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Show 2,300 Varieties of Rose Blooms in Private Garden Fifty years ago a small boy spent his time hoeing roses and cutting off withered blossoms on his father's southern estate. Today he has what is reputed to be the largest private collection of roses in the United States, for in the garden of Clyde R. McGinnes, a Reading, Pa., yarn merchant, there grow thousands of roses of 2,300 varieties. Although foreign rose commerce has been stopped because of the war, the McGinnes garden is still grow ing rapidly with specimens he propagates prop-agates himself and secures from other parts of the country. "I add about 100 roses every year," he said. "My present garden was started in the spring of 1926 when I moved my collection from the city backyard across the Schuylkill Schuyl-kill to the hillside. Since then I have had hundreds of visitors from all sections of the United States even tourists from California." It takes a lot of time and effort to keep a rose garden, but, like any other enthusiastic hobbyist, McGinnes McGin-nes strives to make every rose a prize. In the library of his home there are 50 volumes devoted to rose gardening. He has made an extensive ex-tensive study of the art and corresponds corre-sponds with many of the country's widely known rose fanciers. Very often he will receive a letter from some fancier asking whether it is possible to purchase any of his plants, but none of his roses are for sale. McGinnes derives great pleasure from showing visitors his collection. Included in his garden are 142 varieties vari-eties of albas, centifolias, damasks, gallicas and moss roses, 1,179 varieties varie-ties of hybrid tea roses, and 98 varieties va-rieties of old tea roses. |
