Rosa marginata, also on the meadow area.
Rosa setipoda in Crabapple Meadow.
origins of plants hitherto believed to have been
hybridized by people.
Our own state of Washington has six native
rose species in its flora (see “Our Native Roses,”
by Janine Anderson, “Arboretum Bulletin”
Summer 2018). Two of these species, Rosa
nutkana and R. pisocarpa, can be found through-
out the native matrix in the Arboretum. The main
rose collection, however, comprises species of
East Asian and European origins.
The oldest specimen in the collection is the
handsome Rosa setipoda, native to the uplands
of Hubei and Sichuan Provinces, in China.
Dating to 1946, our specimen came to us as a
seed from the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, in
Sweden. Originally planted by Lake Washington
Boulevard, at the very south end of the
Arboretum, it was transplanted to Crabapple
Meadow in 1986 and has thrived there. In June,
it bears fragrant, wide, clear-pink blooms that
fade to white at the center. These develop into
orange-red, flagon-shaped hips.
Another beautiful pink-flowered species,
located on the eastern edge of the meadow, is Rosa
marginata. Dating to 1951, our specimen came as
14 v Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin
a seed from the Hortus Botanicus in Copenhagen,
Denmark. It grows wild from central and eastern
Europe and to Southwest Asia. The fragrant June
flowers have bright-yellow stamens and develop
into round, red hips.
Olmsted Plan for a Formal Rose Garden
Ray Larson, curator of Living Collections for
UW Botanic Gardens, says that at this point
in time the Arboretum is mostly interested in
adding species of known wild provenance to the
collection. This wasn’t always the case, though.
The original Olmsted design for the Arboretum
featured an old-fashioned rose garden bursting
with ornamental cultivars.
“The plan called for a large, four-acre garden
where the playfield at the south end is now,” says
Ray. “The symmetrical design, with its axial
pathways, was quite lovely and the most formal
component of the Arboretum plan.”
However, it never came to fruition. The
playfield had been created years before and was
very popular, and the “bowl” surrounding it had
already been planted up. Ray doubts if any roses
were included. By 1948, the rose garden idea had
been abandoned.
As part of the overall taxonomic design of
the Arboretum, the rose family (Rosaceae)
collection was planted at the north end of the
park, on what is now the WSDOT peninsula.