The Rose Garden at the Cape Coral Historical Society is maintained by our dedicated garden club members. Volunteers are welcome to help out every Tuesday and/or Friday morning from 7 am to 9 am.
If you are interested in joining the Rose Garden maintenance crew, contact either Cathy Atcheson or Cynthia Mahoney, Team Leaders.

Rose Bush Sponsorships

Garden club members may sponsor a rose bush in the Rose Garden for $40.00. The fee includes the rose bush itself, a plaque and rose bush maintenance. This is a wonderful way to honor the memory of a loved one, or to honor any special occasion. Contact Sylvia Swartz to order your rose bush and specify the details for the display plaque.

History of the Rose Garden

When the Rosen Brothers developed Cape Coral in the 1950’s, even before the City was incorporated the Rosens built a magnificent Park – the famous Waltzing Waters (illuminated fountains) lakes and a rose garden with more than 40,000 roses, including thousands of The Cape Coral Rose, developed by Eugene Boerner of Jackson and Perkins. Although a good tourist attraction, the Park was not long-lived because of its enormous annual operating expense and eventually the land was sold off for development.
In 1990, Lois E. Herbert was seeking a way to pay tribute to the memory of her father, Russell Herbert, and she approached the Cape Coral Historical Society with the idea of establishing a rose garden at the Historical Society property as a way of memorializing not only her father but also the famous original Cape Coral Rose Gardens at Waltzing Waters. The Garden was dedicated on Memorial Day 1991, when a time capsule was also installed.
In 2007, the garden was completely redesigned with slightly raised beds, basing it loosely on the original octagonal format of the Rosen Brothers’ garden. The garden now consists of 12 beds, interspersed with seashell paths and benches. Ongoing maintenance of the garden carried out by the Garden Club of Cape Coral. A team of 7 or 8 visit the garden once a week to prune, weed, mulch and feed the roses, replacing plants as necessary. Soil is regularly amended, and the roses fertilized regularly. Several pounds of beneficial earth worms have also been added.
The Garden Club of Cape Coral is proud to work with the Historical Society in maintaining this garden for the people of Cape Coral, linking them with their past through a small replication of a piece of their history.