Restart to begin this summer for Cape's Capaha Park Rose Garden

The Rose Garden in Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park, originally established in 1954, will be back but it's going to take a little while, reports Julia Jones, the city's director of parks and recreation.

Rosebushes were removed from the site Jan. 11 by city workers, but not before some roses were saved and preserved by local residents.

"(The garden) has been in disrepair for some time and local clubs have struggled with maintenance, partly because there hasn't been quality soil there for years," Jones said.

Two groups have worked on the 67-year-old plot for years -- the Ramblewood Garden Club and the Four Seasons Garden Club.

The Southeast Missouri State University Horticulture Club has also taken interest in the Rose Garden.

Jones, who has directed the department for nearly 10 years, also noted trees on the back side of the garden had gotten overgrown.

"This makes it difficult for roses, which prefer full sun," she said.

Changes

"We are hoping to get the infrastructure (of the garden) done sometime this summer, weather permitting," said Jones, who added there will be raised stone beds and the memorial stones will go "back the way they were originally, almost exactly."

One goal guiding the entire Capaha Park Master Plan, of which the Rose Garden is a part, is accessibility, Jones said.

"The (garden) right now is on a slope, so it'll be leveled out a bit to make it compliant with ADA (Americans with Disability Act)."

Jones said the reconstituted garden will have new soil, new beds and won't have just roses.

While roses will continue to be a focus, once the garden is restarted, visitors should expect to see "new native grasses, a sensory garden, sculptures, perennials and small plants," Jones previously told the Southeast Missourian.

History

According to city's website, the garden was accepted a year after its creation as a nationally accredited Rose Display Garden in 1955.

It also received the State Achievement Award and the Kellogg Medal for Civic Achievement in 1956.

The website adds the garden survives on the contributions and volunteerism donated by the community, with additional support from the city's Parks and Recreation Department and the Career and Technology Center.