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The Wyck Rose Garden dates to 1824 and is widely recognized as the oldest rose garden in America, with 65 cultivars of old roses currently. Included in the garden are the original rose plants from the 19th century design, as well as rare, native plants that could be from before the earliest settlement in 1690. Several old roses in cultivation today had been thought lost until they were discovered growing at Wyck, and all specimens of these varieties in commercial trade descend from Wyck plants.
Beginning with Rosa spinosissima in early May and ending with Rosa moschata in late October, Wyck's heritage roses are remarkable for their beauty as well as for their fragrance, which fills the garden. Four generations of Wyck women gardened here, and the plan reflects the Quaker value of simplicity. Wyck is a rare wonder for garden lovers and an important repository of plants that have disappeared from other historic gardens.
Other area of the property are planted not for decoration and pleasure but, rather, for practical purposes. Historically, the property extended to all the way to Wissahickon Avenue, but was sold off in the 1850s as Germantown developed into a desirable suburb. Before much of the land was sold, Wyck functioned as a large farm, where dairy cows and sheep grazed and crops grew. Wyck proudly resumed fuctioning as a home farm on its 2.5-acre site in 2007, providing produce for the whole neightborhood at the Wyck Farmers' Market, outside the fence along Germantown Avenue.
The oldest roses in the garden are thought to have been planted in the 18th century as medicinal plants, including the stand of Rosa alba semi-plena (located to the right of the seating area known as the summerhouse). This variety dates to before 1629 and is thought to be the rose symbolizing the House of York during the War of the Roses in England. Extremely fragrant and bearing large quantities of rose hips later in the season, this rose was used often in medicinal applications during the Colonial era.
Another rose of great antiquity in Wyck's garden is 'Pink Leda' , a damask rose that the first European settlers brought to America.
A rose with deep roots locally, the 'Celsiana' was growing in Germantown by about 1750. It went by the local name Germantown Damask; it was also known as the Tobacco Rose because its fragrant petals were added medicinally to tobacco.
Wyck's garden also features the dowager of all old European roses, Rosa gallica officinalis , along with the striped sport 'Rosa Mondi' .
R. gallica officinalis has been cultivated since the Crusades. Also called the Apothecary Rose, it was highly valued for its medicinal properties historically.
Several roses in the garden are mysteries. Among these is the 'Elegant Gallica' , a variety that would have been fully extinct had it not survived at Wyck and eventually been propagated for distribution commercially.
An even rarer rose is 'Lafayette' , a gallica/damask hybrid which is available only through Wyck. It is believed to have been planted in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to Wyck in 1825 during a return trip to Philadelphia.
The name 'Bella Donna' referred to a number of roses throughout the 20th century, and great debates raged as to which rose was the real 'Bella Donna'! The presence of the rose in Wyck's garden, along with its name appearing on an early plant list, resulted in a decisive identification.
China roses were introduced in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. These roses caused great excitement; a rose revolution, if you will? Small and twiggy, less hardy, and bearing scant fragrance, China roses rebloom regularly, a quality virtually nonexistent in roses up to that time.
'Old Blush' was one of the first, along with 'Slater's Crimson China' and 'Miss Wilmot's China' . The latter was known in China as White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth.
A number of roses in Wyck's garden represent rose breeding efforts in the 19th century to combine genes from the China roses with those of the old European favorites.
A number of roses in Wyck's garden represent rose breeding efforts in the 19th century to combine genes from the China roses with those of the old European favorites. The oval bed in the center of the parterres contains several such roses, including 'Marquesa Boccella' , 'Victor Verdier' , and 'Baronne Prevost' . Elsewhere in the garden are the similar 'Rose de Rescht' and 'La Reine' .
Although not strong rebloomers by today's standards, these roses were considered an important step toward the everblooming roses that gardeners were beginning to demand.
The first American rose hybrid was created in 1811; it arrived at Wyck by 1824. 'Champneys' Pink Cluster' was a cross between the two favorite roses of a South Carolina rice planter, the Musk rose and the China rose. It exhibits the best qualities of both parents, reblooming reliably and more fragrant than many other roses.
Climbing roses were not commonly planted until the introduction of the wichuriaina rose from China in the late 19th century. This extremely vigorous plant is very hardy and can grow to 20 feet or more. The hybrid wichuriainas 'American Pillar' , 'Silver Moon' , 'Dr. Van Fleet', and 'Tausendschoen' (the latter found in the lattice on the front of the house) reflect the popularity of climbing roses in the early 20th century.
