Roses at Stanley Park no longer an embarrassment
Steve Whysall
When Rick Harrison took over the job of looking after the rose garden in Stanley Park five years ago, he thought it was a complete mess.
Established by the Kiwanis Club in 1920 to show "the possibilities of rose culture in Vancouver", the garden was supposed to be an example of excellence — great roses grown to perfection in a world-class setting.
Unfortunately, many of the varieties of roses chosen did not perform as well as expected. Even some of the newer, internationally acclaimed shrub roses such as David Austin's delightful pink 'Brother Cadfael' failed to impress.
Harrison says one of his first jobs was to renovate the garden by ripping out all the poor performers.
"Last year was the first year I was not embarrassed by this garden," says Harrison, who has worked as a gardener in Stanley Park for more than 30 years.
"I think today we can start to call it a rose garden again. This year, people have been raving about how good it looks.
"However, they are looking at it as a whole and I know that there is a still a lot of work to be done."
Harrison has been working closely with rose expert Brad Jalbert, owner of Select Roses in Langley, to pick reliable, disease-resistant performance roses. The collaboration has been paying off.
"Brad suggested we try top floribunda-type roses like 'Livin' Easy' and 'Easy Going' and 'Easy Does It'. They have all worked out brilliantly," says Harrison.
Some of the new German-bred roses from the Kordes Nursery such as 'Brothers Grimm' in the Cinderella series have also proven to be reliable replacements.
Other star performers include 'Julia Child', an award-winning yellow floribunda developed by Weeks Roses in the U.S., and 'Mountbatten', a yellow shrub rose developed by Harkness Roses in the U.K.
Today that garden contains more than 3,000 plants displayed in about 60 individual flower beds close to the entrance of the park. A traditional pergola-style arbour is still at the centre of the garden.
Harrison is not allowed to use any pesticide or fungicide sprays, but he does spray with Bio-Fish, a natural fertilizer with a 3-1-2 content ratio (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), produced by BioFert Manufacturing of Langley, and sells for $4.50 for 500 ml, $8.30 for two litres.
"I spray with it every couple of weeks in the morning," says Harrison. "I want it to stay on the leaves for at least two or three days. I believe it makes the roses healthier and because they are healthier they are more disease resistant."
Harrison says home gardeners should not be afraid to prune roses hard. "I think this is the area where most people make a mistake. They should not be afraid to prune. Roses don't need a lot of water, nor do they need a lot of fertilizer, but if they are not pruned, they will not do as well as they can."
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spinner display says:
the rose is so beautiful….I have never seen something like this before – but when I saw the picture I loved it instantly. We have such a small garden and I would love to be able to have more plants on a small place. This would be the solution! And it looks amazing!
Mama Bear says:
Why not concentrate on growing roses that smell like roses. Have a rose-scented garden. And talk about other rose growers in the region, so local people have a variety of places to purchase from. This looks like an advertisement for Select Roses.
bbiggs says:
I am a home owner in south surrey and have only 27 rose plants. I take great delight in seeing a well cared for and beautiful fragrant rose. I was not aware of the revamped rose garden but if Brad Jalbert is involved it will be great. (no I am not his Father). Despite my distaste of going into Vancouver, I will make a special trip to visit your garden. I have two Don Juans (Brad does not like them) side by side and one is doing great and the other very poorly, same treatment, different result. Congratulations on your revamping of the garden. A labour of love.