By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

While some people might be looking forward to the weekend, volunteers for the Syracuse Rose Society cannot wait for Wednesday to come around.

From early April to early November, these volunteers arrive at the E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden on Wednesday mornings, tending to the over 3,000 rose bushes on the grounds.

“We’ve got some really high-end rose growers here,” Carl Grillo, the lead volunteer for the Syracuse Rose Society, said. “It’s really a nice thing for the city to have and maintain.”

In the spring and the fall, volunteers put their work in from 8 a.m. to noon. In the summer, they show up around 7 in the morning to have an easier time staving off the heat.

Midway through each work session, the volunteers normally stop for a break, enjoying donuts, cheesecake, lemonade and coffee.

“You partake in all the delicacies and then you go back to the garden to work it off so you don’t feel guilty,” Grillo said.

The group cares for the roses with the help of the city parks department, which supplies necessary items such as granular fertilizer, planting materials, wheelbarrows and replacement roses.

The rose society makes sure to plant, fertilize, deadhead and water the roses in addition to clearing weeds from the garden with vinegar and trimming and tying up the bushes to keep them from extending too far into the aisles. 

The Syracuse Rose Society works through rain or shine, unless a heavy downpour or thunderstorm touches down in the area.

Grillo said he and his fellow volunteers haven’t needed to water the rose bushes as often lately due to consistent rainfall.

Michael Grimm Services and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) spray the roses before winter hits to kill fungal diseases and fight off insects like the Japanese beetles known to chew through leaves, Grillo said.

According to Grillo, the rose society volunteers “winterize” the garden by early November, making sure to wrap rolls of burlap and string around the arches and also shovel mulch onto the rose beds for insulation.   

Grillo, who has volunteered for the Syracuse Rose Society since 2002, said the group welcomes new volunteers, teaches them as they go and allows them to focus on tasks of their choosing.

“Everybody’s always learning something,” Sonia Kragh, the rose society’s treasurer, said. 

The two-acre plot of land in Syracuse’s Thornden Park was made into a rose garden, complete with a gazebo, in the early 1920s. 

Varieties such as Floribunda and Peace roses can be found in the garden, which also holds weddings and annual events like the June celebration Rose Day.

Founded in 1911, the non-profit Syracuse Rose Society stands as the oldest continuously active rose society in the United States.