This man had roses in his heart

Longview Library Memory Rose Garden marks 60th anniversary Saturday with raffles, refreshments and repartee focusing on the 'Queen of Flowers'

Roses have been closely entwined with human civilization and beloved for millennia. And rose gardens like the one at the Longview Public Library are enchanted places.

But before I tell you about a 60th anniversary party planned for the garden this Saturday, I will tell you a story about a special garden dedicated to the “Queen of Flowers,” a name often attributed to Sappho, the ancient Greek poet.

In Paris about a century ago, a handsome and dapper man had a garden of roses. The flowers were all white, the color that symbolizes purity, perfection, cleanliness, and beginnings.

His neighbors considered the man eccentric. He tended his roses with great care and spoke to them at night, as if they were people. He called them by name under moonlight, addressing them by names such as Celeste, Marie and Jeanette.

Every fall he’d plant additional rose trees, always white.

It was only after the man passed away that his neighbors learned the secret of his rose garden.

His wealth, looks and personality made it easy for him to approach and converse with the city’s prostitutes. He’d take them out to the theater and dinner and then brought them to their homes in a taxi and depart. As he gained their confidence, he worked to reform them, finding them honorable employment and even paying their salaries in some cases.

In an old notebook, he recorded the names of the dozens of women he had rescued from Parisian brothels. Then, every November, he planted white roses for every one of those he’d saved that year.

This touching story of this gentleman was recorded by Sir Newman Flower (1879- 1964). I came across it while teaching a class on the history of roses three decades ago at Lower Columbia College. Flower was an English publisher and author, and among his titles is Through My Garden Gate, published in 1945.

I’m not sure if the story of the Parisian man appears there, but I mention it now because it is an inspiring story about the power of roses and the dedication and loving hearts of people who grow them. A popular saying among rosarians is that to grow roses you must have roses in your heart.

Tending the Longview Library Memory Rose Garden, which has about 100 varieties of roses and hundreds of old and new roses, is an enormous task for a group of volunteers They are dedicated to continuing the legacy of those who planned and tended the garden decades ago.

The celebration of the garden’s six decades takes place from noon to 4 p.m. this Saturday, June 14. It is hosted by the rose garden volunteers from the Friends of the Library.

There will be raffles, refreshments and voting cards for visitors to rate the roses in the garden on different traits, as well as vote on which test bed variety should be adopted for a full bed next year.

Volunteers will be on hand to chat with visitors, give rose advice, and advertise volunteer and donation opportunities.

The garden is supported by Friends of the Library, a volunteer group that holds book sales and other events to raise money for library activities that the city does not pay for.

Anyone wanting to help support the garden or the library can donate through the Friends of the Library. Donations can be designated to purchase a rose in memory of a loved one.

So get out there and smell the roses — and remember the story of that Parisian gentleman who had an abundance of roses in his heart.