Old Parliament House Gardens – rose name signage

Update 15 December 2021

Yesterday, Rose Garden volunteers and NCA Board members were on hand to help formally unveil the new Rose Garden plaques on the House of Representatives side of Old Parliament House, Canberra.

The new plaques have different symbols to assist gardeners and volunteers with their valuable work throughout the year. The text on the plaques highlight:

• name of the rose variety
• registered name (if it has one)
• name of breeder and date
• type of rose
• best time for pruning

It was a perfect sunny day for the unveiling of the Rose Garden plagues with 640 granite plaques installed to date, assisting visitors, staff, and volunteers alike to identify the roses.

The identification and details of a further 75 roses were confirmed last month when the roses were in bloom. These 75 granite plaques are due to be installed in January 2022, completing the plaque installations for the beautiful gardens.

Over three years ago, the National Capital Authority (NCA) saw a need to replace the old rose plaques. This then led to further conversations on how to assist the volunteers with their yearly work programs in caring for the roses.

The outcome of this work and consideration, not only with the volunteers, and various other rose experts, led to a meeting with Nadene Edwards who had always been passionate and knowledgeable in all things roses.

Nadene worked in the rose gardens in various roles over the many years. This knowledge for roses led the NCA to engage Nadene to compile the lists for the rose plaques as the NCA was starting the planning for the new plaques. Nadene worked with rose experts locally and nationally to help identify the various roses and to formulate the final lists, some of who were in attendance at the unveiling.

Accurate identification of the rose plant species took a lot of expertise and time. The NCA needed a consultant to identify the roses. The volunteers needed to prepare the beds for pruning and plaque installations. Then came the installation itself, mulching, and maintenance.

The unveiling was an opportunity to personally thank NCA volunteers and contractors for their huge contributions in the maintenance, protection, and preservation of the roses.

The excellent work they do ensures that the Commonwealth Heritage listed gardens remain beautiful and, thereby, appreciated by all Australians visiting this site in the National Capital.

The NCA Chair, Terry Weber,  speaks to the guests on hand.

The NCA Board in attendance (L-R) Dennis Richardson, Sally Barnes, Board Chair Terry Weber, James Willson and Jenny Smithson enjoying the morning.

Gardener, Nadene Edwards (R), flanked by NCA staff and volunteers on the left.

Update 6 December 2021

Over 640 granite name sign plaques have been installed, assisting visitors, staff and volunteers alike to identify the roses.

One-metre-high metal rose name plaques are being installed in the rose beds behind hedges in the Macarthur Rose Garden.

The identification and details of a further 75 roses were confirmed in November 2021 when the roses were in bloom. The 75 granite name sign plaques are due to be installed in January 2022, completing the plaque installations.

Old Parliament House Gardens – rose name signage

The National Capital Authority is managing the replacement of rose name signage in the Old Parliament House Gardens.

Over 640 granite name sign plaques have been installed, assisting visitors, staff and volunteers alike to identify the roses.

The signs include:

• Name of the rose
• The rose breeder
• The date the rose was bred or discovered
• Type of rose, and
• Symbol(s) that indicates rose care information (season to prune, whether to prune the hops)

There are 75 more granite rose name plaques to be installed once the identification and details of the roses are confirmed in November 2021.

The teams of horticultural volunteers, providing an invaluable service in caring for the roses, were consulted during the design process of the signs. The Patronage signs in each of the gardens were updated to include a message to acknowledge the volunteers service and contribution that volunteers continue to make in the rose gardens.

For further reading about the Old Parliament House Gardens, please click here.

Rose name signage at the Old Parliament House Gardens

Rose name signage at the Old Parliament House Gardens