A publication of the American Rose Society
Old Sacramento City Cemetery
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The Garden A Gold Rush Created
The Story Of
An Historic Rose Garden: The Old Sacramento City Cemetery
By Jeri Jennings
“Suddenly, all my misgivings were put to an end by his [Marshall] flinging on the table a
handful of scales of pure virgin gold. I was fairly thunderstruck and asked him to explain
what all this meant”
Johann Augustus Sutter
Forest Ranch Pom-Pom A Damask Perpetual in the Sacramento Cemetery Garden
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to a new concept in cemeteries. The
“Rural” or “Garden” Cemetery,
combined classical monuments and
gardens in a lovely terrain, making it as
much a park as a burial ground.
Sacramentans, of course, wanted
something just as beautiful as Mount
Auburn. They had the means to achieve
it, and (as is usual for Californians) they
took this ideal of a “Garden” Cemetery
and remade it into a thing uniquely
Californian in content and
expression.
Poor Sutter! Many dreams were born
with the discovery of gold in his Sierra
foothills millrace, but Sutter’s own
dreams died there. The little rural
kingdom that energetic, enigmatic Swiss
immigrant had created on the banks of
the Sacramento River was washed away
in a flood of gold-fever-inspired
immigration.
As 1848 began, California had a
population of some 34,000 souls –
principally Californios of Mexican
descent and American Indians, with a
scattering of Yankee and other
adventurers. Between 1848 and 1854,
everything changed.
At the news of gold in California, some
300,000 adventurers flooded into
California from every corner of the
Earth. They brought their languages,
and customs, their religions, and recipes
– and their garden plants. Their arrival
forever altered the future and character
of the place that would become the State
of California.
By February, 1850, Sutter’s once-quiet
rural settlement had swollen to a
population of 6000. Sacramento had
become the first incorporated city in
California. By that fall, the infant city
had experienced the first of a series of
devastating floods, and had suffered
through its first great epidemic. Cholera
came to Sacramento, and even the
doctors died.
‘Burbank’ Tea Burbank 1900
Sacramento’s Historic City Cemetery
opened in 1850, on ten acres of donated
land. The new Cemetery was sited on a
sandy hill – the highest ground in that
low-lying area – well above the reach of
flood waters. Neatly-outlined family
plots were individually numbered,
owned, and maintained, and
Sacramento’s prosperous families vied
to make theirs the loveliest and best
garden plots. Broad carriageways, shade
trees, and a pleasant breeze invited
visitors to linger among the gardens.
Far too soon, Sacramento needed a
burial ground.
The “Garden Cemetery”
In 1831, Mount Auburn Cemetery in
Massachusetts had introduced America
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Roses, of course, figured prominently in
the mix of plants – and there were plenty
of roses to choose from.
Concerned Sacramentans addressed the
problem vigorously. With the approval
of the City, a volunteer “Old City
Cemetery Committee” was formed. Two
decades later, this Committee continues
its work, under the mission statement:
Between 1850 and 1900, some four
thousand different cultivars of roses
were imported into California, and
offered for sale by several local
nurseries. The finest of newlyintroduced French roses quickly found
their way to San Francisco and
Sacramento. From there, making their
way onward to Mexican Land Grant
ranches and rough Gold Mining towns,
they filled gardens and rural cemeteries
with surprisingly exotic beauty.
“To join hands with the community to
restore, beautify, preserve and protect
the Historic City Cemetery, while
maintaining access by descendants of
the deceased, and to provide educational
services to all visitors to the Historic
City Cemetery of Sacramento.”
Volunteers stepped forward. An AdoptA-Pioneer Plot program was instituted to
foster repair and re-planting in the old
Cemetery plots. In 1988, Sacramento
Mayor Anne Rudin planted heavenly
bamboo, iris, lamb’s ear, and two ‘Perle
d’Or’ roses on the family plot of former
Mayor (1863-1871) C.H. Swift.
When the exuberance of the Gold Rush
began to fade, gold-seekers moved on.
Their roses and gardens were left behind
in the dwindling mining camps,
forgotten – and preserved by
solitude.
Over the years, Adopt-A-Plot has
involved hundreds of volunteers, caring
for hundreds of plots – an idea which led
to the planting of new gardens in the old
cemetery. And Then There Were Roses
With activity in the cemetery stepping
up, Botanist and Rosarian Fred Boutin,
along with Jean Travis of the Perennial
Plant Club, took a “rose survey” of the
cemetery. They found about 20
surviving historic roses. Exploring the
cemetery, Boutin thought it could be the
ideal site for a collection of historic
roses. The City of Sacramento set aside
nearly three acres within the Cemetery
for that purpose, and in March, 1992,
Perennial Plant Club volunteers planted
100 roses, including clones of the
cemetery’s surviving roses. The Historic
Rose Garden of the Sacramento Historic
City Cemetery was born.
