Jeff and Cindy Garrett have more than 400 roses in bloom on their lakefront property.Addresses for the self-guided rose tour
Jeff and Cindy Garrett2049 Linwood CircleEd and Cheryl Hand7811 Haverton CrossingDr. Cassandra Cansler and Roland Butler1428 Cambridge Pointe DriveMichelle and Steve Morgan3616 Altamira DriveJane and Larry Hill9723 Stone Mist LaneBud and Sonia Wisseman2110 Haven Crest DriveHours for each are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Tri-State Rose Society members are opening the gates to their private gardens this Mother's Day weekend so the public can enjoy fields filled with the national flower.
Members are spread throughout the area, spanning from Soddy-Daisy to East Brainerd, and interested attendees are invited to visit each stop on the free, self-guided tour.
This is the first public tour in approximately five years, said Cindy Garrett, the society's treasurer. Gardeners will be on-hand at each of the six featured homes to answer questions about their own gardening process, the Tri-State Rose Society and to accept donations on behalf of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
Garrett, whose own Soddy-Daisy home is part of the self-guided tour, said since she began learning to grow roses in the '80s, her garden has grown to be filled with more than 400 of the flowers. Now, roses encircle her garden's prized centerpiece: a beautifully landscaped koi pond.
"There's just something about them," she said of roses, adding that they are difficult yet rewarding to grow.
For East Brainerd resident Jane Hill, roses are about remaining connected to her own mother, who was always fond of the flowers.
"Even though my mother grew roses all of her life, I was inside taking care of other things at the time," Hill said. "I just knew I had to get involved later on."
Hill's garden, which she has cultivated for an estimated eight years, now features more than 160 roses.
"And they should be in full bloom," she said. "Just come and enjoy the beauty."
For more information, visit chattanoogarose.org.