A Democracy of Beauty for All: Highlights from the J. Horace McFarland Company Collection
The Finest Roses
Close-up of rose 'Merrouw G. A. Van Rossem,' c. 1930. Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
As a founder and president of the American Rose Society, roses always drew McFarland’s attention, as in this image of the rose 'Merrouw G. A. Van Rossem' at McFarland's Breeze Hill estate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, circa 1930. "I can also tell you that some of the finest roses are the thorniest," he once said.
In their ability to climb built structures, roses were the perfect plant to bridge McFarland's interests in gardening and improving the appearance of buildings. In this image, The rose Reine Alga de Wurtenburg covers a porch at Kearny Park in Fresno, CA, 1930. Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
A woman with yellow roses (climbing Emily Gray) at McFarland’s Breeze Hill gardens, 1923. Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
