It might be said that roses came to Kansas City via Portland, Oregon. It's not that roses were unknown in the city before Laura Smith moved here from Portland in the early 1930s. It's just that she had so much knowledge about and love for roses that her enthusiasm caught on, spread, grew and, well, blossomed.
Laura would ask a few friends over to listen to a radio program called "Rose Talks" while they all sipped tea. One day the program, sponsored by the American Rose Society, focused on how to start a municipal rose garden. Laura made sure people from the Parks Department, Chamber of Commerce and area nurseries were there to listen. Then she proposed a rose garden.
KANSAS CITY
A week later, the city had its own branch of the American Rose Society with Laura as its president. The Kansas City Rose Society wasted no time. Representatives met with officials from the Parks Department and got the commitment to a rose garden. The Rose Society would supply the roses, and the Parks Department would take care of them. By June 1931, 120 rose bushes graced the first unit of the garden in Jacob L. Loose Memorial Park, just south of the Country Club Plaza.
The rose garden, which would become the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden in 1965, was designed by the Parks Department's own architect, S. Herbert Hare. It was set up in a classic concentric bed plan encircled by limestone and timber arches and pergolas, with a water pool at its center. The basic design has changed little in the 80 years since it was built.
In 1944, a garden extension had its dedication as a tribute to the men and women who served in World War II. In 1989, the garden received recognition as the year's outstanding public rose garden by All-America Rose Selections Inc. and was given the AARS Bronze Award. A new fountain with walks and paths was completed in 2002.
The Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden is Kansas City's centerpiece. Nestled in the middle of one of the most beautiful parks in the area, it showcases dozens of rose varieties.
Kansas City's Rose Garden KANSAS CITY
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