The major rose gardens, or rosariums, the ones whose raison-d’etre was breeding, had their origins in the 19th century. The sketches below are only introductions to the most well known.
The Roseraie du Val-de-Marne, also known as the Roseraie de L’Hay is a rose garden in France, just south of Paris, established in 1899. Edouard Francois Andre, a landscape architect, and Jules Gravereaus, a rosarian, were its creators. The garden claims to be the first exclusively dedicated to roses. There are some 3,200 species and varieties, and a total of 13,100 rose bushes.
The Europa Rosarium, originally the Rosarium Sangerhausen, is located in Sangerhausen, Germany and bills itself as the largest rose collection in the world. It was established in 1902 and designed by Friedrich Erich Foerr, a landscape architect. Today it contains some 75,000 rose bushes, including over 8,300 rose cultivars, a Wild Rose collection with about 300 species of rare trees and shrubs, and an arboretum with about 250 types of trees and shrubs.
The Rosarium Uetersen is also in Germany, in the city of Uetersen. This garden was established in 1929 and designed by landscape architects Berthold Thormahlen, Mathias Tantau, and Wilhelm Kordes. The rosarium hosts some 1,020 rose varieties.
Countess Henrieta Hermína Rudolfína Ferdinanda Marie Antonie Anna Chotková of Chotkov and Vojnín- also known as Marie Henrieta Chotek came to be known as the Countess of Roses, and established the rosarium of Dolna Krupa, in Slovakia, once Austria-Hungary.
Originally an estate belonging to Michael II Brunswick, an English garden was created by Christian Heinrich Nebbien during the years 1813-1819. This garden was eventually turned into a rosarium by Marie in the 1890′s after inheriting the estate.
She was very involved in breeding experiments, improving rose species, and developing new cultivars. After World War I Marie also established in Dolna Krupa a school for rose growing.
Jozef Brunswick, Michael Brunswick’s grandson, was friend to composer Ludwig van Beethoven; he was a guest at the estate during the years 1797-1806. There is a small building near the entrance to the park, known as Beethoven House, it is said to be where he lived during his stay, and is also supposed to be the place where he composed the Moonlight Sonata, home now to a museum devoted to his memory.
Finally should be mentioned the rosarium begun by Josephine, wife of Napoleon; it was at Château de Malmaison that Josephine planted her famous gardens. The Belgian artist Pierre Joseph Redoute recorded her roses and lilies and prints of these works sell even today.
She created a large collection of roses, plants were gathered not only from her native Martinique but other places around the world. She had some 250 varieties of roses. At its height Malmaison was a home to kangaroos, black swans, zebras, sheep, gazelles, ostriches, chamois, a seal, antelopes and llamas to name a few. From a 2002 article in Orient Express magazine:
“Château de Malmaison is situated at Rueil, 8km from central Paris, towards St-Germain-en-Laye. Its museum features furniture and artworks relating to the Imperial family, while its park contains the rose garden and many rare, old trees”.
Perhaps also should be mentioned the International Rose Test Garden in the city of Portland in the United States. It was opened in 1917 and was the creation of a group of Portland nurserymen.
Today it has over 7000 plants and over 550 species and new rose cultivars are received continually from many parts of the world to be tested for color, fragrance, disease resistance, and other attributes as well.
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Tags: Beethoven, Dolna Krupa, Europa Rosarium, International Rose Test Garden, Josephine, Malmaison, Portland, rosarium, rose garden
