The Nashville Rose Society + Cheekwood Estate and Botanical Gardens: A Partnership in Education
By Jill Garabedian
In February, 2015, Ron, the late Dr. Sam Jones, who, at the time was the Tenarky District Director, and Todd Breyer, Landscape Architect at Cheekwood, with the support of the Nashville Rose Society, had an initial meeting with Cheekwood to propose not only a beautiful rose garden but a “hands on” rose garden that could be used to teach new NRS members and the general public about caring for and planting roses. (For the full story of how the Garden came about, click here.)
How the Rose Study Garden is Used
NRS members have “work days” to maintain the Rose Study Garden to the high standards set by Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. The NRS has been deeply committed to the success of the Rose Study Garden and have volunteered many hours to keep the garden in excellent shape. Cheekwood has many gardens on site and the NRS has been awarded the 2018 and 2019 Century Award for accumulating the most volunteer hours of any garden club or plant society.
The NRS sponsors workshops for Cheekwood visitors on growing and caring for roses, including a “Pick Your Own Bouquet” event, with many from the general public joining the society as a result.
What started as a dream of Ron Daniels, the Rose Study Garden at Cheekwood has proven to not only be a beautiful public rose garden but an invaluable teaching tool, utilizing practical workshops and lessons in growing and maintaining roses.
Roses in the Rose Study Garden as of August 17, 2020
| Name of Rose (Cultivar) | Species | ARS Rating | Color | Rose Bed (looking from visitor center) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Becka Anne | miniature | 7.7 | yellow blend | L |
| Belinda's Dream | shrub | 8.4 | medium pink | L & R |
| Burgundy Iceberg | floribunda | 7.6 | mauve | R containers |
| Caldwell Pink | shrub | Found Rose | pink blend | L |
| Carefree Beauty | shrub | 8.7 | medium pink | R |
| Charlotte | shrub | 8.0 | light yellow | L |
| Crescendo | hybrid tea | 7.8 | pink blend | R |
| Crimson Bouquet | grandiflora | 7.8 | dark red | L |
| Double Delight | hybrid tea | 8.3 | red blend | R |
| Double Red Knockout | shrub | 8.1 | medium red | L |
| Dream Come True | grandiflora | 7.5 | yellow blend | R |
| Duchesse de Brabant (1857) | tea | 8.5 | light pink | R |
| Fire Opal | floribunda | 7.7 | white | R |
| Firefighter | hybrid tea | 7.8 | dark red | R |
| Gemini | hybrid tea | 8.4 | pink blend | R |
| Gold Medal | grandiflora | 8.3 | medium yellow | R |
| Gourmet Popcorn | miniature | 8.5 | white | L |
| Graham Thomas | shrub | 8.2 | deep yellow | L |
| Green Rose (before 1856) | china | 8.0 | green | L |
| In the Mood | hybrid tea | 7.6 | medium red | R |
| Lemon Fizz | shrub | Not Yet Rated | medium yellow | R |
| Louis Philippe (1834) | china | 8.9 | red blend | L |
| Lynn Anderson | hybrid tea | 7.6 | pink blend | R |
| Marie Daly | polyantha | 7.9 | medium pink | L |
| Marie Pavie (1888) | polyantha | 8.7 | white | L & R |
| Marilyn Monroe | hybrid tea | 8.0 | apricot blend | R |
| Minnie Pearl | miniature | 8.6 | pink blend | L |
| Miracle on the Hudson | shrub | Not Yet Rated | medium red | L |
| Miranda Lambert | hybrid tea | 7.4 | deep pink | R |
| Mister Lincoln | hybrid tea | 8.3 | dark red | R |
| Moonstone | hybrid tea | 8.3 | white | R |
| Mrs Dudley Cross (1908) | tea | 8.5 | yellow blend | R |
| Neil Diamond | hybrid tea | 7.6 | pink blend | R |
| New Dawn | large flowered climber | 8.4 | light pink | Bldg |
| Old Blush | climber | 8.4 | medium pink | Bldg |
| Perle d'Or (1875) | polyantha | 8.5 | yellow blend | R |
| Quietness | shrub | 8.3 | light pink | L & R |
| Rainbow's End | miniature | 8.5 | yellow blend | L |
| Reve d'Or (1869) | noisette | 9.2 | medium yellow | L |
| Ring of Fire | hybrid tea | 7.9 | orange blend | R |
| Spice | china | Found Rose | blush pink | R |
| Sunstruck | hybrid tea | 7.9 | apricot blend | R |
| Take It Easy | shrub | 8.0 | red blend | L |
| Tennessee | miniature | 7.8 | orange pink | L |
| The Fairy | polyantha | 8.7 | light pink | L |
| Therese Bugnet | hybrid rugosa | 8.3 | medium pink | R |
| Touch of Class | hybrid tea | 8.5 | orange pink | R |
| Veteran's Honor | hybrid tea | 8.4 | dark red | R |
| You're the One | miniature | 7.8 | medium pink | L |
About Cheekwood Estate and Botanical Gardens
Situated on 55 acres, Cheekwood was built in 1929, originally as a home for Leslie and Mable Cheek, investors in the Maxwell House brand of coffee, it opened to the pubic in 1960 as a botanical garden and art museum. Annually, more than 225,000 visit the property for seasonal attractions celebrating the four seasons through the year as well as outstanding art installations, family activities and all age programming. Voted on of the top ten botanical gardens by USA Today Readers Choice Poll, upcoming 2020 higlights include Cheekwood in Bloom, celebrating the arrival of Spring, the grand opening of the Bracken Foundations Children’s Garden in March, the grand reopening of Ann and Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail in April, a Dale Chihuly installation, Chihuly at Cheekwood, opening in April, Summertime at Cheekwood, Cheekwood Harvest in the fall, and Holiday Lights during the holiday season.
For more information about Cheekwood, visit Cheekwood.org.
Reprinted with permission from American Rose, The Magazine of the American Rose Society, March/April 2020.