Mr. Robert Begg Sr. was the first horticulturist at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary. He worked for many years for Mr. Norcross, planting gardens, receiving shipments of plants, making sure the Sanctuary was taken care of and that the crews were hard at work. Mr. Begg loved roses. I understand that he planted the climbing “Blaze” rose on all the post and rail fences from the entrance on Peck Road up to Mr. Norcross private residence here on the Sanctuary. Unfortunately, most of those roses are long gone.
Today we honor his work here at Norcross with a rose garden. Our rose garden is at the far end of our walking trails and is located where Mr. Begg’s house originally stood. After the house was removed several of my past associates spent months researching roses and selecting beautiful plants for the garden. We visited other rose gardens and spoke with rosarians (specialists in roses) to learn how to care for these special plants.
We have, over the years, selected for some of the lower maintenance varieties – but have not scrimped on the beautiful varieties. June is the month to see these GORGEOUS plants. Each week my crew spends time dead-heading and watering the plants to keep them at their best. We have a wide variety of colors and types of roses. Our trails are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you love roses, the next few weeks will be exceptional in the rose garden. I hope you will take the time to visit us soon.
