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Hunt for rare rose ends in Alcatraz by Simon de Bruxelles.
The Heritage Rose Group was asked to help and found the Bardou blooming in what was once the head warden's garden on Alcatraz, in the bay at San Francisco. The top-security jail closed in 1963 and the island is now a tourist attraction. Andrew Dixey, the castle estates manager, said: "The warden was known for his love of roses and he used to get the prisoners to tend them." He said that the Bardou "goes from a scarlet red to a very dark red that approaches black". It was originally cultivated by Gilbert Nabonnand, a French grower, in 1887.
Copyright ©2000 by Simon de Bruxelles, The Times, Oct 03/00.
www.rosarosam.com |
A Rose
bred in the 19th century has been tracked down on the prison island
of Alcatraz after a worldwide search. The rare Bardou Job was one of
90 historical roses needed for a Victorian rose garden in the grounds
of St Fagan's Castle in Cardiff, now home to the Museum of Welsh
Life. After a long search, the museum feared the rose had died out.