BETHLEHEM, Pa. — If you’re out and about on Bethlehem’s West Side in the coming months, be sure to stop and smell the roses.
It’s hard to miss the nearly 500 roses and colorful plants at the community's beloved Rose Garden Park.
Since its opening in 1931, the garden has gone through some highs and lows at Eighth Avenue and West Union Boulevard.
- Flowers at the Bethlehem Rose Garden are in full bloom now
- While some say roses are the main attraction, there are plenty more plants to see
- The overseeing gardening group is seeking volunteers, donations
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, some area residents wanted more for the struggling garden, as it suffered from high weeds, brambles and a notable fall from glory.
Thanks to grant money and grit from the community, the garden got a facelift, with more plant variety and a new design, including a reconfiguration of the center flower beds.
The Mount Airy Neighborhood Association, led by Mary Toulouse, helped lead the effort to secure funding and the group recruited volunteers to help with the garden.
“We were shocked and horrified by what the garden looked like — lack of garden,” Barbara Kozero, garden volunteer coordinator and Bethlehem resident, said.
“But [Mary] and MANA was the nonprofit that allowed us to get grants.”
"This has always been a people's garden."Mary Toulouse, president of the Mount Airy Neighborhood Association
Toulouse said that if you look at original pictures of the city-maintained garden from its beginnings in 1931, there were families thriving nearby.
“It’s not like a garden that was named after the DuPonts or the Trexler,” Toulouse said. “This has always been a people’s garden.”
She said she regularly gets emails showing community love for the garden and what it offers, even beyond the flowers on display. Some like to come and check out the farmers’ market, do yoga, meditate, play an instrument and take in the scenery.
“There are so many people that just use this space as a place to resource, a quiet space,” Toulouse said. “That’s a really important part of this park because people need that kind of space, especially in a city.”
‘A visual feast’
Pamela Ruch, multi-decade horticulturist and resident of Emmaus who was tasked with designing a new garden concept in 2019, said the garden, based on historical accounts, originally had 75 varieties of roses, more than 3,500 rose bushes and 24 to 56 of the same kind planted together. They were planted according to color, featuring red, pink, pale pink, yellow and white variations.
She said bringing in a variety of roses with the redesign, along with other types of plants, opens up visual possibilities and makes the garden more sustainable.
“There’s always something else you can find. Some of it is wildflowers sneaking into the edge, and some of it is the smell of the roses as you go by.”Barbara Kozero, garden volunteer coordinator
“There’s always something else you can find,” Kozero said. “Some of it is wildflowers sneaking into the edge, and some of it is the smell of the roses as you go by.”
Ruch said revamping a community garden that started in 1931 also opens up opportunities for community support through volunteering and grants.
“It is about roses, but it’s also about history,” Ruch said.
She said many of the roses featured now were donations from some of her professional contacts in New York.
Ruch said they haven’t had to use any pesticides so far. That’s because of a “balanced system” of plant types, attracted pollinators and other factors.
Thinking of the garden “not as just a collection of plants but as a system” is key, Ruch said.
“Basically, the only inputs in this garden are the mulch and also the natural fertilizer we put around the roses in the spring.”Pamela Ruch, Rose Garden horticulturist
“Basically, the only inputs in this garden are the mulch and also the natural fertilizer we put around the roses in the spring,” she said.
Ruch made note of one specific parasitic wasp that keeps pesky caterpillars in check at the garden.
Kozero said lightning bug larvae serve as predators for unfavorable snails and slugs. They'll also have the garden “sparkling” at night come the end of June.
“It’s really rather magical,” she said.
The art of gardening
Kozero compared the growth of the plants to art and the music from an orchestra. She said she and Ruch have taken into account symmetry, repetition, context, shape and more.
Early in the season, daffodils are followed by "Gladiator" alliums. As roses start to bud, catmint and native penstemon bloom alongside them. Later, annual plants such as zinnias, sweet alyssum and angelonia flower until frost, Ruch explained.
“Pam’s planning has done very well in terms of there’s always something coming into bloom,” Kozero said.
“We call them pretty regularly, saying, ‘Help! We’re almost out of mulch.’ And they deliver it.”Christy Roysdon, garden volunteer, speaking on the city's help with the garden
Christy Roysdon, garden volunteer and Bethlehem resident, said grant money from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources went toward adding paths for walking and biking into the park, as well as new trees and a revamped entranceway featuring a small native plant garden.
When it came time to tend to the roses, Lehigh County and local foundations stepped in to help with funding.
“We did make the pitch that we would be using native plants with roses, which would keep the entire garden healthier,” Roysdon said.
The city of Bethlehem also has been on board with the project, offering help when called upon, she said.
“We call them pretty regularly, saying, ‘Help! We’re almost out of mulch.’ And they deliver it,” Roysdon said. “They’ve been very good about supporting this, and they helped us a lot initially with the supports for the roses and getting them kind of back in shape and placed.”
The Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission donated $1,000 last year for the group to buy more roses.
It takes a village
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds walked up as the ladies were sharing more on the history of the garden. He pointed at the spot where he had volunteered to take out the diseased rose bushes there a couple of years prior.
Reynolds said a spirit of volunteering and community runs throughout the city, and especially in West Bethlehem with its beloved garden.
“If you told me to go cut down that tree, I wouldn’t know what to do. But if it’s the idea of, ‘We’re pulling these weeds, we’re doing this for volunteering,’ I think that there’s a lot of people in Bethlehem that feel that way.”Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds
“If you told me to go cut down that tree, I wouldn’t know what to do,” the mayor said. “But if it’s the idea of, ‘We’re pulling these weeds, we’re doing this for volunteering,’ I think that there’s a lot of people in Bethlehem that feel that way.”
As the group spoke with LehighValleyNews.com, many visitors walked by showing appreciation and support for the garden and its progress.
Kozero said they have 10 to 15 consistent volunteers, but they welcome anyone who can lend a helping hand.
For those interested in volunteering for the garden, the group welcomes those seeking community service hours or even just a meditative way to spend their Saturday mornings.
