Rose arbor update: tying on the canes

Rose Arbor Update: Tying on the Canes

The new rose arbor in Point Defiance Park is growing! Twenty graceful new arches now curve ten feet over the bare spring beds, replacing the old arches that crowded roses, gardeners and visitors alike.

And on March 18, gardeners Steve Herbig and Joe Matlock stood in the new, airy space, tying dozens of rose canes back onto the arbor.

“It’s so much better!” commented Herbig, halfway up a step ladder, as he reached overhead with some twine. “Before, I used to have to crouch in here. And the roses do better with more space.”

Matlock nodded in emphatic agreement – like Herbig, he’s over six feet tall. The old arbor, built at least 50 years ago, was clearly designed for shorter people.

The new arbor posts and arches are a greenhouse frame made of galvanized steel. As well as taller and stronger, they’re also several feet wider than before, allowing for a more inviting entry and an expansive view down the center – perfect for wedding and graduation photos.

In the chilly spring air Herbig and Matlock worked efficiently, draping each long cane over the arch about 11 inches from its neighbor. With around five canes per arch section and 20 sections in each of the two sides, there will be 200 rose canes altogether, with more new canes added through summer. The arbor planting is so old that nobody quite knows the exact varieties of the four pink and white roses that soar gracefully over the arbor. Gaps will be filled by new roses grown this winter in the greenhouse.

Still to come is the pièce de resistance: a brand-new gate, designed in collaboration between garden staff and Parks Tacoma welder Koyi Clay, with support from shop management team Doug Sawyer and Mike Yaden. Clay is halfway through the fabrication of the massive gate, welding steel tube in diagonals onto each side gate and sculpting the central section into its own ornate rose bush.

Stay tuned…