‘Lady Waterlow’ Cl HT Nabonnand 1903
Over the years, Sacramento families died
out or left the area, leaving no one to
maintain their plots. By the 1950’s, the
City Cemetery was ageing – and
showing the effects of long neglect. By
the 1980’s, its condition was dire. Many
plots were weed-grown, and covered
with trash. Transients camped under the
old trees, and vandalism was a problem.
Clearly, action was needed.
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‘Reve d’Or’ Noisette Ducher 1869
section of the history of roses – in
particular, roses in the Golden State.
The collection remains easily accessible
to rosarians, rose scholars, romantics,
and lovers of gardens.
Boutin contributed, from his personal
collection, roses collected in old towns
and cemeteries throughout the Gold
Rush country – living links to the Gold
Rush era, and Sacramento’s beginning.
Clones of these tough old roses thrive
here, in company with roses contributed
by Jean Travis, Carl Luhn, Muriel
Humenick, and others.
Over time, other groups and individuals
have donated roses, and the garden
continues to grow – now numbering
approximately five-hundred roses. They
grow in company with other perennial
and native plants, in an increasingly
balanced ecology. Though still based on
California’s wonderful “found” roses,
the collection now includes species and
other roses known to have been grown
or sold in California from 1850 to 1915
As Boutin foresaw, the design of the old
cemetery, with its numbered plots,
facilitated organization of the collection
for study, maintenance, preservation,
propagation – and beauty. As it has
grown and matured, the Historic Rose
Garden has become a wonderful cross-
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– the Cemetery’s period of significance.
The roses, for the most part, are allowed
to reach their genetically-patterned size
and habit, creating a garden whose
beauty is increased by its unique style.
As old plants are removed from other
pioneer cemeteries, or lost to age and
drought, and once-quiet small towns are
“redeveloped,” this collection, in this
beautiful place, has become an
increasingly important place of refuge
for old and rare roses.
these areas were planted, and are
maintained, by volunteers.
Today, as it has been from the start, the
Historic Rose Garden is maintained by a
tightly-knit group of volunteers. Barbara
Oliva came to help plant the garden in
1992. She stayed, eventually becoming
Curator of the Collection, and guiding its
development.1 Anita Clevenger serves
as Garden Manager. Judy Eitzen edits a
Garden Newsletter, and maintains the
garden’s lovely website. Volunteers
groom roses, collect roses, propagate
roses, and conduct educational
workshops and tours.
New Orleans Cemetery Rose Discovered by
Maureen Detweiler in an old New Orleans
cemetery
As its 19th-Century founders intended,
the Historic Old City Cemetery remains
a place of peace and beauty in the center
of a bustling city. The Rose Garden has
become, as well, a place of study, and a
source from which more than a few
cultivars have been re-introduced into
commerce. In a time when the numbers
of rose vendors, as well as gardens, are
shrinking, the “garden-as-refuge”
becomes increasingly more important.
Barbara Olive, with Chester
In Spring, 2009, Great Rosarians Of The
World2 recognized this remarkable
volunteer program, and the excellence of
the Garden – honoring the Historic Rose
Garden with its annual G.R.O.W. Award
for Gardens. It is fitting that the Historic
Rose Garden and the San Jose Heritage
Rose Garden3 were the first two
recipients of this award. The two
gardens, located just 115 miles apart,
Other gardens followed the success of
the Historic Rose Garden. A Perennial
Garden, on the Southwest side of the
Cemetery, is balanced by a garden of
California native plants, on the southeast
side. Like the Historic Rose Garden,
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of color and bounty of bloom that makes
Autumn days here glorious. In winter,
the garden is cool and quiet, with a more
restrained color palette. Summer is a
time of vivid sun, rich fragrance, and
deep shade. Still, the garden’s most
spectacular season, and its greatest party
happens in mid-April.
have a strong history of close, mutuallybeneficial cooperation.
Spring is the time of greatest glory for
most rose gardens, but this garden is
beautiful in any season. Among its roses
of all types, the Tea, China, and Noisette
roses – well-suited to California’s
Mediterranean climate – provide a depth
‘Buff Beauty’ Bentall 1939
More than 500 people attended the 2009
Open Garden – some from across the
continent.) The event succeeds on
multiple levels – offering beauty,
friendship, pleasure, education, and
preservation of unique cultivars through
widening distribution.
