Old City Cemetery roses

City should heed advice of curator

Re “Fate of rare Old City Cemetery roses turns into a prickly issue” (Local, March 13): If you have never done so, walk the length and breadth of the Old City Cemetery at Broadway and Riverside. The diversity of Sacramento’s early founders and inhabitants, and the passion for gardening, is evident everywhere.

I am a volunteer for the Historic Rose Garden and consider it a privilege to work there. City officials state that they received only one complaint about their new garden guidelines. The Rose Garden Curator who heads up the volunteers voiced her concerns only after soliciting feedback from the rose group.

The city should work constructively with our curator to preserve the elements of the garden that make it a treasured place.

Volunteers tend national treasure

The City Cemetery received national recognition due to the restoration efforts of the curators and volunteers. The monuments have eroded over time because marble was used in the 1800s, not because plants and structures were placed in front of them.

I have never seen any homeless persons using the public bathroom there and it is locked at day’s end. I also know there is a guard that patrols the grounds every single evening.

If city historian Marcia Eymann believes the historic roses should be moved to the Broadway side, we welcome her help during the open garden days at least once a month. It is a lot of work to relocate an established plant.

Stephen Scanniello, president of the Heritage Rose Foundation, is correct that this garden is “a national treasure.” Yes it is, but only due to the many efforts of all of the volunteers.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Old City Cemetery roses."