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The reason for the Rose City designation is that Richmond is the home of Hills Rose Growers. The E.G. Hill Company and the Joseph H. Hill Company together with the Hill Floral Products Company were the premier rose growers and marketers of cut roses, accounting for the sale of millions of roses annually in the U.S. and around the world. It was only natural then to honor our rose heritage by establishing a public Rose Garden to be enjoyed by our own residents and visitors to our city as well. The idea of the Rose Garden became a reality in 1985 when the Rose Garden Project Committee was formed with the purpose of establishing a public garden.
Many good ideas later, and with generous amounts of community funding in hand, the first roses were planted in June 1987. The walkways of historic star bricks, from older residential areas of Richmond, were donated to the Garden by the city and installed in June 1988.
The All America Rose Garden is located in Glen Miller Park and faces U.S. 40 East. To the east is Glen Miller Golf Course Club House and the west is the formal E.G. Hill Memorial Rose Garden and the historic Charles House.
Rose bushes representing 110 varieties, most of the All American Rose Selections, are on display in the two new gardens. Colors range from deep red to pink, salmon to lavender and yellow to white.
Late in 1988, after only two seasons, the Richmond Rose Garden earned the highest distinction of being designated an All America Rose Display Garden by the All America Rose Selection Board (A.A.R.S.). The only other garden in Indiana to receive this recognition is in Fort Wayne.
In addition to providing the garden public an opportunity to preview A.A.R.S. winners before they are marketed, the public may also see how various rose varieties perform under local climate and soil conditions.
If you are interested in volunteering to work in the garden, please call the Wayne County Foundation at (765) 962-1638.
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Richmond defined itself as the "Rose City" in the early 1970's.
For many years, a red rose was printed on everything from our city buses to
billboards and brochures.
To obtain ideas for our Rose
Garden, several committee members traveled to Germany to visit many of the finest German
gardens and traveled this country to Fort Wayne, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio, and Tyler,
Texas.
The Garden is a mixture of European and
Victorian design and it will eventually accommodate 2,000 roses with annuals and
perennials. Evergreens and ornamental trees and an interesting texture to the
Garden.
The Richmond-Friendship Garden is the newest addition to the
garden project emphasizing our friendship with the German City of Zweibruken. The
garden lies between the A.A.R.S. and the E.G. Hill Memorial gardens. It is of German
design and features many German roses, a gift from the famed Europas Rosegarten of
Zweibrucken. The elegant revolving sculpture wrought by The Magaw's of Boston,
Indiana symbolizes that friendship.
The E.G. Hill Memorial Garden
was started in 1937 and is cared for by the Richmond Park Department. The Charles
House is also maintained and rented by the Park Department.
No admission is charged to visit the
garden where peak bloom periods are in June and September. For a fee, the Victorian
Gazebo with electrical outlets can be reserved for weddings and special events.
Please call (765) 983-7275 for details. The garden is wheelchair accessible and
restrooms are available in Glen Miller Park at the concession building.
As one of only 130
plus A.A.R.S. Public Display Rose Gardens in the nation, the
Richmond garden will annually receive a selection of new All America Rose varieties
approved by the A.A.R.S. Selection Committee. All current winners and many of the
previous winners, dating from 1946, are also among the plantings.
The Richmond All America Rose
Garden is a community wide project and all volunteer. It is funded by public
contribution and no tax dollars are involved. Gifts for the development and
maintenance of the garden are invited, as well as memorial and honor gifts.
For a gift of $100, the back of a
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