Rose season is upon us, and in the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens that means thousands of blossoms and more than 275 cultivars of roses. It is quite a show!
A current highlight is our collection of Canadian roses. On both sides of the entry arbour to the Rose Garden you will see dozens of Canadian hybrids, developed to be hardy for Canadian winters. And within the rose garden, other Canadian roses are displayed as well.
The Explorer Series consists of roses developed by the Agriculture Canada research stations in Ottawa, Ontario and L’Assomption, Quebec. Among them are roses named ‘Champlain’, ‘Henry Hudson’ and ‘Martin Frobisher’ to name a few.
The Parkland Roses were developed at Agriculture Canada’s Morden Research Station in Manitoba. They bear names such as ‘Morden Sunrise’, ‘Prairie Dawn’ and ‘Winnipeg Parks’.
After the Agriculture Canada plant breeding programs were wound down, the Artists Series was started by private breeders and named after Canadian artists such as ‘Felix Leclerc’ and ‘Emily Carr’.
Most recently, Canadian rose breeding has taken on a new life through the work of the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in partnership with the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. Great roses like ‘Canadian Shield’ and ‘Chinook Sunrise’ have been bred through Vineland.
And finishing off our Canadian Rose collection in the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens is a bed of roses with a Nova Scotian connection – bred by George MacPhail of Elmsdale. Among the roses are ‘The Twin Cities’ and ‘By the Oak’.
The Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens’ rose collection will be a highlight for most of the summer, with a peak bloom period in early July. The Historic Gardens are open daily from 9am-5pm. For more information, check out Plan Your Visit.
Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens 