As a retiree, the Historic Rose Garden is my most favorite place in Sacramento. This piece of unlikely Sacramento paradise is a rewarding way to put in some volunteer hours.
Why should one volunteer for this place? Well, it’s not just your average cemetery. As part of the Sacramento Historic Cemetery, the Historic Rose Garden serves as a museum, a park and a place to socialize. I’ve seen people meet for a date, eat bagged lunches, look for long lost relatives, and tend to gravesites. Birders, tourists, bicyclists, and walkers also find a way to enjoy this popular location.
The Historic Rose Garden dates back to the California Gold Rush and attracts visitors from all over the world. A recent cover story, “Sacramento’s Bucket List, 99 Ways to Embrace the City’s Retro Roots,” appears in the Sacramento News & Review and lists the cemetery and rose garden as the #18 must see place in Sacramento to visit. In the years I have volunteered here, I’ve been attracted to the roses, headstones, architecture, its history, and the Sacramento movers and shakers (well, they no longer moving and shaking if you ask me) who are buried here. As a Farm Girl, I appreciate the rich soil, and since I like playing in the good, fertile dirt, I will volunteer to plant roses whenever they are available.
The all-volunteer Historic Rose Garden crew is led by manager and Master Gardener Anita Clevenger and rosarian Barbara Oliva. The two women are a wealth of information when it comes to the Historic Rose Garden and the subject of gardening.
Anita and Barbara can also tell you stories about the roses, rose rustling and how these particular roses ended up at the cemetery. There’s the Broadway bed, other beds and acres of antique roses. Anita and Barbara can give you the common and scientific names of each rose. Ask Anita where a specific rose is, and she can tell you. Barbara can point you to the plots. Barbara tells you that if you can figure out which direction North faces, you won’t have any problems navigating the cemetery.
Anita and Barbara can also tell you stories about the roses, rose rustling and how these particular roses ended up at the cemetery. There’s the Broadway bed, other beds and acres of antique roses. Anita and Barbara can give you the common and scientific names of each rose. Ask Anita where a specific rose is, and she can tell you. Barbara can point you to the plots. Barbara tells you that if you can figure out which direction North faces, you won’t have any problems navigating the cemetery.
Even with a map, verbal directions and sunlight or a flashlight to guide me, I still get lost.
The mild summer weather has allowed volunteers to meet over the summer in the form of an event called “Deadheading at Dusk”. Anyone is welcome to help out with deadheading roses, weeding and other tasks. No skills are required. If you have basic gardening tools like clippers, gloves and a common 5-gallon plastic bucket, bring them. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that you would wear for gardening. Anita trains volunteers on the art of deadheading roses and provides gardening tools as needed.
If you are new to gardening or want to know more about roses, the Historic Rose Garden is a wonderful place for socializing with people who share the same interests. As a group, the volunteers freely share their knowledge and love for roses.
The next and last “Deadheading at Dusk” event is scheduled for August 8 and begins at 6 p.m. Volunteers are encouraged to slide into other events and fundraisers (www.oldcitycemetery.com or www.cemeteryrose.org) for the remainder of the year.
The popular “Lantern Tours” is the cemetery’s major annual fundraiser and will be held October 21, 22, 28, and 29.
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