Essex County Rose Garden

A Brief History

The Essex County Rose Garden at Brookdale Park was established in June 1959 through a joint effort of the New Jersey Rose Society and the Essex County Parks Department. The initial collection started with 650 rose bushes including 80 different varieties. Care and restoration of the Brookdale Rose Garden was taken over in 1997, as a community project by the newly formed Rutgers Master Gardeners of Essex County (RMGEC).

The garden continues to thrive today and has grown to 15,000 square feet divided up into 25 separate beds of hybrid tea, floribunda, shrub, hybrid musk, polyanthas, rugosas and antique roses. It includes over 500 bushes of nearly 150 varieties. Roses have been selected for their disease resistance, color, fragrance and blooms throughout the growing season.

The success of garden is due to the leadership of past and current Master Gardeners Jonathan Forsell (1997- 2000), Bob Kroeckel (2003-2006), Susan Jankolovits (2006 to 2020), and Don McLoughlin (2020 to present) as well as the ongoing support of the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

Care and Maintenance

RMGEC and other community volunteers meet every Wednesday morning from mid-March thru November to keep the the Rose Garden looking its best. Pruning, fertilizing, herbicide application and weeding are performed in early spring while throughout the summer, mulching, deadheading, and weeding takes place around the beds. All weeding is done mechanically rather than with the use of herbicides and there is no use of fungicide at all.

About the RMGEC

Rutgers Master Gardeners of Essex County, The Brookdale Park Rose Garden Committee was formed to restore and revitalize the Rose Garden of the Essex County Parks System for the enjoyment of all visitors to Brookdale Park in Bloomfield and Montclair, New Jersey. The committee also educates the Master Gardeners and the visitors to the Garden in the care and maintenance of Roses.

For more information on Rutgers Master Gardeners of Essex County, the Brookdale Park Rose Garden Committee and the Essex County Rose Garden at Brookdale Park, please visit www.MGEssex.org.

Support the Rose Garden

To volunteer or make a monetary donation to the Rose Garden, please contact Don McLoughlin via email.

Rose Care in Essex County

Provide a minimum of 6 hours sunlight
Select disease resistant roses, non-grafted if possible
Add 1/3 compost or composted manure to planting hole
Fertilize 2x a season with a rose or 6-6-4 fertilizer
Water a minimum 1 inch per week, mornings only - do not splash
Prune in early spring with *sharp* tools