The Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden provides a serene spot for reflection, devoid of deer who were a little too fond of how they tasted. Courtesy photo
The new fence provides protection for rose bushes that have been in the memorial garden for many years. Courtesy photo
LOS ALAMOS GARDEN CLUB NEWS RELEASE
It was a warmer than usual winter in Los Alamos County. The resident deer herds didn’t mind. Food was available. Now they are continuing to enjoy the spring vegetation in our environs. However, the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden is a location where the deer will no longer be able to feast! The over 200 roses in the Garden will be off-limits. After a multi-year campaign begun in 2021 and spearheaded by Kersti Rock of the Los Alamos Garden Club (the Memorial Rose Garden’s caregivers), a fence has been erected by Los Alamos County around the perimeter of the Memorial Rose Garden. ADA accessible gates to enter have been installed and are operational. While the members of the Los Alamos Garden Club are looking forward to the formal dedication of the fence in May, they are also delighted that for the first time in three seasons they are able to remove the chicken wire ‘cages’ placed to deter the deer in their quest for ‘rosy’ culinary delights.
Organized in 1947, the Los Alamos Garden Club has been the entity providing the care for the now 70-year-old garden established to memorialize deceased residents of the County when there was no cemetery within the County. The Club welcomes community members to join them on Monday mornings from April through October to prune, fertilize, mulch, and weed the roses in the oldest public garden in New Mexico. So, if you enjoy working outdoors in a garden, come help us keep the garden flourishing!
Whether you like to get ‘dirty’ in the garden, or not, you can help the garden flourish by purchasing plants grown by club members, and other items, on Saturday, May 9 from 10 AM to 2 PM at the United Church parking lot. Proceeds help fund the Club’s LAHS Scholarship and needed rose garden supplies.
For additional information or if interested in Club membership contact Joyce Zaugg at
greenleavesjoy@gmail.com