Each year, visitors flock in large numbers to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, located inside the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Here, rose lovers can explore and enjoy more than an acre of thousands of beautiful roses in 621 different varieties. June is the peak season for these stunning blooms, though visitors are welcome throughout the year.
Upon looking at the sprawling rows of roses radiating from a gorgeous central gazebo, it's hard to believe that the garden in its completed state was only a thought (and a diagram on paper) up until the 1980s when David Rockefeller himself donated the money needed to turn a 1916 design by landscape architect Beatrix Farrand into a reality. The garden was to be named after Rockefeller's wife, Peggy, who was an avid rose lover herself. The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden finally opened its doors in 1988 after many decades of anticipation and planning.
In fact, funding issues and iron shortages during World War I prevented the completion of the garden's integral fence and gazebo until 1988. Once the garden was completed as part of the larger New York Botanical Garden, it quickly became a crowd favorite and has operated that way for decades.
In 2007, a $2.5 million refurbishment project was carried out on the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden with FGI Corporation as the builder, Garden Capital Garden Staff as the designer and Connecticut Stone as the natural stone supplier. Rosarian Peter E. Kukielski of Atlanta was also brought in to remove some of the most underperforming plants within the garden. He ended up removing approximately 400 and adding a whopping 1,700 new rose plants within the garden's nearly 20,000 square feet of planting space.
As part of the renovation, the garden's existing gazebo and iron lattice fencing were restored and repainted. Connecticut Stone provided new decorative Hudson Valley Bluestone medallions along the main entrance in addition to new NY Bluestone border pathways to enhance the already signature grey-stone walks in the previous garden. New iron railings and beautiful boxwood borders can also be seen near the main granite staircase along the western end of the garden.
In addition to the aesthetic changes, the rose garden received some much-needed infrastructure upgrades. This included the installation of an advanced irrigation and drainage system designed to keep the flowers properly watered while protecting the garden from flooding during heavy storms.
The renovated Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is something you must see for yourself when visiting New York City. Only by immersing yourself within the sprawling rows of blooms can you truly appreciate the meticulous work and planning that has gone into creating and maintaining this tranquil sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden would not be what it is today without the hard work of the landscape architects, rosarians, and designers who put so much thought and care into every detail. We look forward to seeing the rose garden thrive and continue to impress its visitors year after year.
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