Park’s posies getting ready for your visit
Volunteers at the Park of Roses have had to cut back as much as 6 feet of dead wood from some of the most prized roses this spring in the wake of a harsh winter.
That has made for plenty of extra work in preparation for the fifth annual Stop and Smell the Roses celebration, to take place on Saturday in Whetstone Park.
But Nancy Walsh, development officer of the Columbus Park of Roses Foundation, which puts on the event, said she is still expecting it to go on without a hitch — even though peak bloom for the garden’s 12,500 roses is a week or two behind schedule.
“I estimate peak bloom to be June 7 at 11:30 a.m.,” she joked.
Walsh said Park of Roses visitors won’t even notice the minimal loss the gardens experienced this spring and that the event will be as beautiful and bustling as ever, with as many as 10,000 people attending.
There will be the event’s usual staples — gardening, art, food and music — and several new activities focused on youth involvement in gardening.
“Because we’re all gardeners, we want to expose them to the joys of gardening, and the best time to do that is when they’re young,” said Tina Bozzuto, volunteer coordinator for the Park of Roses Foundation.
For experienced gardeners, there will be horticulturists and Columbus Rose Club rosarians on hand to answer any questions.
One gardener, Rose Garden volunteer Roger Beaupre, said he has enjoyed readying the park for the summer.
“The whole rose garden is a treasure for this city,” said Beaupre, 65, of the Clintonville neighborhood.