Every April, when the garden’s onceblooming roses are at their height, and
the “Evergreen” roses explode with
color, cemetery volunteers hold an Open
Garden and Rose Sale. The event,
which includes a sale of plants
propagated from the garden, draws a
greater following every year.
To learn more about the Historic Rose
Garden, and view more photographs,
visit the website,
http://www.cemeteryrose.org/
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‘Maman Cochet’ Tea Cochet 1893
R, eglanteria in winter
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Vina Banksia A probable Banksia hybrid found on historic ranch land
Many thanks to Anita Clevenger, for keeping my
facts on the straight and narrow
-- Jeri Jennings
heritageroses@gmail.com
1 Join Barbara Oliva in the garden. Visit: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/Bee0397.htm 2 Great Rosarians Of The World is an international group of prestigious rosarians. See: http://www.greatrosarians.com/ 3 San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, Guadalupe Gardens, San Jose, California. Pulich Children Probable Hybrid Perpetual
Found and propagated by Janelle Michel
and Kathryn McKenzie
All photos courtesy of Jeri Jennings
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John Clements: Rosarian
By Louise Clements
John Clements was born in South San
Francisco in 1936. He joined the Air
Force at 19 and spent four years in
England as an air-traffic controller. He
continued in this work with the FAA
after he returned to civilian life until his
retirement in 1984. The stress that this
work is noted for affected his health, and
he had a record of heart trouble; this
finally proved fatal on August 8, 2007.
our marriage in 1979 we moved to the
Willamette Valley in 1982; in 1985 we
John began his rose life at Small World
Miniature Roses nursery Medford,
Oregon in 1972. During this time he
began hybridizing minis, but was content
to sell the roses created by others. After
Included in the catalogue were thirteen
of John’s minis: ‘Antique Tapestry’,
‘Britestripe’, ‘Color Purple’, ‘Fancy
Lady’, ‘Firestorm’, ‘Golden Intensity’,
‘Gold Strike’, ‘Golden Girls’, ‘Honey
Mini-delite’, ‘Oregon Rainbow’, ‘Peach
bought five acres in St. Paul, Oregon,
some 20 miles southwest of Portland.
Heirloom Old Garden Roses produced
its first catalogue in 1989, at which time
Small World Miniatures was absorbed
into Heirloom, although a separate
website was maintained for it.
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Silks’, ‘Royal Harlequin’, and ‘Sweet
Shirley’. Of these, only one miniature,
‘Fancy Lady’, remains in our catalogue
today.
In 1991, John’s first hybridizing efforts
continued with the introduction of two
Hybrid Chinas, ‘Dragon’s Eye’ and
‘Shanghai Princess’. After this initial
burst, his interest in the hybridization of
OGRs and Minis waned, to be replaced
by an interest in breeding shrub roses.
Between 1995 and 2000 we introduced
four Hybrid Musks, two Hybrid
Multifloras, and five Hybrid
Wichuranas. Only two from this group,
the Hybrid Wichuranas ‘Soaring Flight’
and ‘The King’s Rubies’, plus a later
introduction, ‘Dreaming’ from 2006,
remain in our 2009 offerings.
‘Fancy Lady’
Perhaps the defining moment in John’s
rose life came in 1987 with a visit to
England and the gardens of David
Austin. He stood in the midst of that
garden of Austin’s English Roses and
Old Garden Roses and declared “This is
the way the United States is going to go
and this is what we are going to do!”
From this time on John imported a
prodigious number of roses from
overseas, both for propagation and sale
and later for use in his own breeding
program.
‘Dreaming’
The mid-1990’s also saw the
introduction of the first of John’s roses
to be designated simply as shrubs. Our
very first introduction of John’s in this
category was ‘Ruffles ‘n’ Flourishes’, a
very low-growing red blend variety
introduced in 1994 and bred from ‘Sexy
Rexy’ x ‘Whistle Stop’, both roses from
Sam McGredy. ‘Ruffles ‘n’ Flourishes’
is one of very few of John’s roses for
which he provided parentage. Although
he did keep a record of his crosses, he
seldom passed this on, even to us here at
Heirloom, when he selected and
registered his seedlings. This practice is
reflected by his comment that he made
in an article from 1995:
He realized well before the rest of the
U.S. rose industry that “Austinesque”
roses were the wave of the future –
hardy, disease resistant, and fragrant
shrub roses of various sizes and with a
variety of bloom types. He was also the
first to respond to the request from the
rose loving public to provide virus-free,
own-root roses. His many years of
growing miniatures on their own roots
convinced him that growing the larger
roses that were free of virus and on their
own roots would be the answer.
