May is the peak month for the Rose Garden blooms in Golden Gate Park. For more than 20 years, I have gone there to enjoy the magnificent roses, yet on a recent lunch break with my dad, something felt strikingly amiss. The garden’s prominent centerpiece had been stripped of its vibrant seasonal poppies and colorful blooms, replaced instead by rocks, dirt, and a sea of evergreen shrubs. It was the horticultural equivalent of a bad haircut.
The current centerpiece of the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park. | Liz Le
A modest sign reading “Ask about the Roses” invited conversation, so I approached. That led me to Stanley, a devoted horticulturist who has volunteered in the garden for eight years. He greets visitors with a warm smile and draws on a deep well of knowledge gained from 55 years as a San Franciscan and 40 years running his own garden and landscaping business.
Stanley, a rose garden volunteer, with his sign at the Golden Gate Park Rose Garden. | Liz Le
Stanley, together with a greener gardener, Sidney Beardsworth, who started in January, quickly put my concerns to rest: the stone-and-shrub installation is temporary. It was the concept of a former rose gardener who has since moved to a lower-maintenance garden. The centerpiece, they assured, will soon be restored to its wilder glory.
Stanley tends the roses with meticulous care while graciously answering visitors’ questions. He especially enjoys the curiosity of children, who ask the best questions: “Are there any blue roses?” “Do all roses have thorns?” and “Why do roses have thorns?” With a twinkle in his eye, he explains that blue is the one color still missing from the palette, though purple comes remarkably close, and that thorns serve as nature’s defense against hungry deer.
I grew up in Portland, Ore., the City of Roses, where my mother nurtured more than a hundred rose varieties in our backyard oasis. I spent many afternoons succumbing to senioritis in Portland’s jeweled rose garden, which had over 10,000 rose varieties across 4.5 acres. By comparison, the Golden Gate Park Rose Garden was established in 1961 as a test garden, which became too expensive to maintain. Over time, it expanded into a two-acre permanent collection featuring more than 1,200 varieties, primarily hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras. A smaller test bed near JFK Drive is still maintained by the San Francisco Rose Society.
Roses from Golden Gate Park’s Rose Garden. | Liz Le
Before I left, Stanley kindly offered practical advice for my own fog-challenged garden in the Richmond District. Among his recommendations:
– Prune roses while dormant in January.
– Deadhead spent blooms in May, July, and August, cutting just above the first five-leaflet leaf.
– Remove all fallen leaves and pruned debris from around the base to eliminate spores.
– Spray neem oil on canes and soil every six weeks or as needed.
– Fertilize in March with granular Triple 16 (16-16-16), working it into the soil six to eight inches from the base and watering deeply.
– Prune roses into an open, vase-like form to improve airflow and reduce moisture-related disease.
Stanley also pointed me toward two treasures worth seeking out: the unearthly fragrance of the deep-red “Abraham Lincoln” and the ancient elephant trunks of the climbing “Lavender Lassie.”
The Golden Gate Park Rose Garden remains one of the city’s quiet treasures. Thanks to devoted volunteers like Stanley, I am confident its former splendor will soon return.
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