Rosarian's Garden - Garden Valley Ranch, Petaluma, California
|
|||
|
|
||
|
For many rose gardeners Rayford Reddell’s wisdom-packed The Rose Bible occupies a prominent space on their bookshelves. Reddell’s encyclopedic knowledge of roses grew from years of operating his Garden Valley Ranch in Northern California. For years his rich, wine country soil produced garden roses for florists while gardeners around the country benefited through Reddell sharing what he learned by caring for acres of flowers each year.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|||
|
|||
After over two decades Reddell retired and sold Garden Valley Ranch to Ron Robertson and Mark Grim in 2005. The torch was passed not only to capable owners but also ones with a vision to place their signature on the land. Using local stone a display garden was created and arranged by color using annuals, perennials and of course roses. This border runs 220 feet in length with over 3,000 square feet of space (just for a border mind you)! A bridge now crosses a 75 foot pond where visitors can listen to the cascade of water as they take in the aroma of the thousands of roses and other flowers surrounding them as they tour the landscape. Although roses are the main attraction at Garden Valley Ranch you will also find more than 100 varieties of hydrangeas (not plants, varieties) and 30 types of magnolias. |
|
||
 |
Fortunately for us tours are available at GVR year round. May through October are the best months to visit but something is in bloom all year long. The peak time for rose viewing starts in mid-May and extends into June. Modestly priced self-guided tours are available Wednesday through Sunday. Docent led tours are also available for group with advance notice. The facility also hosts events ranging from weddings to garden club meetings. The fragrant and colorful landscape creates the perfect background for these types of events. The mild climate and wine country location make GVR a popular choice for celebrations and club functions. |
||
 |
|||
If you are seeking an intimate getaway you will find Garden Valley Ranch offers the perfect cottage on the property. Built in the 1880’s yet newly renovated, guests will enjoy both old fashioned charm with modern amenities. As the only guests on the property the cottage offers seclusion surrounded by stunning beauty. With over 7,000 roses Grim and Robertson’s primary business is supplying roses to the floral trade. Unlike greenhouse grown roses the blooms at GVR are kissed by the sun. The proprietors feel this provides the advantage of allowing more fragrance than indoor grown roses. They also like how their roses actually bloom instead of staying as closed buds once reaching a vase. Cut roses are also available to the public with color information available on their Web site. In addition to cut flowers GVR offers an impressive variety of bare root roses shipped January through April. Bare root and potted roses are also available at the nursery on site. A PDF catalog of their offerings is available on GVR’s Web site and includes many favorites from Weeks Roses. |
 |
||
 |
Another attractive element of the roses grown at GVR is their commitment to organic gardening. No chemicals are used on the plants. A compost tea is used to fertilize the fields which has benefits for the soil and the workers. To plan a visit to Garden Valley Ranch see their Web site at www.gardenvalley.com. Here you will find information on fees for tours and the cottage rental, operating hours and how to order roses. With a location just north of the San Francisco Bay and near to the Napa wine country as well Garden Valley Ranch makes either a great stop or a destination for a trip. |
||