The Helen F. Faust Wyck Rose Garden Internship
(scroll to the bottom for application instructions)
The Helen F. Faust Wyck Rose Garden Internship is a unique opportunity to gain horticultural experience in an historic rose garden. The Wyck Rose Garden dates to the 1820s and is considered to be the oldest rose garden growing in its original plan in the United States. Four generations of Wyck women gardened here, and its plan reflects the Quaker value of simplicity. Included in the garden are several of the original rose plants from the 19th century design, as well as several rare, native plants that are possibly from before the earliest settlement in 1690. Several old roses in cultivation today had been thought lost until they were discovered growing at Wyck, and all specimens of these varieties in the trade descend from Wyck plants. Today, over 65 different old roses are grown at Wyck.
The Helen F. Faust Wyck Rose Garden Internship is a four-month, paid internship program from March 1 through June 30, 2012 . The Rose Garden Intern will work under the guidance of the Wyck Horticulturist. The intern will concentrate on the Wyck Rose Garden and the care and propagation of old roses and their companion plants within the context of an historical landscape. The intern will be scheduled to work, on average, 17.5 hours a week at an hourly rate of $10.00. Additional hours may be required during Old Rose Week.
Responsibilities:
Eligibility:
Application:
Helen Faust (1909-2011) was a dedicated educator, civic leader, and gardener,
and had a keen interest in the preservation of historic Germantown.
Different sources document this area as the South Lawn, or "the front of my house," and by around 1850 it came to be known as the woodlot. It is thought that initially the area would have been planted with fruit trees, and there were early descriptions of a peach orchard that was indicated to be in this area. There are references to mowing the woodlot, which indicates that the area was not heavily wooded and was probably maintained somewhat like a yard or park, but there are very few photographs and limited descriptions of this part of the property in the collection. Today the large horse chestnut stands as a replacement for the Spanish Chestnut trees that the family was so fond of, since wiped out by the Chestnut blight in the early 20th century. The largest tree on the property is located here, and is also one of the most venerable, a native tulip poplar planted in the 1830s. A tree of the same age was taken down in 2001 and its stump was left, since planted with a replacement tulip poplar.
We know that the small pawpaw grove in the woodlot descends from pawpaws grown on the property for at least 100 years and probably many more. The largest native American fruit and closely related to the avocado, suckers of the pawpaw were traded for bamboo from
Grumblethorpe in the early 1900s. This is the same bamboo that 80 years later had completely overtaken almost all the historic plants at that site. The bamboo in question at Wyck has been relegated to the Southeast corner of the woodlot where it grows under the shade of a Paulownia tree.or
From the Home Farm is visible the giant bank barn, built in 1796 by Caspar Wister Haines as part of a major set of architectural improvements on the property. It may have replaced an earlier and much smaller structure. The barn was used throughout the 19th century until it was sold to architect Mantle Fielding in 1898, at which point it was renovated as a private home. At the same time, Fielding developed the rest of the block, which had been Wyck property until that time, building two additional large houses that are visible from the Home Farm. This was the last subdivision of Wycks property, and concluded the real estate sales of original property that took place throughout the 19th century, particularly after the railroad was built to Germantown in the early 1850s, making it a popular weekend and summer retreat for Philadelphians wanting easy access to the city and elevating land prices.
Near the property wall adjacent to the barn property are two large brick and cement pits known variously as cold frames or hot boxes, depending on how they were used. Originally somewhat deeper, these may have been used to overwinter tender plants as well as to extend the growing season for vegetable crops. Hot boxes could have been made by filling the bottoms with a layer of fresh manure or tan bark, a byproduct of the leather tanning process. The decomposing material would have generated enough heat to raise the ambient temperature by at least 10-20 degrees when kept covered with glass.
The several large pieces of Wissahickon Schist just below the Ha-ha cover the remain of a cistern that could reach back to the 18th century. This cistern was the termination of an elegant grey water system originating at the pump in the kitchen yard. This pump would have provided water for dairying (a milk house once stood quite near the pump), as well as for all manner of washing and food preparation. Used or overflow water would have traveled down the brick trough (dated to 1822) before disappearing through a culvert under the cart way leading from the barnyard/parking lot to the coach house and into the cistern, where it would have been used to provide water for the vegetable garden and animals. arcu ac urna. Fusce congue eleifend mi. Pellentesque metus sem, elementum eu, rhoncus sed, gravida sit amet, nulla. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean condimentum, odio quis pharetra dignissim, diam nisl dignissim diam, eu interdum magna erat sit amet felis. Etiam non felis at urna tempus luctus. In ullamcorper nisl congue elit. In convallis nibh vitae justo. Quisque ac lectus vitae sem consequat sagittis. Donec turpis nisi, feugiat sollicitudin, fermentum
6026 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144 Tel. 215-848-1690 Fax 215-848-1612 Facebook
We are accepting applications now for the Helen F. Faust Wyck Rose Garden Internship! Application deadine: January 31, 2012
