A4 Activity and Fun Fact Sheet
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A3 Activity and Fun Fact Sheet
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Nestled below the Piazza at Caroline Bay, the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden is a living testament to passion, dedication, and the timeless charm of roses. Over 20 years ago, the Timaru Beautifying Society, alongside renowned rosarian Trevor Griffiths, brought a dream to life—creating a garden that celebrates the diversity and history of roses from around the world.
Designed by Sir Miles Warren and planted with love by the Griffiths family and dedicated volunteers, this garden features over 1,200 roses arranged in stunning geometric beds. From rare species roses to vibrant English varieties, it offers a sensory journey through colors, fragrances, and history.
Recognized as one of the largest rose collections in the Southern Hemisphere, this award-winning garden is a must-visit destination. Step into a world of beauty and heritage, and explore how a community’s vision blossomed into a cherished landmark.
Read more about the history, design, and legacy of the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden...
HOW MANY ROSE GARDENS CAN YOU VISIT IN THE TIMARU DISTRICT?
- Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden CAROLINE BAY, TIMARU.
- Species Rose Garden, Anderson Rose Garden, and Heritage Rose Border. TIMARU BOTANIC GARDENS.
- Rose Garden and War Memorial Rose Garden. TEMUKA DOMAIN.
Over 20 years ago, the Timaru Beautifying Society had a big dream – to save and share a collection of roses in a public garden. With the help of Trevor Griffiths and his family, their dream came true. In 2001, they gifted the garden to the people of South Canterbury.
Some roses, known as species or wild roses, have been around for millions of years. Others, like Modern and Old English roses, are bred by people like Trevor to have specific traits such as particular leaves, thorns, flowers, colours, scents, and good health.
Breeding roses is a complex process where pollen from one rose is brushed to another to create a new plant with desired traits. Success is only known once the plant blooms. Breeders then take cuttings from the plant to grow genetically identical roses, preserving its unique traits. This is why roses like those in this garden are so special. If a rare plant dies, it could be lost forever.
The Griffiths family budded and grafted 1,200 (600 Modern English roses and 600 Old English Roses) from Trevor’s collection to plant in the new garden.
The Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden was designed by architect Sir Miles Warren (1929–2022), renowned for his Brutalist design of Timaru’s public library.
In 1976, Warren and his family purchased a property in Lyttelton and created Ōhinetahi garden, which became one of New Zealand’s top formal gardens and a lifelong passion for him.
The Rose Garden at Caroline Bay in Timaru features geometric beds radiating from a central pergola.
Trevor planned the garden by rose families, enabling visitors to trace each rose’s lineage, with nearly every rose family in the world represented.
English roses were planted in groups of twos and threes for continuous flowering, and ordered by colour gradient from pinks and crimsons to apricots and yellows. The apricots and yellows were positioned at the west end, where the sun sets.
The Timaru Beautifying Society fundraised $205,000 towards the garden. Trevor, his son Bevan and wife Elizabeth planted all 1200 roses and the Deadheaders volunteers gave over 7000 hours caring for the garden over 25 years. When the garden opened in 2001, it was debt free and gifted to the people of South Canterbury to be cared by Timaru District Council and was recognised as one of the largest rose collections in the Southern Hemisphere.
In 2012, the garden received the World Federation of Rose Societies Garden of Excellence Award and in 2023 awarded five stars by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. Thanks to Trevor’s passion for roses, and the dedication of volunteers and the council, many rare roses were saved for everyone to enjoy!
The first Timaru Festival of Roseswas held in 2002 by the garden to celebrate the bloom of the roses in November and December.
Enjoy the stunning wild and modern roses by visiting the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden below the Piazza at Caroline Bay, and explore the Species Rose, Heritage Border, and Anderson Rose Gardens at the Timaru Botanic Gardens.
Creating New Roses - Naturally and Through Breeding
Origin of Modern Roses
The Dutch East India Company introduced roses from China to Europe in 1760s. People brushed pollen from one rose onto another plants rose to create seeds and grow new varieties. The modern rose was bred by combining the fragrance and shape of European roses with the hardiness and year round blooms of Chinese roses.
Old English roses, were developed by British rose breeder David Austin in the 1960s. Once breeders like David and Trevor Griffiths successfully created a new rose with desired traits like color, shape, scent, and disease resistance, they took a cutting from the stem to grow a new plant. This ensured the new plant would be genetically identical to the parent, preserving those traits. If they used seeds, there was a risk of cross-pollination, which could introduce unwanted traits from another plant. The modern varieties of roses we enjoy today are products of selective breeding.
Pollination
Self Pollination: Some rose varieties can fertilise themselves with their own pollen.
Cross Pollination: Insects visit the rose, and as pollen sticks to their bodies, it transfers onto the stigma of other roses, fertilising the flowers.
Hand Pollination: Pollen is collected from one rose and brushed onto the stigma of another flower to create hybrids with specific traits, such as colour, fragrance, and resilience.
Propagation From Cuttings: Rose breeders select a healthy stem, cut it to 200mm in length, dip it in rooting hormone, plant it in soil, and keep it in a warm, humid environment. After a few weeks, the stem grows roots and is replanted as a new rose.
Budding and Grafting: A T-cut is made in the strong and resilient plant rootstock, and a bud from a mature rose with desired traits is inserted. A calice forms to hold bud into the rootstock stem, and once established, the top of the root stock off is cut off.
Rose Life Cycle
Pollinate: The flower's anther produces pollen, which sticks to the stigma at the top of the flowers pistil.
Fertilise: The pollen travels down the style into the ovary in the pistil, where it fertilises the ovules (seeds).
Develop: The plant focuses on developing the seeds, the petals fall, and the pistil swells into a rose hip.
Dormant: In winter, the cold helps break open the seed coat of the rose hips.
Germinate: As spring arrives, the seeds germinate and grow into new plants.
As You Colour... Reflect On Rose’s Beauty, Symmetry, And History.
Your colours could symbolise red for love, pink for gratitude, yellow for friendship, and white for purity. The rose’s shape reflects millions of years of evolution, with both ancient patterns and recent changes. Its softness may evoke various feelings as you look at, smell, and touch it.
The first species of wild roses typically had five single petals. Their growth often follows the Fibonacci sequence, also known as the golden ratio, a natural pattern found in many plants. This sequence (where each number is the sum of the two previous ones: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, ...) is visible in the arrangement of leaves, petals, fruits, and seeds. It plays a vital role in helping plants maximise sunlight and improve pollination.
Can you spot how the golden ratio repeats in nature? Roses, ferns, sunflowers, daisies, and pinecones are fun to study.
The beauty of modern roses is the result of millions of years of natural evolution and careful breeding. It is not easy, and takes a lot of time, merging plant genetics, horticulture, and artistry. This is why rose breeders are so highly regarded.