Deer, Floods, and Roses

The Rose Garden in Greenwood Park (map) can be expected to have plenty of blooms for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. This year, however, the park is “lousy with deer,”� according to a groundskeeper. The deer nip off the top of the bushes, forcing the plants to generate new growth instead of buds. The groundskeeper was busily spraying the bushes with a waxy pepper spray as I walked through the garden the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend. With nearby flooding, the groundskeeper expected the deer to be pushed right back into the Rose Garden. He also expected the peak time for blooms this year would probably be June 15.

A few plants are going strong, particularly the ones that are protected from hungry deer by height or by depth. The World War II Memorial roses, introduced in 2004 by Star Roses, have several young blooms. The flower is a double white, gray and lavender. Close by, the Memorial Day roses only had a few buds. The flowers will be heavily-petaled and fragrant. In the middle part of the garden, the Don Juan bushes were starting to bloom yellow, while the Brass Band plants were a bit further along. The Brass Band flower starts out orange and then becomes a large blossom with tones of peach, melon, and apricot and a “light fruity fragrance”� to match, according to a sign. In the southern third of the garden, the Fire Meldland tree rose holds several fire-engine red clusters as the stems drape gently towards the ground. The dense Rainbow’s End, which are low to the ground, hold many buds ready to open.

The Rose Garden can be accessed from 48th and Grand Streets on Des Moines’ west side. It sits just to the west and slightly behind the Art Center. Walk a bit beyond the Rose Garden and there is a small pond. A bit beyond the reed- and cattail-circled pond is the Ashworth city swimming pool. At the edge of the parking lot is the trail head for the Bill Riley Trail.

The last time I was on the Bill Riley Trail, I was taking photographs as part of my seasonal environmental art project. It was February 4, 2006, mid-winter, and cold. At least I was able to get a series of note cards out of the day as sunlight stretched across the railroad where it crosses the trail. Today, the weather was warmer but I had to contend with many hungry mosquitoes. Photos taken to document Walnut Creek flood waters across the trail reveal a dapple and strong reflections created by the late-spring sun and fresh leaves.

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

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