Rose Garden
May 24th, 2011
Lisa Strawn Memorial Rose Garden at the Gardens on Havana
The Havana Business Improvement District is dedicated to improving the quality of life along Havana Street. From Dartmouth to 6th Avenue, hard work has been put into improving sidewalks, streetscapes, buildings and much more.
The City of Aurora and Miller Weingarten Realty (MWR) worked together with Gayle Jetchick, Denver Rose Society (DRS) member and executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District, in late 2007 to have the future rose garden dedicated to Lisa Strawn, the development specialist for the City of Aurora who was instrumental in getting the plans in place to have the Buckingham Square Mall redeveloped. Lisa passed away after a long battle with cancer just a few days after we dedicated the rose garden in her name at the Demolition Celebration on January 8, 2008.
Gayle Jetchick trained 8 volunteers to work in the Rose Garden in 2011. The volunteers pruned out dead canes, shaped the bushes and did a general garden clean up in May 2011. The rose bushes look fantastic!
All of the bushes are healthy and leafing out. The roses should be in full, first-flush bloom for the May 24 concert. 100 bushes in full bloom will be quite a beautiful sight to see at the first concert!
Gayle mixed up the special
Denver Rose Society spring rose tonic and gave each rose bush a drink. She used 20 two-gallon kitty litter plastic containers that were filled with water and also added 2 tbsp of Miracle Grow Rose Food and 1 tbsp of Epsom salts (mag sulfate) to each container. This mixture gives the bushes a shot of nitrogen to get them going and the Epsom salt causes basal break which encourages new growth making the bushes full and lush. The bushes loved the spring tonic and are happy and healthy!
Types of Roses at the Gardens on Havana
- Winnipeg Parks Shrub Rose
- Stanwell Perpetual Shrub Rose
- Carefree Beauty Shrub Rose
- La Sevillana Shrub Rose
- Sea Foam Shrub Rose
- Knock Out Shrub Rose
- Modern Sunrise Shrub Rose
- Golden Wings Shrub Rose
- Sally Holmes Shrub Rose
- Gourmet Popcorn Mini Shrub Rose
- Champlain Shrub Rose
- Golden Celebration Shrub Rose
- Shafira Asma Shrub Rose
- Modern Blush
- LD Braithwaite Shrub Rose
- Royal Bonica Shrub Rose
- Adelaide Hoodless Shrub Rose
- The Fairy Dwarf Shrub Rose
- Victorian Memory Climber
- Golden Unicorn
Increase in foot traffic at the Gardens on Havana
The Gardens on Havana has seen a four-fold increase in foot traffic from 2010 to 2011. There are many people out and about, taking advantage of the Gardens on Havana – shopping, walking, driving around and enjoying the lovely scenery and everything the Gardens has to offer. We heard a lot of compliments from folks about how beautiful The Gardens on Havana is looking! We will continue to maintain the roses to keep them looking great for the community. Come check it out!
Rose Garden Events
The Summer Rose Garden Concert Series is in full effect. The first concert of this season is May 24, 2011 and Old Skool Country Rock Band will be featured. Grab your family and friends and come on down to Havana Street and enjoy a free concert in the rose garden.
