`TEA IN ROSE GARDEN' WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY

It is tea time!

Can you think of anything more delightful in a garden of roses, completely surrounded by the fragrance and delightful blooms of many varieties of roses?

That is just what the members of Cape Girardeau Council of Garden Clubs is planning for next Sunday, July 12, from 3 to 7 p.m. "Tea in the Rose Garden" at Capaha Park, will give visitors an opportunity to view the new roses planted the past year, see the many improvements in the Garden within the past few years, and attend a special ceremony at 4 of the new Rose Garden Entrance Gazebo. Also, there will be refreshments.

There have been new hybrid tea, floribunda and miniatures planted in the Garden this year, and the Council bought roses to replace in 10 dwindling beds. Dr. Charles H. Korns, professor of agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University, contributed Carefree Beauty, a pink shrub rose. Also, All-American Rose Society sent new beds of roses for this season.

The descriptions of the roses displayed in the kiosk were framed, and the name of Edna Kassel, who left a monetary gift for use in the Garden, was added to the memorial plaque. The Cape Girardeau Garden Club contributed five new concrete benches as a memorial to Mrs. Kassel.

Two of the David Austin English roses (Wife of Bath and The Reeves) were donated by Mrs. Ron Wikel, president of the Council, and Mrs. Bob Levy, chairman of the Rose Garden.

Markers for the new beds were donated by Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

One of the main improvements was the removal of Bermuda grass in the pathways and new grass planted in the fall.

A new map of the Garden, naming and platting the roses in the brochure, will be available. Mrs. Levy has finished naming all of the roses, except for one which she calls "the mystery rose" and she says possibly there should be a city-wide contest to name this rose.

Our garden had an interesting beginning.

It was the longtime dream of two wonderful horticulturists Mrs. T.G. (Arla) Harris and Mrs. Chris (Gladys) Stiver to have a rose garden in Cape Girardeau, the City of Roses. They proposed their idea to the City Beautification Committee it was discussed with city commissioner J.W. (Brownie) McBride, who endorsed it wholeheartedly.

On April 25, 1953, the City Council approved the selection made by the Committee, which was the northwest corner of Capaha Park.

Under the sponsorship of the Council of Garden Clubs, then made up of eight garden clubs, a new adventure in the rose world was begun with Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Stiver serving as co-chairmen during their lifetimes. An overall committee was appointed with one member from each club. The Council gave $1,000, proceeds from flower shows and pilgrimages, and there were gifts from individuals.

The late J.W. Gerhardt laid out the plans and the late John Walther, who was the city engineer, established the fence corners and laid out three circular beds and 12 long beds. The late Burton Gerhard contributed the fence. Each bed had irrigation tile laid about 20 inches deep when the work was started in 1954. Preparation of the beds and planting began in February 1955 with 495 roses planted the first year. The late Y.J. Suzuki was the main gardener during his lifetime.

Each Wednesday morning from 8 until 10, the garden club representatives came to remove faded blooms, tie climbers, pull weeds and do any other work required to keep the Garden neat and attractive. Each Tuesday men from the Park Department cut the grass.

The Garden was officially approved as a display garden by the All-America Selection Committee in 1955, without the usual inspection because of the detailed plans in layout, irrigation and regular maintenance.

Spraying, fertilizing and pruning is done on schedule to maintain proper rose culture through the years.

In 1956 the Garden won two outstanding awards the State Achievement Award given by the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri and The Kellogg for Civic Achievement given by the National Council of Garden Clubs.

In March 1961 an article appeared in the Readers Digest about the City of Roses and the outstanding Garden in Cape Girardeau.

It has not all been smooth sailing for this rose garden. Vandals struck the Garden May 21, 1963, smashing birdbaths, pulling labels up from roses and pitching them over the fence. About three-fourths of the plants were mutilated, some with knives, others were beaten down to the ground, possibly with hoses, and then stomped and ground underfoot. Climbing roses were torn from the fences. One of the great tragedies of the situation was the fact that many of the roses were supplied by nurseries and were growing undernumber and all of these markers were destroyed. Like humans recovering from a serious illness it was a long recovery stage, but the Garden made it.

There are roses of every type growing in the Garden climbers, shrub, creepers, hybrid perpetuals, hybrid polyanthas, floribundas, grandifloras and miniatures.

Guest registers at the Garden show that each year there are visitors from every state and many foreign countries. Many leave notes of appreciation for the beauty of the large variety of roses.

The Council invites the community to come to "Tea in the Rose Garden" on July 12 and help support this community project.