Los Alamos Garden Club members gather Friday for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly-installed deer fence at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden. Also pictured holding the ribbon are Wendy Parker and Emmanuel Abeyta of the Parks & Recreation Department. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Scene from Friday’s event at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden celebrating the completion of the deer fence project. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Scene from Friday’s event at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden celebrating the completion of the deer fence project. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

It was an exciting day for the Los Alamos Garden Club Friday as members gathered at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden for a ribbon cutting for the new deer fence. Established in 1947, the Garden Club has a long and rich history in the community. A decade later, the club decided to create a public garden to which varieties of rose plants best thrived in the high altitude and dry environment of Los Alamos.

“The town had no cemetery at the time, and the public started donating roses in memory of loved ones who had passed,” said club member Kersti Rock, who is chair of the club’s effort to obtain the fence. “The garden expanded quickly and was moved to its current location in 1958.Club members have cared for the garden ever since.”

Since the 1960s, Los Alamos County has partnered with the club by building, supporting and maintaining the infrastructure of the garden, including the irrigation system and the arbors.

“Garden club members show up nearly every Monday morning from April to early December to spend 2-3 hours working in the garden. Most of us are not particularly young but we work hard. However, the increasing prevalence of deer with the town limits has resulted in more devastation of the rose plants than we can keep up with. We have tried various methods to discourage the deer, but nothing worked well until we placed wire cages over each plant.”

Five years ago, Rock and Judy Handy, the Rose Garden chair, began discussing the idea of a deer fence. A committee was formed and the whole club got involved during their regular meetings.

“Knowing the challenge of selecting a fence design that would be effective against the deer while also being attractive and blending well with the surrounding historic district, the club discussed various ideas for the fence material and design,” Rock said.

The final design was chosen based on its strength, beauty, long term durability and low maintenance requirements. As the project progressed. club members provided critical support by attending meetings with stakeholders such as the Historic Preservation Advisory Board, the County Council and the County Parks & Recreation Board. Rock said she gave presentations at those meetings in order to raise awareness of the need and ultimately obtain the necessary approvals before the project could be funded through the County.

“Club members talked with local members of the community and our corresponding secretary, Addie Jacobson, wrote articles for our local papers to raise public awareness of the need for the project” Rock said. “Work began on the fence last December and it was essentially complete by April. We are thrilled to see this project come to its completion and that the garden will be able to flourish now that the deer now have access to it.”

The amount of visible growth already in the garden is significant and there are signs that there will be some beautiful blooms to come! Traffic across the garden is not as heavy as it used to be, so the fenced are provides a tranquil space, consistent with a memorial garden, where people can sit and ponder as they enjoy the work that is done there, listen to the birds, and may observe a deer or two outside the fence!

During Friday’s event, Rock took the opportunity to thank multiple individuals and groups, especially the Los Alamos Garden Club members who provided their support, time and effort to the project in so many ways in the last five years. She welcomed Johnese Turri, president of the New Mexico Garden Clubs and Shirla Harris, president of the Angel Fire Garden Club and thanked them for making the long drive to participate in the celebration.

Rock thanked the Los Alamos Historic Preservation Advisory Board for their guidance an ultimate approval of the fence design based on its suitability for the Historic District.

“Thanks also to the County Council for their support and recognition of our club and for their kind attention when we informed them of our deer fence project,” Rock said.

She also thanked Community Services Department Director Cory Styron, Parks & Recreation Supervisor Wendy Parker, Assistant Supervisor Emmanuel Abeyta, and the County Parks & Recreation Board for approving the fence project, placing it in the County budget and contracting with Valley Fence of Albuquerque to build the fence.

Los Alamos Garden Club members with Sarah Khan, recipient of the Club’s 2026 scholarship (wearing red skirt) during Friday’s event at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Los Alamos County Councilors Theresa Cull, left, and Ryn Herrmann at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden Friday afternoon. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Parks & Recreation Supervisor Wendy Parker, right, and Assistant Supervisor Emmanuel Abeyta were part of the ribbon cutting event Friday at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden deer fence project. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Shady scene from the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden Friday afternoon. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

View of the rose garden from outside the newly-installed fence. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Kersti Rock, chair of the Los Alamos Garden Club deer fence project addresses those gathered for the ribbon cutting event. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Scene from Friday’s event at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden celebrating the completion of the deer fence project. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Rose bushes are thriving at the memorial garden in the absence of their deer friends! Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com

Scene from Friday’s event at the Los Alamos Memorial Rose Garden. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com