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Rose Garden
Huntington Rose Collection

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

THE ROSE GARDEN

The three-acre Rose Garden contains more than 3,000 individual plants and more than 1,200 different cultivated varieties, with a spring bloom beginning in late March and extending beyond November.

The Rose Garden was originally created in 1908 for the private enjoyment of Henry and Arabella Huntington. Roses were a particular favorite flower of Arabella's. The garden was designed primarily for display, providing copious quantities of cut blooms for the large elaborate floral arrangements favored in their home. Household records indicate that in one year alone more than 30,000 flowers were used in these massive bouquets, 9,700 of which were roses.

"Huntington's 100th" - Rose

A special variety of rose, "Huntington's 100th", provides a quintessential touch to The Huntington's Centennial. The pastel yellow and orchid pink floribunda was hybridized by Tom Carruth, The Huntington's E. L. and Ruth B. Shannon Curator of the Rose Collections, and is on display in the historic Rose Garden, as well as in a dedicated garden just north of the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art. The hybrid's abundant blooms emit an intense fragrance of lemon blossom with a hint of baby powder. If you missed the rose lecture and sale on Jan. 9, the next opportunity will be at the Spring Plant Sale, April 24-26. You can also find 'Huntington's 100th' at local nurseries, sometimes under the synonym, Life of the Party; they are the same rose.
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Highlights from the Huntington Rose Collection

Our 3-acre organic rose collection contains more than 3,000 individual plants and over 1,400 cultivated varieties. Beyond being a beautiful destination to meander, the garden represents an extensive collection enjoyed by thousands each year. The spring bloom begins in late March and extends beyond Thanksgiving, and curator Tom Carruth has identified several of the most beautiful rose varieties visitors must see on their journey through the Huntington Rose Collection.

All purple tour points were hybridized by our curator, Tom Carruth. Feel free to meander among the blooms and enjoy the beds, also labeled on the map.

The Rose Garden was originally created in 1908 for the private enjoyment of founders Henry and Arabella Huntington. The garden was originally designed primarily for display, providing copious quantities of cut blooms for the large, floral arrangements favored in the Huntington home.

The Huntington Rose Garden reached the hundredth anniversary in 2008 and this rose with a large pink bloom was named for that milestone. It was bred by Austin in the UK and captures old-fashioned form on a graceful plant.

• Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton' - This rose bred by Austin in the UK is one of the better performing roses in Southern California. People enjoy the old-fashioned form, rich colors and strong myrrh perfume.
• Rosa 'Portland from Glendora' - This rose in the Huntington's collection was first considered a “found” rose, as opposed to bought from a nursery. Found roses often came from rose rustlers combing through old cemeteries. This was later discovered to be the cultivar 'Johasine Hanet', a hybrid damask rose from 1847.
• Rosa 'Huntington's 100th' - Named to honor the 2019 Centennial of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, this flowerful Floribunda produces clusters of old-fashioned pastel yellow flowers that blush to orchid pink. Take of whiff of the powerful perfume redolent with sweet citrus blossoms and baby powder.
• Rosa 'Neil Diamond' - Two beds, 36 and 37, are our all-fragrant beds. Neil is one of the rock stars in the group with big buxom blossoms, wild splashed stripes and an intense rose perfume. All rose cultivars that reference celebrities must be approved by the person or the family, and they can make requests for their rose. For example, Barbra Streisand specifically required her bloom was large and had a strong perfume. Both Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand were bred by Tom Carruth in 2015 and 2001, respectively.
• Rosa 'Playboy' - Many visitors are surprised to see single-petaled roses, not realizing all original rose species only had five petals. Playboy has one of the splashiest color combos.
• Rosa 'Mrs. Sam McGredy' - Representing our fine collection of early Hybrid Teas, the matriarch of the McGredy family was an early orange-toned rose from 1929. There are a few other roses in our collection with the McGredy name, such as 'Paddy McGredy', 'Molly McGredy' and 'McGredy's Ivory'.
• Rosa 'Julia Child' - An international sensation that lives both in the Rose and Herb Garden. Julia Child loved the butter yellow of this rose when she chose this as her namesake rose. This was hybridized by our curator Tom Carruth in 2006.
• Rosa 'Marilyn Monroe' - There's a bevy of celebrity roses in our collection. Marilyn's platinum blond blooms hold up to the heat or the cold in classic style.
• Rosa 'High Society' - Trained on our dramatic arches leading to the Japanese Garden, this eye-catching climbing rose lifts its big saturated pink blossoms to just the right height for smelling.
• Rose 'Cinco de Mayo' - An international award winner that blooms more than Iceberg roses without any deadheading or spraying. This rose was hybridized between 'Topsy Turvy' and 'Julia Child' by our curator, Tom Carruth, in 2009.
• Rosa 'Ebb Tide' - The deep velvety purple of these big blooms always stops visitors in their tracks, as does the rich clove fragrance. A true color breakthrough hybridized by Tom Carruth in 2006.
• Rosa 'Dream Come True' - Sometimes an amateur breeder can achieve the top prize, an AARS (All-American Rose Selections) winner. This appropriately named hybrid was bred by Dr. John Pottschmidt from Cincinnati, Ohio 2008.
• Rosa 'Brass Band' - This floribunda variety catches many eyes with its big, loud clusters of ruffled flowers that aptly match its musical name. Floribunda is a term used to describe cultivars of roses that bloom in large clusters. US bred by Christensen in 1993.
• Rosa 'Altissimo' - The white walls of the Tea Room make a perfect foil for the large single-petaled lacquer-red flowers of this vigorous climbing rose. Bred in France by Chabert in 1966.
• Rosa 'Jump for Joy' - Living on either side of the Tea Room entrance, this floral factory shows off peach-pink colors, long lasting blooms, dark red new growth, and fruity fragrance. Look for its sister rose, 'Sparkle & Shine' in bed 9 by 'Brass Band'. Both were bred at the same time in 2013, but Sparkle & Shine has bright yellow flowers.
• Rosa 'Rosette Delizy' - We have a good representation of the early China and Tea roses, brought from China to Europe in the mid-1800's. They changed rose history with their rebloom and flower form.
• Rosa 'Old Blush' - This nondescript little pink rose was first discovered in China over 1,300 years ago as the first rose to bloom more than once a season. Thanks to this rose and human cultivation, roses can now rebloom for 6 to 8 months out of the year.