Restoring, caring for Schenectady’s Rose Garden | News

Varieties such as Violet’s Pride or Pope John Paul II are especially fragrant and marked so — just one thing to thank the garden’s restoration committee for.

The committee organizes work sessions multiple times a week for volunteers to tend to the flowers. On Tuesday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. from April to October, gardeners gather at the park and trim bushes, pull weeds and do whatever else the roses may need. Additional work sessions are held on Thursday evenings from around Memorial Day to Labor Day and Saturday mornings in the spring.

Retirees make up most of the volunteers, said board member Pam Pearlman this past Tuesday morning.

“I used to walk by here and I saw the group but I was working so as I was walking for exercise, I didn’t really have time to spend … but I retired last year,” said Roxanne Hill, of Schenectady, who started with the group in 2023.

Niskayuna’s Rohinton Irani has some 30 rose bushes dotting his yard. He began volunteering in 2018 and has since witnessed not only the blossoming of the flowers, but their visitors, too.

“A lot of visitors come here for graduations, weddings and take photos here. That’s another nice rewarding thing, seeing people enjoy the fruits of your labor,” said Irani.

Work sessions are non-commital and volunteers are welcome whenever they can make it.

“There’s no pressure. If you can’t make it one day, so what?” said Lorraine Knowles. “Though I do treat this as a necessity, because the roses really do need the treatment.”

Having been involved for more than a decade, Knowles has seen the garden transform in many ways. The dilapidated staircase was revamped and a canopy added at its foot as a welcome to the serene sanctuary. Not to mention, the shuffling around of garden beds.

An addition in the work is a memorial to David Gade, who alongside his wife Sharon, was one of the founding members of the garden’s restoration committee. The couple guided volunteers and taught them how to care for the plants, Pearlman included.

“I didn’t know anything about roses. But thanks to Dave and Sharon Gade, I learned a lot,” she said, as she worked to “deadhead” some wilting blooms. 

The process consists of gently pulling the petals off of the rose hip, allowing new, fresh blooms to rear their heads. 

Google is a big help too, she quipped.

Those interested in volunteering next season can head to schenectadyrose.org or email mattcuevas.rgrc@gmail.com and a committee member will get back in touch.

Gardeners of all different experience levels are welcome. What links them is an appreciation for the bliss found among the blossoms.

“I think it’s soothing to be here, just to be among nature,” said Irani.

Hill pointed toward the sun, high in the sky, and felt the morning breeze on her skin before taking a steady inhale.

“In some areas, you can really smell the roses,” she said. “My sense of smell is a little diminished but I can still pick it up in certain areas more than others.”

Photos: Schenectady’s Central Park Rose Garden

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