Ivor Markman

 

On a hot summer's afternoon in 2011, a group of green-fingered and en­thusiastic gardeners from the small Eastern Cape town of Bedford gathered in the town's church hall to dis­cuss the establishment of a "mo­ther garden" in order to preserve exam­ples of South Africa's extensive heritage rose collection.

The town, with its ideal climatic conditions, is already quite famous for its annual Garden Festival which showcases its beautiful gardens and talented gardeners.

During the late 1980s there was an awakening of interest in "old" or heritage, roses, grown or propagated before 1900, after Dr Gwen Fagan pub­lished her book Roses at the Cape of Good Hope.

Fagan became a popular lec­turer at gardening and rose conventions and after one of these Wendy Kroon, later the SA Heritage Rose Society chairwoman, raised the issue of forming a heritage rose so­ciety.

The objective of the society was to collect, preserve, prop­agate and showcase roses of historical, national and inter­national interest, as well as to implement and practice ecolog­ically sustainable methods of cultivation.

"At the 2006 Rose Conven­tion in Kyoto, Japan, it was de­cided (to establish) an Interna­tional Heritage Rose Society," said Kroon.

Before the convention start­ed four Eastern Cape rose en­thusiasts received an invita­tion to visit the Parc de la Tête d'Or, a botanical park in Lyon, France, and were taken to see the collection of early French roses.

The four were so excited by what they saw that they pushed for the development of a similar garden back home.

At their first meeting in Bed­ford enthusiasts were keen to use a vacant area of the St And­rew's church grounds for their new national rosarium.

"Unfortunately (the yard) is dominated by very old gum trees which have really de­stroyed the soil," said society fundraiser Dr David Comyn.

So Comyn, who owns land on a river bend in the wettest part of Bedford, offered the club a

piece of ground below his home for the establishment of the rosarium.

"It's up against a little hill and there's evidence other rose growers had done exceptional­ly well there in the past," he said.

"Most civilised countries have a mother garden from which old roses are propagated and dispersed among the pop­ulation."

At the World Rose Congress held in Johannesburg in October 2012, the Rosarium was officially launched.

The rosarium is to be run on fully organic principles which will allow it to be used as a teaching garden for local schools and public.

The 500m garden and her­itage rose sanctuary venue has its own borehole and has been surveyed and laid out by Gawie Fagan, a celebrated architect known for restoring historical homes.

Support from rose enthusi­asts has been "wonderful" and both the director of the Lyon Botanical Gardens, Daniel Boulens, and past president of the World Federation of Rose Societies Helga Brichet offered plants from their collec­tions.

The World Federation is an association of rose societies from 91 countries and Brichet has a unique collection of Chi­na roses in her garden in Um­bria, Italy.

These specimens were expect­ed to arrive in Bedford in March, 2012.

Pretoria rose grower Ludwig Tashner donated 265 heritage rose plants to the rosarium.

Although there are no in­digenous rose species in the southern hemisphere, South Africa played an important role in the preservation of the rose.

Many ships sailing between Europe and the East Indies called for refreshments at the Cape and sailors brought plants either to sell or trade.

As a result, the Cape became home to many rose species.

Not surprisingly, a number of unidentified species also found their way here, but by 1910 new fashionable hybrid plants were beginning to re­place the traditional roses.

Whether these unidentified specimens were the result of lo­cal hybridisation or whether they survived because of the warmer Cape climate is un­known.

"While older varieties were being edged out by modern and more fashionable roses, the oldies found refuge in gardens and cemeteries of villages, towns and farms," said Kroon. A Rosarium Trust with trustees was established to take care of the garden with a priority to purchase the property as soon as it was able. The trust is now registered with SARS and has its non-profit fundraising SARS number. 

 

Text and Photos: Copyright 2013  Ivor Markman