The Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden is located in the Town of Chapel Hill Community Center Park at 120 South Estes Drive, Chapel Hill and contains over 450 rose bushes of 130 different varieties.
The rose was first cultivated domestically several hundred years ago, but roses have grown wild for over 35 million years. The first settlers found wild roses in North Carolina when they arrived. In 1987 the rose became the country’s national flower.
It was also in 1987 that Gene Strowd proposed his idea for the Community Rose Garden. Construction began the following year. Along with the Chapel Hill Rose Society and the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department, Mr. Strowd designed the layout of the garden. The community garden was dedicated and named in honor of Mr. Strowd in September of 1990.
With the support of the Chapel Hill Rose Society and the Strowd family, the Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden was renovated in 2000. The Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden is maintained by the foundation with the help of the staff of the Town of Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation Department. Funding for the maintenance of the Community Rose Garden is provided solely by Strowd Roses, Inc.
