A Look Back at the 1937 Hershey Rose Garden: Abundant Plantings, a Lake, and Tremendous Fall Color

"An unusual feature of the garden was that, instead of twenty or twenty-five roses of one variety in a bed, the plants in the Hershey Rose Garden numbered as high as 175 in a single bed."

September 23, 1937

On this day, the Evening Report in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, reported on the rose garden in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The 12,500 rose plants of the Hershey Rose Garden were in their September glory.

The rose garden was to be dedicated the following June when its 20,000 plants would be in bloom.

The garden had attracted 125,000 visitors from Pennsylvania and ... other neighboring states since its opening in May 1937.

An unusual feature of the garden was that, instead of twenty or twenty-five roses of one variety in a bed, the plants in the Hershey Rose Garden numbered as high as 175 in a single bed.

And there was a lake within the garden. It was surrounded by the deep orange-red Gloria Mundi, the Mermaid (with its unique, pale yellow bloom), the Jacotte (with its orange blossom), and the Eblouissant (a beautiful tiny rose with double, globular flowers that had long-lasting red color and was nested in bronze foliage on a very dwarf plant).