Flowering of Pratt Rose Garden Heightens Beauty of Brooklyn Campus
Expert supervision yields spectacular bushes
L-R: Pratt's Rose Garden frames the path to Main Building; Rose expert Anne O'Neill
Just in time for summer, the Pratt Rose Garden on the Institute's Brooklyn campus is thriving like never before. Since 2002, the garden has benefited from the expert advice of rosarian Anne O'Neill, who formerly curated the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. At President Schutte’s behest she examined the Pratt Rose Garden and, seeing its potential, volunteered in 2007 to take on the replanting and removal of overgrowth, pruning away spent flower stems, and adding organic fertilizer, bone meal, and mulch to immediately improve the flowerbeds.
O’Neill’s aim was to achieve consistency in the roses' size and color as well as a "greater elegance" in the garden’s design. “The Rose Garden is phenomenal,” she says, adding that her plans in the next few months include balancing some of the pink roses with blossoms of other colors.
O’Neill looks forward to her next visit in the fall. “It’s always an honor to work with Pratt,” she adds, “particularly thanks to the commitment of the ground staff who are wonderful and Dr. Schutte who supports our every endeavor.”
For the last two years, the day-to-day care of the Rose Garden has been the duty of Martin Macreno, senior groundsman in the Facilities Office, and his two assistants, who water and weed the garden twice a week.
“Anne O’Neill proffers expert advice,” says Glenn Gordon, executive director of Planning, Design, Construction and Physical Plant, “and Martin Macreno really manages the Rose Garden and he’s doing a fantastic job.”
O’Neill’s keen oversight coupled with the dedication of Pratt’s caretakers has produced a flowering landscape that is an inspiration to Pratt artists, faculty, staff, and the community.
O’Neill says “I really do love the Pratt Rose Garden—it has kept changing for the better, and I’m glad to have been helpful on some levels. The grounds are among the most beautiful on college campuses in New York City.”
Text: Adrienne Gyongy
Photos: Jonathan Weitz, Diana Pau
Gateway Editors
Reader Comments (2)