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Roses in
Alberta/Saskatchewan – Continued from Pg 13
3)
New rose gardens across the provinces.
Moose Jaw has planted a considerable
number of roses in arched beds in their Central Park. The planting was done in 2003 and they are
developing nicely. Battleford has a
lot-sized rose garden that has been started this year. It takes time but the project is looking
promising. The pathways and about 30
plants are now in place with more to be added each year. The little town of Maidstone has started a display garden
which also houses a number of hardy shrub roses. This is also its first year so a limited
number of cultivars are represented, but it looks promising. The Rose Garden at the Forestry Farm
Park in Saskatoon has a good beginning. All the beds have been nicely mulched and a
number of hardy heritage, Parkland, and
Explorer bushes have been planted. On
the site of the former Sutherland research station, this will prove to be an
excellent garden once more when fully developed. Older plantings on the
grounds, apart from the rose garden, are still very visible and also
represent heritage cultivars.
4) Seager Wheeler homestead - east of Rosthern, SK
- I was able to confirm once and for all that the final resting place of both
Seager and his wife as well as other family members, is in fact the Bergthal
cemetery, just west of his homestead.
I took photos of all the headstones.
Seager Wheeler is, of course, the "Wheat King" of Saskatchewan (and Canada)
and his famous Marquis 10B wheat was what put the prairies and Canada
on the map for high quality and high yield wheat. The rose garden there looked good this year
and of course includes Seager's rose which bears his name. This rose was
planted by Seager from seed obtained from the Morden Experimental Farm. He planted it and grew it on, and then gave
the plants to Percy Wright when he and his wife moved to BC in 1947. Percy then named the cultivar after Seager
and introduced it.
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A word should be said also
about the Saskatchewan Rose Society's project to locate, record, and preserve
cultivars of hardy Canadian roses, especially those bred on the prairies. Thus far several reports have been returned
and almost 500 entries have been made in a database of cultivar names and
locations. If you grow or know of any
heritage roses, please advise the Sask. Rose Society at PO Box 20015 Lloydminster
SK S9V 1Z5
or download and complete a form from the website at www.icangarden.com/clubs/SRoseS
All
in all, an interesting and challenging year on the prairies.
Roselina1 - Kordesii
Courtesy of American Rose Society
Photographed by Bob Bauer
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