If I were a
ramblin' gamblin' man, and I've been known to do a little of both, I'd lay down good money that the most popular flower in the United States is the rose. As the title of this post suggest, the rose could have been named the "sweaty gym socks flower" and it would still smell like something that The Almighty adorns Paradise with. Ahhhhhh...the rose, a
symbol of love and devotion, a symbol of
rememberance and just a great addition to any flower garden. Which brings us to the Rose Capital of the World,
Tyler, Texas.
A brief history : Tyler is situated in an ideal location for growing all kinds of smellin'-good, tasty and/or ornamental plants as the climate is pretty moderate with rainfall occurring throughout the year. For these reasons, succulent peaches were once to Tyler and Smith County what the elegant rose is today, but in the early 20th Century the blight decimated the peach crop in the area. Enter La Rosa. At this time, roses were already popular in East Texas, so it was a natural fit for it to fill a major void in agricultural production and revenue for Tyler. A little north of South Loop 323 at the Glenwood (I think) intersection, lies one of the most magnificent floral displays on Earth -
The Tyler Minicipal Rose Garden . The Rose Garden is fourteen acres of horticultural heaven featuring about
five hundred varieties of the rose, with some of the antique rose varieties dating back to
1867! Since opening in 1952, the Rose Garden has been ooooo'ed and ahhhhh'ed over by millions of people from around the world. A predecessor to the Rose Garden is the Texas Rose Festival, held in mid- October, is now entering its
ninth decade as a showcase for the flower that has made Tyler, Texas The Rose Capital of the World. A rose by any other name......
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