We visited the Ringling Museum of Art on Saturday. Beyond Ca’ d’Zan, Mable’s rose garden is my favorite spot.
The garden was planted in 1913; it was based on the Italian wagon wheel design. Rows of roses circle around the focal point of a limestone and wrought iron gazebo. The gazebo is original.
The roses are not. Only three percent of the roses in the current garden were around in Mable’s day. She also didn’t enjoy the modern ease of rose disease control. Mable used to have to replace half her roses every two years because of disease. Today’s technology has lengthened the average life of a rose to 12-15 years. Here are a few from the garden:
Christopher Marlow
Europeana
The Mable Ringling Rose Garden is one of only three accredited public rose gardens in Florida. The accreditation comes from the American Rose Society and requires that the garden adhere to a number of additional quality controls. Stop by on Mondays; admission is free!