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For years I have read all the books in
rose breeding that I could get my hands
on. I have visited some of the world’s
top rose breeders here, in England, and
in Europe, armed with many questions.
Every rose breeder seems to have a few
secrets locked away but almost to a man
they were very helpful and informative.
I feel now, after fifteen years, that we are
making good and exciting progress in
developing new and unique varieties. I
have many ideas for the type of roses I
want to breed, and what parents to
use....but I’ll keep that my secret.
‘The Impressionist’ (‘Graham
Thomas’ x ‘Distant Drums’)
‘Louise Clements’ (‘Graham Thomas’
x ?)
‘Morning Has Broken’ (‘Graham
Thomas’ x ‘Gold Badge’)
‘Good Ol’ Summertime’ (‘Sexy Rexy’
x ‘Hero’)
‘Star of the Nile’ (seedling #22397 x
‘The Yeoman’)
‘Portlandia’ (seedling #22397 x
‘Golden Celebration’)
‘Braveheart’ (‘Tamango’ x ‘The Dark
Lady’)
‘Fragrant Masterpiece’ (‘Mary Rose’ x
‘Golden Masterpiece’)
Nonetheless, John’s breeding records do
indicate a preference for certain parents.
For seed parents, the varieties ‘Sexy
Rexy’, ‘Amber Queen’, ‘Graham
Thomas’, ‘Angel Face’, ‘Perdita’, and
one of his own unnamed seedlings
appear most often, while for pollen
parents ‘The Yeoman’, ‘Golden
Celebration’, ‘Perdita’, ‘Distant Drums’,
‘Gold Bade’, ‘Jude the Obscure’, ‘Trier’,
and his own ‘Morning Has Broken’
occur repeatedly. Many of these parents
are evident in a short list of our most
commercially successful of John’s
varieties, which are, in descending order
of sales:
‘Morning Has Broken’
The year 1996 proved to be a good one
for John’s roses, as four that were
introduced that year are still in our
catalogue: ‘Morning Has Broken’,
(CLEwedding), (‘Graham Thomas’ x
‘Gold Badge’), named after the Cat
Stevens song played at our wedding;
‘Joan Fontaine’, with heavily-petalled,
creamy white blooms and a 7.8 ARS
rating; ‘Kateryna’, a soft pink named for
our granddaughter, and; ‘Louise
Clements’, with blooms of an intense
copper-orange and named for me.
‘Portlandia’
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All of the above varieties are moderateto-low-growing plants which could well
be considered floribundas rather than
shrubs. However, I think that their
Austinesque bloom habit and flower
form led John to emulate David Austin
and register them as shrubs. One of
John’s introductions ‘Morning Has
Broken’ has proven to be one of the
most disease resistant roses in existence
and has been grown in nearly every part
of the United States with superb results.
was the first nursery in North American
to introduce the Harkness “Floorshow”
collection of low-growing ground
covers.
Like some other hybridizers, most
notably Sam McGredy and Jack
Harkness, John named a number of his
roses after beloved members of his
family. This list includes:
‘Louise Clements’ mentioned above
‘Kateryna’ also mentioned above
‘Ruth Clements’ a medium sized
shrub with heavily-petalled blooms of
coral and pink. Introduced in 2000 and
named for John’s mother.
‘Lexy’ soft pink blooms forming in
sprays of 12-15 florets on a tall shrub to
6 ft. Named for our granddaughter
Alexandra and introduced in 2000.
‘Louise Clements’
John’s admiration for the work of David
Austin has led us to stock a number of
his English Roses over the years. At
present we offer over 80 varieties, more
than any other American Nursery except
for David Austin Roses themselves, and
including a few that even Austin himself
does not market in the U.S. While we
have carried, and continue to carry, roses
from wide variety of hybridizers around
the world and here in the U.S., probably
the largest number from a single
hybridizer or nursery are the English
Legend series from Harkness Roses in
the U.K. The series consists of over 50
varieties, and includes some that have
been previously introduced in the U.S.,
such as ‘Livin’ Easy’ and ‘Margaret
Merril’, plus a large number that have
not. It includes everything from
climbers to hybrid teas, and Heirloom
‘Lexy’
‘Laura’ named for, and selected by, our
daughter, this low-growing plant has
blooms of apricot, cream, and pink.
