The Gardens of the American Rose Center

The American Rose Center
The American Rose Center
Type	Rose garden
Location	Shreveport, Louisiana
Coordinates	32°27′34″N 93°57′03″W / 32.459545°N 93.950717°W
Area	118 acres
Created	1974
Designer	Jackson & Perkins
Operated by	The American Rose Society
Open	April 1 – October 31
Plants	20,000
Species	100
Collections	65 individual rose gardens
Website	rose.org

The American Rose Center is a rose garden in Shreveport, Louisiana operated by the American Rose Society. There are over 20,000 rose bushes of 100 varieties in 65 separate rose gardens on the 118-acre property.

The gardens have been the home and headquarters of the American Rose Society since 1974, when the non-profit organization moved from Columbus, Ohio, and before that, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Society was founded in 1892 at Harrisburg.

The American Rose Center consists of 118 acres of rose gardens, pine forests and woodlands.^[4] The Center's Mission & Vision statement says, "Presenting the Rose, America's National Floral Emblem, in a natural setting of majestic pines and companion plants - for pleasure, education, and for the preservation and understanding of the beauty and significance of our favorite flower, the Rose."

In 2017, the Society created a five-year plan for the total restoration of the gardens called the Great Garden Restoration Project.^[2] A garden design was provided by Jackson & Perkins Rose Company which resembles the gears of a vintage watch. In keeping with that design, the gardens will tell the history of the rose over time; its theme will be "The History of the Rose in America."

The American Rose Center has supported the development and use of sustainable growing practices that do not degrade the environment; the grounds include a test garden for disease-resistant Hybrid Tea roses to demonstrate that exhibition-form roses can be grown without chemical intervention.^[5]

The American Rose Society Board of Directors voted to change the name of the gardens to America's Rose Garden, the home of America's National Floral Emblem, the Rose; 2) to become a Botanical Garden featuring roses; 3) to be a site of the International Rose Trials where new roses are evaluated and awarded prizes; and 4) to seek status on the US Register of Historic Places.

Included in the telling of the "History of the Rose in America" will be the stories of great roses, such as 'Peace', which was created in France and "smuggled" out of the country just before the German invasion of France in 1940.^[6] Not only beautiful and fragrant, 'Peace' has been the parent of many roses through hybridization. The History will tell the story of the 'Yellow Rose of Texas', a rose that traversed the country with early settlers of America. The History will tell the story of the Grandiflora class of roses, that began with the famous apricot beauty, 'Queen Elizabeth,' and the Miniflora class that was added in the 1990s to distinguish roses that were smaller than hybrid teas and floribundas, but larger than miniatures. The History will tell of "Rose Rustlers" whose mission was to locate and preserve old lost roses found in cemeteries and old homesteads.^[7]

The gardens will feature McFarland Plaza, dedicated to the "Father of the American Rose Society" J. Horace McFarland, an early leader, editor and publisher for the organization.^[8]

The gardens feature roses of all types: the most modern hybrid tea roses, miniature roses, single petaled roses, heritage roses and species. The gardens are recognized as the largest park in the United States dedicated to roses.

Annual events include an Easter Egg Hunt; Evening of Wine & Roses; Allen Owings Horticulture Symposium; quarterly Green Thumb horticultural/educational series; Angel of Hope Candlelight and Healing Ceremony annually on December 6th; and Christmas in Roseland held in the gardens in December for the past 35 years.^[9]^[10]

Rosie, a working dog and designated member of the staff, was used for several years to keep wildlife out of the gardens, particularly deer which can cause a lot of damage to the plants.^[11]

In 2016, the American Rose Society dropped their fees for commercial and professional photographers, actively promoting the use of the gardens for proms and wedding photography.^[12]

In 2018, the gardens hosted the dedication ceremony for the U.S. Postal Service's newly issued Forever stamp celebrating the Peace Rose.^[13]