Dr. Dorris and Christine Brown conceived the idea of a rose garden for New Braunfels in 1988. Having moved to Texas from the north, they were fascinated with roses blooming year-round. The Browns wanted to establish a rose conservatory using roses found in the New Braunfels area. The perfect location for the rose garden was found with the birth of Conservation Plaza, a collection of restored New Braunfels historic buildings by the New Braunfels Conservation Society.
Local citizens collected rose cuttings from homes and cemeteries in the area, and the Plant Haus Nursery rooted the cuttings to be planted at the rose garden. Some of the rose bushes were brought by the settlers from Germany in the 1850s. The Comal Master Gardeners have been maintaining the rose garden since 1999.
Workdays are a great day to visit the Rose Garden as volunteer workers will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Crown gall disease has caused the garden to lose roses for the past couple of years, the second time gall has affected the garden roses. Remediation will involve removing all plants and soil and replacing the soil and rose plants. While all current roses will be discarded, all the varieties of roses are available for replacement. There were originally 72 plants in each of the two rose beds, but the number of plants will be reduced to allow the plants to grow bigger and have better spacing. The same varieties of roses will be planted, but duplication will be reduced.
Tours of Conservation Plaza are available Tuesday through Sunday. Some of the buildings are available for weddings, receptions, parties and dinners. The rose garden area is very popular for weddings. Visit the New Braunfels Conservation Society website for more information.
Location: 1300 Church Hill Drive, New Braunfels
Workdays: 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. Starting time is dependent on season and weather.
Questions? Email roses@comalmg.com