Rose Garden
P.O. Box 3558
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3558
Strowd Roses, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Gene Strowd
A deep passion for roses
In addition to his business endeavors and public service, Gene Strowd had a deep passion for roses. He generously shared this love by planting and caring for rose gardens across Chapel Hill—at the Chapel Hill Newspaper, the NC Pharmacy Institute, a local nursing home, University United Methodist Church, and in his own backyard. He organized the Chapel Hill Rose Show, the rose competition at the NC State Fair, and founded the Chapel Hill Rose Society. His dedication earned him the Silver Honor Medal, the highest award from the American Rose Society.
Gene Strowd (l) and Ed Norfleet(r) planting Gene’s roses in the rose garden.
Gene was curious about new rose varieties, often cultivating his own, and was equally committed to teaching people of all ages how to grow and care for roses.
In 1987, Gene proposed creating a public rose garden at the Chapel Hill Community Center—a space where everyone could enjoy and learn about America’s national flower. The following year, the Town of Chapel Hill began construction. Working alongside the Chapel Hill Rose Society and the Town’s Parks and Recreation Department, Gene helped design and plant the garden, contributing many of the original 450 bushes from his own collection.
In August 1990, the Chapel Hill Town Council honored Gene’s vision by naming the rose garden after him. He passed away six months later. Irene Strowd, his wife and lifelong partner, continued to fund the garden’s upkeep for the next decade. Upon her death in 2000, she established the foundation to support the Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden in perpetuity and to serve the broader Chapel Hill community.
In 2000, the Chapel Hill Rose Society helped fund a renovation to the garden.
In 2024, the foundation began transitioning the rose garden to a more sustainable model—reducing chemical use and adapting rose cultivation practices to meet the challenges of a changing climate. This effort continues Gene’s legacy: experimenting with new rose varieties, serving the community, and passing on the joy of rose growing in our unique local environment.
Gene’s legacy: experimenting with new rose varieties, serving the community, and passing on the joy of rose growing in our unique local environment.
Since the beginning, the Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden has flourished thanks to the ongoing partnership between Strowd Roses and the dedicated staff of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation. The care and maintenance of the garden are funded by Strowd Roses.