Roses Will Take Spotlight

Thu., July 6, 2000

By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com (509) 459-5454

The annual Rose Hill Day at Manito Park on July 16 offers rose enthusiasts an opportunity to learn more about their favorite flower.

Members of the Spokane Rose Society will be on hand to give advice and answer questions on growing these American beauties.

The event has been scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. to ensure that summertime weather won’t overheat those enjoying the 1,500 bushes in Manito’s formal rose garden.

“The roses should be in pretty good bloom about the time of the show,” said Harlan Peer, president of the 165-member rose society in Spokane.

Three new rose varieties have won distinction as All American Rose Selections in 2000. They are on display at Rose Hill and will be available from nurseries in 2001.

They include Marmalade Skies, a tangerine orange floribunda; Glowing Peace, a grandiflora with golden yellow and cantaloupe orange blooms; and Sun Sprinkles, a yellow miniature.

Each is marked with a green-and-white sign that’s about 6-by-8 inches in size.

Manito’s Rose Hill was conceived nearly 60 years ago but wasn’t planned until the post-war period in 1947.

For years, members of the society tended the garden. Now they volunteer for the annual Rose Hill Day.

The garden includes many antique roses in an extensive bank planting, the formal beds with 150 varieties, and borders of old-fashioned roses.

The roses have been used as breeding stock for new hybrids.

Manito is one of 130 display gardens accredited by the All American Rose Selections Committee and, as such, has the distinction of showing the AARS yearly winners.

Spokane’s rosarians will provide handouts on planting, pruning and winterization. They will also talk about pest and disease control.

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