Introduced in 2002.
‘Anna Louise’ perhaps its code name
of CLEcanteloupe best describes the
orange-copper color of the blooms on
this medium-sized shrub. Introduced
just this year, ‘Anna Louise’ was named
for our John’s youngest step-
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granddaughter, and was the last rose
that he personally named.
blooms), newsman Charles Kuralt (with
low-petalled coral-pink blooms with a
nice fragrance). At John’s invitation
British nurseryman and hybridizer Peter
Beales personally selected the rose from
our garden that is named for him.
(having single red blooms with a yellow
eye and a strong aroma).
All in all, John hybridized over 70 rose
varieties classed simply as shrubs, in
addition to the aforementioned “classic”
shrubs and a few Large Flowered
Climbers. He stated his hybridizing
philosophy thus:
‘Anna Louise’
‘Brenda Burg’ An orange blend 1999
introduction named after John’s step
daughter.
My goals are to breed for fragrance, unique
coloring, high quality blooms of many types
and to go down paths the other breeders
may not have travelled. For me a new rose
must have the following characteristics:
clean clear color, attractive blooms with
their own uniqueness, abundance of bloom,
and a vigorous, disease resistant bush. We
do not spray our test roses so we may
evaluate them for susceptibility to disease.
‘Rebecca Louise’ Soft pink, lowpetalled blooms on a large, mounding
shrub; introduced in 2000 and named for
another of John’s step-granddaughters.
‘Laurel Louise’ John broke the
pattern here with this apricot blend
Miniflora from 1999, named after yet
another step granddaughter.
‘Regina Louise’ the last of the stepgranddaughter roses, this small shrub has
very fragrant soft pink blooms fading to
white, and was also introduced in 1999.
Robert Clements’ a low-growing
shrub with classically-shaped blooms,
this beautiful orange blend variety was
introduced in 2003 and named after
John’s uncle, with whom a shared an
ongoing love of roses and who was great
encouragement when John was just a
child in his desire to “grow things”.
‘Robert Clements’
In addition to family, John also named
roses after other people he admired, such
as California rosarian Bill Grant, (a
medium-sized shrub with single white
In the test gardens here at Heirloom we
are still watching many of his creations
and will continue to introduce them as it
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comes their turn. While he realized the
importance of his contribution to the
improved condition of roses he was
never one to linger over yesterday’s
success. He was always moving on to
the next possibility. He truly wore “rose
colored glasses” and loved them all.
Well, except for one. He did not like the
green rose. For him it was just a novelty
with no color, no fragrance and no
beauty. His legacy is one of beauty that
will live in our gardens for many
lifetimes. His love for roses is best
expressed in his own words in the only
poem he ever wrote.
Romancing the Rose
Entangled in the embrace of my Rose Garden
I taste the scented morning mist,
Which only barely veils the
Fiery red,
Maiden pink
And virtuous white
Of my lovelies, my Roses.
I draw deep a breath of tea and apple,
Myrrh and musk.
Enraptured by the fragrance,
I linger there ‘til dusk.
John Clements 1992
‘Fashion Statement’
‘Memories’
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‘Good Ol’ Summertime’
‘Rebecca Louise’
‘Kateryna’
‘Braveheart’
‘Desiree’
‘Joan Fontaine’
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Louise & John Clements (all photos courtesy of Heirloom Roses)
The Old Garden Rose & Shrub Journal is an official publication of the American Rose Society. It
is published quarterly and is available through a link on the ARS website. Passwords for the
Journal and other Members Only features are printed on the Table of Contents page of each
American Rose magazine. Submissions, comments and questions should be sent to:
Louise & John Clements (all photos courtesy of Heirloom Roses)
Jeff Wyckoff, Editor AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY The Old
19641
5thGarden
Ave. S.Rose & Shrub Journal is an official publication of the American Rose Society. It
Jeff Wyckoff— President is published
and is available through a link on
the ARS website. Passwords for the
Des
Moines,quarterly
WA 98148
E-mail:
Journal kjwyckoff@comcast.net
and other Members Only features are printedJolene Adams — Vice President on the Table of Contents page of each
Marilyn Wellan — OGR Chair American Rose magazine. Submissions, comments and
questions should be sent to:
Jeff Wyckoff, Editor 19641 5th Ave. S.
Des Moines, WA 98148
E-mail: kjwyckoff@comcast.net
Jeff Ware — Executive Director
AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY Jeff Wyckoff— President Jolene Adams — Vice President Marilyn Wellan — OGR Chair Jeff Ware — Executive Director
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