of the workshop, Stephen held a raffle and gave some wonderful rose specimens to everyone who attended.
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