Stephen Scanniello, well known rosarian, speaker, and author was curator of the
Cranford Rose Garden from 1985 to 1999. The
Cranford Rose Garden grows over 5,000 rose plants of 1,500 varieties.
[From
Roses of America, by Stephen Scanniello and Tania Bayard, pp. 24-35:
This book is actually about Scanniello's experience as rosarian of the Cranford Rose Garden and is a great reference for anyone growing roses in North America, as well as being a terrific all-around rose book.] On June 14, 1927, construction began on the Cranford Rose Garden... named for Walter V. Cranford who supplied the money to build the garden... The Cranford Rose Garden was designed by Harold Caparn, consulting landscape architect for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden , and Montague Free, the Garden's horticulturalist... The excavations uncovered an old cobblestone road, two large roadside drains, and enormous glacial rocks that had to be broken up beofre they could be carted away... The garden opened to the public in June 1928 [
only about a year after construction had begun], and later that year the number of plants was increased to three thousand -- 650 different species and varieties in all... [
Scanniello, writing in 1990, says] there are now eleven hundred species and varieties...
Photograph by Lisa Osta
