Here is a link to our Calendar of Events, which is updated twice a month. Below is a spotlight on our featured outing — the Annual Rose Pruning Demonstration at the Woodland Park Zoo.
Join the Seattle Rose Society on Saturday March 4 from noon to 3pm at its annual rose pruning demonstration at Woodland Park Zoo’s Rose Garden. It’s free! The garden is located near the zoo’s South Entrance at the intersection of North 50th Street and Fremont Avenue North (750 North 50th Street).
Discover the varieties of roses, how to care for them, how much to cut, and how to properly use pruning tools for correct cuts, along with pruning techniques. The “rosarians” are on hand to answer all your questions.
While you’re there, explore the 2.5 acres of formal landscape, beautiful even in winter. It’s open year-round from 7:30am until dusk every day of the year, free of charge. While visiting the garden is free, there is a fee for parking in the zoo’s parking lot.
The Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden is home to nearly 3000 roses representing over 200 varieties. The large variety of roses blend with the garden’s formal architectural design. Since 2006, the Rose Garden has been pesticide-free. One of the benefits to this is that the spent flowers can be fed to animals in the zoo. The gorillas have become quite fond of the roses!
Using a combination of natural approaches, the garden has flourished. The methods employed at the garden include:
- Building healthy soils
- Planting right for the site
- Practicing smart watering
- Trying alternatives to pesticides
- Practicing natural lawn care.
A Brief History of the Rose Garden
The concept for a Seattle Civic Rose Garden in Woodland Park bloomed formally in 1922 through the combined inspiration and effort of the Seattle Lion’s Club and the Seattle Rose Society. The garden’s purpose was to provide a free, public display of roses suitable for Seattle’s climate. Construction of the garden was completed in 1924 and when the garden opened it encompassed 1.8 acres and exhibited 150 varieties of roses. In 1947, the Rose Garden was selected to become a nationally recognized All-America Rose Selections test site, a designation it retained until 2010.
For more information, visit http://www.zoo.org/roses.
View Northwest Prime Time’s full calendar here.
