Beatrix Farrand’s 1916 Vision for the NYBG’s Rose Garden
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
November 18, 1916
On this day, renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (FAIR-rand) created a visionary rose garden plan for the New York Botanical Garden.
This garden would become one of the most significant rose collections in North America, though its full realization would have to wait for decades due to circumstances beyond anyone's control.
In the summer of 1916, the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden published Farrand's detailed plans for what would become an extraordinary rose sanctuary. Her design showed remarkable sensitivity to both the natural landscape and the educational mission of the garden. As she wrote in her original notes:
As the roses to be grown in the garden may be separated into two distinct divisions - the natural wild species and the horticultural varieties - it has been thought appropriate to exhibit these two classes in two different ways - the first division in a purely naturalistic and informal manner and surrounding the second division in the more formal frame of an enclosed garden.
Farrand's design nestled gracefully into a valley south of the mansion, incorporating the natural contours of the land. She intentionally rejected rigid geometric patterns, noting that *"no regular and balanced design could be adapted to the natural conditions. The natural lines must be taken as the necessarily dominant factor if the garden is to look as though it had been made to fit the ground."*
The original plans called for:
- Over 100 plots for hardy bush roses
- Space for approximately 200 horticultural varieties
- An iron lattice enclosure for climbing roses
- Three main walks converging at a central arbor
- Surrounding banks for displaying hardy natural species
Interestingly, while the garden's groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 4, 1916 - with Mr. Francis Lynde Stetson driving the team and Mrs. George W. Perkins holding the plow - the full implementation of Farrand's vision would be delayed by World War I. Iron shortages made it impossible to complete the fence and gazebo, which were central features of her design.
It wasn't until the 1980s that Garden Board member Beth Strauss discovered Farrand's original plans and showed them to David Rockefeller. His generous support finally allowed for the completion of Farrand's fully realized designs in 1988, with the garden being named after his wife Peggy, herself a dedicated horticulturist and conservationist.
Today, this garden that began as lines on paper in 1916 features more than 3,000 roses representing over 700 different species and cultivars. It stands as a testament to Farrand's genius and the enduring power of thoughtful landscape design.
And for those who love the symbolism of roses: While Farrand was planning her garden, roses were already rich in meaning. The phrase "sub rosa" (under the rose) signified secrecy, dating back to Roman times when roses in banquet rooms reminded guests that what happened at the party, stayed at the party. In Victorian times, each rose color carried its own message - red for passion, yellow for friendship, and white for purity.