The Ringling Rose gardens are part of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and consist of of "Mable's Garden" , the AARS test gardens, and the ARS "Award of Excellence" test gardens.
These pages provide a photographic tour of the Ringling Rose Gardens throughout its 12 month blooming season,and viewers are encouraged to visit the gardens. For visitor information on the gardens, as well as other attractions of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art please consult The Ringling Museum web site
Our tour has been divided into the following parts:
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"Mable's Garden [incomplete - in preparation]
"Mable Ringling cherished roses. Her rose garden was completed in 1913 before any development took place on the 66-acre Ringling estate. Once the garden was established, Sarasota felt like home to Mable and she and John built their dream home, the Cŕ d’Zan mansion, and the Museum of Art in Sarasota. She was also the founder and first president of the Sarasota Garden Club." (Ringling Museum Press Release Apr 3 , 2004]
Under the tutelage of Ron Mallory, curator of Mable’s historic Rose Garden, Mable’s historic Rose Garden (with over 1200 roses) has received prestigious accreditations from the American Rose Society and the Award of Excellence for a Demonstration Rose Garden. Ringling has also been designated as an accredited public rose garden - one of only three in Florida.
Because the rose garden is a living system we include photos taken at different times of the year,
and identified accordingly. With over 1200 bushes all that can be hoped for is to provide a sense of the gardens. We have further divided the tour of Mable's garden into a number of smaller parts to avoid excessive delays as the browser loads images:
| A tour of the Entrance and periphery with views of Old Garden Roses , Shrub roses, and the original statuary and garden architectural pieces.
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| Views of the English (David Austin) Rose beds in Mable's garden
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| Views of the Fragrant Hybrid Teas. While there are hybrid teas, including the "very fragrant", throughout Mable's garden, there is a concentration of fragrant hybrid teas near the test gardens. These are views from that section.
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| A Garden TourThe largest grouping is a mix of Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, and Grandifloras.
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| A Virtual tour of Mable's Garden [coming soon]
Short video tours featuring views of Mable's garden in each season
Media Player is required for this tour (click on the icon to the left for a free copy)
| Mable's Secret Garden
There is a second, smaller garden between Mable's Rose Garden and the Ca`D'Zan mansion. While these pages are focused on roses, Mable Ringling also grew another less well known garden closer to her home, known as Mable's Secret Garden, and well worth a visit. In keeping with Mable Ringling's role in founding the Sarasota Garden Club, Mable's Secret Garden is maintained solely by volunteers from the Sarasota Garden Club,
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The Ringling Test Rose Gardens consist of two distinct test gardens:
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The All America Rose Selections (AARS) test gardens at Ringling are one of only 19 AARS test gardens in the US, and the southernmost. Roses are sent to be evaluated for two years. They are then scored on a point system designed by the AARS in order to be selected as an All American Rose, and to be evaluated for possible production by rose growers.
Visit the AARS website www.rose.org for further information on the AARS and its selection process
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The The American Rose Society – Award of Excellence (AOE) Test Gardens at Ringling are one of only 8 public test gardens in the US which have been selected to evaluate Miniature and Mini-Flora Roses for the American Rose Society (ARS)
As with the AARS test gardens, miniature roses are evaluated for a two period and the evaluations are collected by the ARS. Under the ARS terms a maximum of five awards can be given in any year, and NO award will be given if there is no entry which scores high enough to warant recognition.
Visit the ARS' web page for Award of Excellence Winners and additional information concerning the AOE program.
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"Roses in the Circus" - The April 2007 Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society Rose Show in partnership with the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is a seperate entry with additional photos of the Ringling Rose Gardens.
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